Op-Ed: Common Sense 101

Getting elected to the City Council requires a little over 1,000 votes in most cases. If two constituents make a suggestion, it doesn’t mean that action is required to appease them. Especially when the city has a disastrous school system, a fiscal mess, a housing crisis, and a list that goes on and on.

It might behoove our city elected officials to read Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy. The book is about his admiration of the courage shown by elected leaders in the face of adverse factions like their electorates, popular opinion, and political action committees that pull these elected officials in different directions, but are still able to make the right decisions.

More bad decisions in this city have been made by a small lobby of people, often not even voters, making a lot of noise. Think bike paths. Not all of them, just the ones that defy safety and common sense and actually create more pollution and traffic along the way.

Spring is here and motorcycles (many with straight pipes, which are illegal), are racing around the city at all hours of the day and throughout the night. This is a citywide issue, and the police seem to have their hands tied by politicians or are short on manpower to address it. Do we have to have a major incident or accident where certain council people will magically appear, decrying the situation while getting their photo opportunity?

Speaking of the police having their hands tied, the strike at Butler Hospital has drawn hundreds of picketers, slowing traffic and making a lot of noise. It began under the watchful eyes of a large police detail who seemed reticent about offending any of the protesters who parked on the grass in the median of Blackstone Boulevard and in the left travel lane. Credit to the police chief for recognizing that the grass was being ruined and the situation was not safe for travel, who immediately ordered all cars removed.

The uproar on Wickenden Street by the merchants who are almost 100 percent locally owned over the 70-unit building that is proposed for Brook and Wickenden, with no parking spaces. It’s already tough to drive on Wickenden because it’s become the main path to 195 West and from 195 East to the city. The city planning department envisions that very few of the residents will have cars; with the exception of the planning department, no one really believes this. We need to support small business, not make it more difficult. With the newest building on the 195 land at South Main and Point Street, gridlock will be a very serious issue.

And while we’re in Fox Point, there was street sweeping recently and with all of the on-street overnight parking, it was a large waste of money.  Most cities have alternative side parking to alleviate this issue. However, there was a Good Samaritan story that came from it, as a guy driving home from Tallulah’s Taqueria observed a woman with a broom sweeping the street in front of her house. He stopped, and she explained that cars were parked in front and the streetsweeper had gone around and that she was embarrassed. He took the broom from her and swept the street.

And, while we’re on a roll, the state allocated $35 million to relocate the buses from Kennedy Plaza. Eighteen million dollars has been spent on consultants and there is still no plan that makes sense. RIPTA is in the red, and ridership is down. The majority of the riders who come to Kennedy Plaza are headed to schools, the courts, and the hospital district. So why are they now focused on a location that is the farthest from all three?

Finally, only three flags should be flown or displayed in Providence City Hall. The United States flag, the State of Rhode Island flag, and the City of Providence flag. It is a building that houses the government of our city. It is the residents of the city’s house. Period. And, the people who work there have a hell of a lot more important problems every day in the city to deal with that aren’t getting dealt with.

It’s time for elected officials to focus on the city’s structural and quality of life issues.

Op-eds express the authors’ opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of Hey Rhody Media Co. Readers are welcome to send responses or letters to the editor to be considered for print publication in a future issue or posted online. Letters can be emailed to Ken@heyrhody.com.