Park Bridge Demo: Nothing’s No Better
Mayor Hancock:
Attached is a photo taken from
McWilliams Park in south Denver. Some six weeks ago, the bridge was removed,
thankfully, after years of neglect, but in its place we have ... nothing!
Park neighbors
are obligated to cross the waterway at Harvard Gulch at their own risk. Not
only is this a needless safety hazard for young children and the elderly, but it is hardly in compliance with ADA directives. In
addition to a missing
bridge, it should be pointed out that the Harvard Gulch waterway
has now deteriorated to a pitiful state of being a weed- choked,
mosquito-infested mud hole. The same can be said of nearby DeBoer
Park.
Year
in and year out, the citizens of Denver are subjected to the tedious whine
about revenue shortfalls, about fiscal challenges, about budgetary constraints,
blah, blah, blah. Ever-present are the municipal
professionals with beggar bowl in hand seeking ever more bond monies, ever more
tax and fee initiatives ...
But
is there ever a spoken word about a return on taxpayer investment? About increasing stakeholder value?
Our
greatest enemy, it seems, is not corruption or crime. It is the bureaucratic
apparatus that exalts and rewards its own haplessness.
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Pearl Street Biz Has Its Underbelly
Dear Editor:
Being a neighbor who lives in
Platt Park (11 years), it has been interesting to witness the
up-and-down
growth of our
neighborhood. Something that goes unnoticed is the unconditional
growth of Pearl Street and how the elected officials justify the
business
growth at the expense of the lifestyle of the people who live here. Last
weekend, with the Rock and Roll festival in full swing (serving drinks
from
noon-10p.m.) – we witnessed two adults leaving the activities using our
front lawn as a toilet – one was peeing (woman) and the other was not!
(drunken man) – the man fell on his own sh*t ... and damaged bushes and
flowers in my front yard.
Another
subject is the use of the parking lot at Grant Middle School as a place for
employees to park so that the new businesses will have parking for more
customers. Of course this sounds like a great idea until, at midnight or later
the employees are talking about their evenings, enjoying an after-hour smoke,
starting up cars and motorcycles AND disturbing the neighbors’ sleep. The
problem is not the parking – it is our elected officials agreeing to
allow too many restaurants on Pearl Street because of the income from taxes
– and helping the developers and owners of these businesses who don’t
live in the neighborhood.
Not
sure how the process works or whether the people who live in the neighborhood
are being justly represented with our needs in mind. I have called (City
Councilman) Chris Nevitt with my concerns, but he
only has a few days a month where he is prepared to discuss these issues in his
office. The local business organization offered to pay for clean-up of my yard ($100) and actually advised me to
call my city councilman.
It
is my belief that there is nothing that I can do about this unconditional
growth – for money, without any regard for my lifestyle in my
neighborhood – thought you should know!
Randy Condit
Objects To Walmart At 9th & Colorado
Councilwoman Robb & Councilwoman
Susman:
I am writing to you in response to
the recent article regarding the proposed addition of a Walmart
as an anchor retailer at the old medical center location on Colorado Blvd. I
want to express my concern about the proposal and about the differences in your
response to it. I appreciate Councilwoman Susman’s
insight into the public financing issue and the fact that the Denver City
Council would play a role in approving that, even if the Council does not play
a role in the building/zoning as Councilwoman Robb points out has already been
approved.
I hope that you will each take very
seriously the fact that so many of us in and near the neighborhood
object to a Walmart. Whether the objections are motivated by social
concerns, politics or aesthetics, as our representatives on the Council
we rely
on you to represent what is in the best interests of our community and
citizens. Walmart has consistently proven to be a
poor community member; pushing out smaller local businesses; increasing
crime
and vagrancy; depressing property values; and providing primarily
low-wage jobs
without benefits.
While I am eager to see the space in use,
generating tax revenue, freeing the University from the financial burden
of
maintaining it and creating a more vibrant environment than currently
exists, Walmart will provide only economic relief to the medical
center with no other clear benefits. Please stand firm and represent the
overwhelming objection to this proposal by your constituents with at
least as
much conviction as any one specific financial interest that may be
weighing on
you.
Thank you,
Josh Weiss & Margaret
Jungmann
|
