Been busy helping my friend, John Mahoney, run a last second sticker campaign. He did a great job, better then you think. There were almost 4,000 ballots that were blank. Many of which I am sure were truly blank, but I guarantee you that many of them had Mahoney stickers but people either placed it in the wrong spot or did not mark the oval. Actually we have talked to alot of people who after applying the sticker forgot to mark the oval!!!
That said great story in the paper today entitled City Limits. I walked downtown to a local subshop owner by Steve called the Subway right on Front Street aroun 3PM. Good sandwich, nice guy but the people walking around not a professional crowd. I do not know how else to put it.
I can understand why the person in the article mentioned how they feel safe in the atrium of the hospital but not downtown. Here is the biggest problem downtown. Simply put we need to get all of the bus stops away from downtown!!
Same Time Next Year
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It’s been nearly a year since I wrote about the problems that come from
having 11 bosses who are not on the same page about anything, as well as
suggestion...
4 months ago
26 comments:
Hopefully a businessperson reads this & sees a good oppurtunity for a restaurant in that area. I always thought that if the Wachusett Beer guys ever opened a brew pub near the DCU the place would make a fortune.
My wife works downtown & every couple of weeks I meet her & we have dinner at Viva Bene. We sit at the bar have some wine & pasta (best Ceasar salad) & we really like it. We are always amazed at how uncrowded it is.
Bill,
With all due respect, I think moving all of the bus stops from downtown is not the answer. Aren't we trying to bring folks downtown? Yes, some of these folks who ride public transit do not meet the socio-economic level that downtown needs to thrive but quality public transit is a must in any city. Even though gas prices have fallen considerably, the MBTA has announced another month of increased ridership. I’m sure the businesses around North & South Stations love the commuter hubs and the tens of thousands of commuters they bring each day.
One of the reasons Gus Giordano of Maxwell-Silverman’s is going to Union Station is to cater to the needs of the commuters in addition to adding another option to Worcester’s night life.
BTW, the article in today’s paper was written by Danielle Williamson; does anyone know if she is related to Dianne?
As for the article itself, I think it was right on when talking about folks not walking in this city. When I go to NYC, Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, etc. you park the car and walk everywhere.
In NYC you don’t even blink twice about walking blocks upon blocks to shopping and entertainment options. If you get tired, you take a cab or Mass Transit. In Worcester, it’s all about the car.
The students that were quoted in the article lived on Chestnut Street and at the Bancroft. As for me, if I lived in either of these places, Shrewsbury Street and the Canal District would be within walking distance. Would it be better if there were more options downtown? Of course it would but in the meantime you can walk to many other options.
John, nice thought, however I am certain businessmen are always looking for new opportunities and if a Wachusett Brew or similar establishment was feasible in the area, it would be there already. Thus the empty Viva Bene.
Given that many eating & drinking establishments are beinging shuttered due to the current economic malaise, I truly think that something like this far into the future.
Correct me here, Did we not have plans to move all the bus stops to the new Union Sq bus terminal?
I think many folks (non- students) in NYC & Boston walk because they dont have cars? Could we be more walking friendly...yes.
Folks, this city is on a mission to socially & financially self destruct. The reason: an over abundance of low income housing...both exisitng and on the drawing board. This problem has to be addressed if we as a city are to thrive. I challenge Congressman Jim McGovern to live anywhere near the ghettos that is he currently funding with our tax dollars. I sure as hell wont live anywhere near there.
Beggars scaring off students???....one simple solution......dont continue to construct low income housing.
I am predictng a letter to the editor sometime around Thanksgiving on this very topic. I am not the letter writer nor am I a prognosticator...but... a similar themed letter shows up religiously almost every 3 months.
On another note and mentioned here before. Before we raze any parking garges we need to have definitive recontruction take place IMMEDIATELY. We cannot have large barren parcel only 200 yards from City Hall.
Lack of free parking downtown was mentioned in the article. Can Berkley make the parking garage free until it is demolished?
I walked my taxes into city hall last week. I noticed an oval (rink like?) pinkish comcrete pad immediately behind City Hall...but it didnt seen to have any edges around it to hold water??? It was basically flush with the surrounding ground?? What am I missing.
Dave Z:
You really bring up alot of good points but you 110% dead wrong on this on. I have worked downtown since 1986. Thats right 20 plus years.
When the bus company was on strike it was great!! Not saying that we do not have buses come down but dropping off masses of people who just hang out in the middle of downtown, making it intimidating to walk through is crazy.
Dewey, go downtown some afternoon around 2:00 PM and walk around the Commons and tell me if you would want your mother going to City Hall. It is not just me the students Mass College of Pharmacy are saying the same exact thing so they are simply avoiding the area.
Jahn, you are right is that not the whole point of the inter-modal transportation station?
John, you we love Kevin's. We go there at least twice per month.
Bill
So what you're saying Bill is that we don't need any Mass Transit options? Any city that is worth a grain of salt has great Mass Transit options. Without one, aren’t we encouraging residents to never get out of their cars?
And yes, there has been talk about moving the central drop off point for the city bus system to Union Station. However if we have this group of folks that are just "hanging around" after disembarking from the buses, aren't we just moving the problem to another location?
Sorry Bill, I am dead on about this one.
And Martin says Hi!
I have a child attending college in Rhode Island so I have become a little familiar with the bus system in Providence. They have an area downtown that is well laid out & easy to find your bus. I emailed the head of the rta to take a closer look at how they do it in Providence. At the school he attends they issued free year long passes to all freshmen. I think this would be great idea for the local colleges to do
Dave Z:
You don't work downtown Worcester. Talk to anyone who does and ask them about the element that uses the buses.
You do not have professional people using the buses to come downtown to go to work.
I am huge on the commuter line to Boston which will attract people of income to our downtown. Dave, when is the last time you have been downtown worcester at 2 in the afternoon walking around City Hall?
Bill
Please note I use the term "friend" loosely in reference to Mahoney.
More Allegiant news...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081106/allegiant_october_traffic.html?.v=1
Harry T
Worcester, MA
You know it's a Catch 22............move the bus stops to Union Station and what happens........they chill right there instead.....or just walk back to city hall??
I am not sure which is worse....a Rough element hanging at Union Station or City Hall.
We will never, ever get women shoppers w/in a mile of downtown as long as this crowd is hanging around and City Sq will not solve this problem either.
I am not sure how to handle it. Move the stop to various locations and spread the problem out all up and down Main St.....or leave it in one place ..cuty hall or union station....reminds me of the PIP...leave it at one location or spread it out all over town......???????............dammed if you do......dammed if you dont
I admit I'm not in downtown Worcester at 2 in the afternoon as much as someone who works there but when business takes me there I have taken notice.
What I have taken notice of is that there are people of all socio-economic backgrounds walking around City Hall and environs. And I am very happy when I see actual pedestrians downtown!
I have walked around/over indigent people in every city that I have visited in this country even at 2 in the afternoon. In those cities they don’t stay for long because the police departments move them along fairly quickly.
Bill, the folks you talk about would be just another face in the crowd if we had more activity downtown i.e. stores, restaurants, condominiums, apartments, etc.
I can remember the late 70's and mid 80's downtown Worcester during my school daze and remember alot of activity especially from college students going to Tammany Hall, Steeple Bumsteads, The FireHouse and Margaritaville, EM Loews.
What happened? I rarely go downtown anymore except for a couple of Sharks games or maybe if the Stones make another surpise appearence again!
I agree with ten colleges there should be alot of activity fighting for those entertainment dollars. Maybe if Unum locates downtown businesses will spring up to cater to the professional set .
Dazed and Confused
Dave Z:
I love but I have fun with the airport, although I am by no means an expert.
All I am trying to say you read the paper today and I tell you what it is like walking downtown and you tell me that it is not a problem?
The people I am talking about are not another face in the crowd. They are 90% of the faces in the crowd when I walk downtown.
Right now I walk downtown and turn left, go to the Ryan's Z Cafe(not named after Dave Z), Kevin's Vive Bene or Med City. I stay away from City Hall.
Jahn, you are right. Are we just moving the problem to the intermodal center?? Maybe we are but wasn't the whole point of the intermodal center was to get all of these things in one location?
Bill
Bill,
Discontinuing bus service to keep undesirables from hanging around downtown makes about as much sense as out-lawing dog racing to prevent animal abuse.
Why don't the police patrol the area, and tell loiterer's to move along?
Or, have some of the local businesses point a webcam at that location. That way, everyone will know that someone may be watching at any time.
I walk from Davis to Harvard Square all the time cause it is such a nice walk..no boarded up buildings, yah you will see a bum but not every two feet, the women wear clohes not their pajamas...eight men are not crowding a doorway with cans in their hands..Worcester has let this city fall apart and it continues to do so with all this nonsense no-lo income housing and Congressman Jim McGovern having no plank but for the poor..I know Jim is a real nice guy but I want a hard ass pol not a priest representing me..to many soft pols out here..I am seeing to many out for themselves and not for the city or the people..
When was the last time we heard of a leadah out here talk about bringing jobs here..a tax rate that is attracive to new business..to the current business we have?????
Paulie, good guy or no so ggod guy, Jim Mcgovern's positions are a joke.
Steve, I am not sure how police intervention will nec. help solve the Pajama people problem at city hall. Cops tell em to move along and they will just claim they are waiting for a bus. Like the proposed knife ordiance.........it leaves the cops dangling in the wind........as they arent mind readers and are unable to discern a persons intent ...either waiting for the bus or carrying a knife from a 4th july pig roast that they just left.
Steve:
There is are a great group cops that work the downtown. What do you want them to do them? Arrest them for loitering? They are waiting for a bus.
In this city even if they started giving people a hard time there are about out twenty groups that would come out complaining about the cops. S--- they could not even let the people from the TV show ride around with them.
Bill
more homerism from our leading radio mouthpiece..ONLY months ago Jordan Levy was complaining about his most recent experience in the new Dunkin Donuts downtown and now he is bellyaching about young kids who are down there every day making the same comments publically
Paulie, Levy has to go too. They dumped the morning guy but still hang on that anachronism Jordan (Backpedaler)Levy.
The guy will take a stand on an issue and then immedialtely start back pedaling when the opposing view calls in. He criticizes the current council for their actions and he did the exact same thing whe n he was there for 25 years. I actually barnstromed into his new mayoral office about 20 yrs and he was a little taken back by what I had to tell him......and you guessed he immidaitely strated back pedailng from what he had said. The guy is sorry excuse for whatever it is he is supposed to be.
I just wish he never left his womens clothing gig in a downtown store 32 yrs....buying and selling womens clothes..and oh...of course his wife has a gig as a school guidance counselor...best job in the school system....even beter than gym teacher.......and the guys claims on radio that never got anyone a job on the city.
I don't think it would take much effort on the part of the police to scare off the undesirables.
Walk through, and take a look at who is there. Walk by an hour later, and tell anyone still there to move along. Come by another hour later and arrest someone for loitering who has been there for two hours. Pick someone who is likely to be concealing something. That choice can be made on the first pass through.
If that happens a few times a week, they will find somewhere else to go.
In the meantime, maybe there will still be a bus running then next time I'm downtown for jury duty.
Steve
I don't think Bill was advocating discontinuing service, I think he was advocating moving the central bus depot to a better location
Move it to Portland St. The block is almost empty with the exodus of Bancroft Chrysler. Make Portland one way....like some of the people who used to cruise that area....or maybe even better move it to the old bus terminal on Madison St.
On another note, I read police paygate now has the Feds in on it. The deeper they dig, the more they find? This thing could have tentacles that reach deep into the past and deep into the personnel.
I wonder if any of the guilty who have retired will have their pensions yanked. This s/b a good chance for us to see how much of a law & order guy Joe Early is.
got on Jordan Levy's show pretty easy today..mentioned how just months ago his commentary on how he would not patronize the Dunkin Donuts downown because of the bums he encountered entering....he was all ovah the article today..he made repeated yelps about how he was tired of hearing the locals complain and I repeatedly stated that most of the comments in the story were from out of towners and that the perception of downtown is a shared perception and a perception that is killing this city, it was also a cpmmentary that he himself was making only monhs ago..he repeatedly made comments about all that is downtown but he never made a name connection-I don't think he knows other than the obvious ones like Hanover Theatre & DCU Center .....he responded back to me on restating his commentary in true backpedal fashion!
Bottom line is that the story accurately states folks feeling's about huge swaths of the city...and we can bullsheet each other as much as we want..as we bullsheet, good folks are leaving shaking their heads and the Pajama Parade get's biggah and biggah
As a downtown resident I regularly patronise the few establishments remaining down here. I used to regularly visit the common too. The city ended that when I received a warning for walking my dog there. The Canal District is comfortable walking distance but walking is a nightmare: wide roads with narrow sidewalks, few streets with parallel parking resulting in cars traveling very fast very close to pedestrians, and lots of nothing (car parks, abandoned mall) to pass on the way there. The concerns about homeless downtown are ridiculous, there are so few of them and they are harmless. The problem is the thugs. I almost engaged one in a fist fight adjacent to the City Hall at 6:20am one morning on my way to the train when he blocked my path and demanded money. Most of the loiterers just take up space and use valuable oxygen but there are enough thugs to be a problem - no more than I encounter in Boston but their effect is diluted by the sheer number of non-thugs in Boston. I make sure to send suggestions and ideas to the city on a monthly basis. I have had no response from my worthless city councillor Barbara Haller to my ideas that I have sent her and the city manager's office is more interested in making sure I don't come back to the common. As for the thugs, I have noticed that they thin out during the colder winter months so if we could make winter a year-round event we should solve that problem. Unfortunately I don't have any ideas how to get rid of the useless city administration and our idiot councillors.
Anyone heard the radio spot that is being run by city empoyees (or unions) that is taking Haller to task re health insurance and telling how wonderful it is that city employees keep our toilets running and our streeet cleared, etc, etc etc, ( no mention about sidewalks ,BTW)
Why they aiming at Haller? She must be in charge of subcommittee or something?
BTW, where do DPW city empoyeees (for example) get off bragging just for doing their jobs? Who do they think they are? Firefighters? This notion of being a city worker and so called public servant a freakin' joke. It's a job, you'er paid for it, get over it, & please stiffle yourself.
Where's my "public service radio spot" for getting out of bed every morning and hitting a time clock?
Dave Z. & Anon..you are correct it is what we do not see that is exacerbating the issue of thugs, homeless and the pajama parade..
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