Whitcomb: Lost Opportunity; Too-Wide Streets; Getting Physical; Newport at Season’s Height
Sunday, August 08, 2021
Silence again. The glorious symphony
Hath need of pause and interval of peace.
Some subtle signal bids all sweet sounds cease,
Save hum of insects' aimless industry.
Pathetic summer seeks by blazonry
Of color to conceal her swift decrease.
Weak subterfuge! Each mocking day doth fleece
A blossom, and lay bare her poverty.
Poor middle-aged summer! Vain this show!
Whole fields of Golden-Rod cannot offset.
-- “August,’’ by Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885)
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“I hate to seem greedy – I have so much
to be thankful for already.
But I want to get up early one more morning, at least.
And go to my place with some coffee and wait.
Just wait, to see what’s going to happen.’’
-- From “At Least,’’ by Raymond Carver (1938-1988), American short-story writer and poet
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“Even though counting heads is not an ideal way to govern, at least it is better than breaking them.’’
-- Federal Judge Learned Hand (1872-1961)
I understand the politics behind the new Providence teachers contract, which includes only minor changes to promote better teaching in the poorly functioning district. The pact’s details were kept secret from the public before the teachers overwhelmingly voted for what many would see as a sweetheart deal. Rhode Island Gov. McKee, looking ahead to next year’s election, wanted calm, especially after the severe disruptions to school operations of the past year and a half because of COVID-19.
But the agreement means that reforms needed to make the schools measurably better will have to wait until the new, three-year contract expires. Mr. McKee and his predecessor, Gina Raimondo, wanted to avoid a legal tussle with the union, though I think that the issues are important enough to have been worth that risk. The whole thing reminds me of why I don’t like public-employee unions – among other reasons because of too many conflicts of interest with politicians. Civil service protections, yes, unions no.
The contract will probably lead to more pressure to create and expand charter schools to get around some of the stultifying effects of this and previous contracts and encourage more innovation. And more parents will see if they can afford to send their kids to private schools in the Providence area.
Still, the biggest challenge facing Providence schools is the high level of poverty and the vast number of single-parent and/or dysfunctional families in this and other cities, which sorely undermine attempts to educate young people. Social chaos keeps bubbling up.
Narrow the Streets
There’s been an increase in the number of U.S. pedestrians struck and killed by cars running into them in the last few years, with a 21 percent increase from 2019 to 2020, to 6,721, and many more people were injured. The pandemic partly explains this – less traffic encouraged more speeding -- and being hit by those proliferating high-profile, heavy SUVs is more dangerous than being struck by smaller cars.
But that reminds me that too many of our roads are too wide – encouraging speeding. Narrower streets are generally safer, among other reasons because they slow down drivers and are easier for pedestrians to cross. Of course, you need space along the roads for parking. You’d need less if there were fewer cars and more public transit.
And, of course, the mania for superwide streets in our car-based culture reduces the land available for housing (which jacks up its price), greenery and bike paths, and, by maximizing heat-absorbing and emitting pavement, raises air temperatures in urban “heat islands,’’ even as global warming intensifies. Using reflective surfaces on streets and parking lots in paved-over America would help reduce the heat. Among alternatives to blacktop are such reflective materials as concrete or lighter-colored aggregates or binders.
Residential Streets, a street-design guide jointly published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) summarizes: “The right-of-way width should be only as wide as necessary for the street pavement and other facilities and uses, including sidewalks, drainage, street trees, snow storage, and grading. Blanket requirements for right-of-way of 50 feet or more, often mandated by ordinances, are seldom justified for subcollectors and access streets... Residential street designers should select the minimum width that will reasonably satisfy all realistic needs, thereby minimizing construction and annual maintenance costs, while at the same time maximizing the livability of the community.”
Please hit these links for more information:
This reminds me of Lewis Mumford’s line in 1963: “Increasing road width to reduce congestion is the same as loosening your belt to fight obesity.’’
Mumford was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. He was particularly noted for his study of cities.
Vote Grabbers
A Providence mayoral candidate could get a lot of votes with credible promises for the city to crack down hard on ATV and dirt-bike users. They must be made very scared to ride in the city. The State of Rhode Island, through the State Police and new laws, must also bring much more force to bear against these potentially lethal and out-of-control offenders. Arrest, immediate jail, conviction, and a memorable stay in the ACI.
And a candidate could also gain more than a few votes by supporting a ban on gasoline-fueled, shrieking, and polluting leaf blowers. It used to be that these infernal devices were mostly confined to blowing fallen leaves into piles to be trucked away in mid and late autumn. Now they’re used year-round to (often pointlessly) blast dust and other debris around, turning the surrounding neighborhoods into dead zones while they work.
Affluent property owners employ yard crews of hard-working undocumented aliens (too few of whom are wearing ear protection) to wield these things; I’ve noticed that many of the owners often arrange to be away at their summer or weekend houses when the crews show up.
Getting Physical 1
The current big federal infrastructure bill, as does virtually any legislation, especially one like this put together in such a narrowly divided Congress, has plenty of flaws. For instance, it doesn’t provide nearly enough money for public transit even as an aging population and environmental crises demand more resources for trains and buses. And the GOP/QAnon, following the strict commands of its fascistic big donors, has blocked reasonable efforts to help pay for the program, even sabotaging efforts to make it easier for the IRS to collect money that the government is already owed.
The measure may survive Republican attempts to kill it (to deprive Biden of a politically popular victory) and extortion by quasi-Democrats Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, (which as part of the bargaining would get goodies far in excess of its fair share based on population size) and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, both of whom are wallowing in their current power. If it does, it would raise most Americans’ morale at the sight of Congress actually doing something.
America needs to focus more on investment and less on consumption if it is to prosper in the next decade.
Getting Physical 2
By the time that you read this, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as stubborn and arrogant as he is, may have bailed in the wake of the report citing him for serial sexual harassment. He should have resigned immediately to save state government the disruption, time, and expense of impeaching him. Cuomo had many talents as a strong and articulate leader but he has also shown himself as dishonorable and even dangerous.
Meanwhile, it’s interesting that, as almost always happens when political sex scandals bubble up, leading Democrats have demanded the ouster of this fellow big-shot Democrat. Republican officeholders generally stay mum in cases involving big shots in the GOP/QAnon implicated in sex scandals. Paging Donald Trump, Matt Gaetz, Roy Moore, Jim Jordan, etc., etc.
In the Arena
A very pleasant young woman called Hillary Levey Friedman knocked on our door last Sunday as part of her walk on which she asked voters what they see as the big Providence issues. She’s considering running for a political office.
I don’t yet know her positions on various issues but I want to praise her and others of whatever political party for getting out there in the arena. It can take considerable courage to knock on doors, especially during these oft-angry days, as an expression of concern for society and, yes, ambition. Most people just whine about issues and politics; those who seek to put themselves in the hot seat of elected office to try to make things better deserve our respect and thanks. Most of what they do is thankless work.
Newport in August
That the Preservation Society of Newport County runs restaurants at its Breakers Welcome Center and the Chinese Tea House at Marble House and has made some other changes to sex up tourism at the city’s famous mansions continues to rankle some Newporters, who noted that it’s the Preservation Society, not the development society.
I was down in Newport last Monday, a lovely day, and it was hopping with people on tours and some just wandering around looking dazed. Compared to, say, New York City, I saw few people wearing masks.
It’s too bad that Route 114, a main drag through Portsmouth and Middletown heading to Newport, is one of the uglier commercial strips in America and yet so close to beautiful natural and manmade sites. One wonders what sort of dubious zoners’ and politicians’ wheeling-dealing went into allowing such a long and depressing stretch.
Planting many more trees along the way would help camouflage some of its horrors. And maybe as the World Wide Web continues to kill brick-and-mortar stores, some of the lands can be allowed to revert to open space and housing. The road is a real downer for those expecting beauty to and from The City by the Sea.
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Some insurers may raise the premiums for customers who don’t show proof of vaccination for COVID-19 or even cancel their policies. That would be a wise business decision.
Renters and Landlords Need Relief
Those facing housing evictions are getting a reprieve until Oct. 3 under a Biden administration initiative spawned by the spread of COVID-19’s Delta variant. But show sympathy for the landlords, too, many of whom have very small operations. All too many have had to deal with the pain that they haven’t been paid for many months. That drives many of them out of business, which in turn can reduce the housing stock and drive up rental prices.
It would help a lot if all of the $46 billion in rental assistance that Congress approved last December and March were actually spent. Just over $3 billion of it has been distributed by the states, which were tasked by the Feds to hand out the money. The administration needs to oversee this much better.
Happy Cancellation
It’s a good thing that the Obamas downsized to “family and close friends” what was to have been a huge 60th birthday party yesterday, with hundreds of people (including assorted celebs), on their summer estate in toney Edgartown, on Martha’s Vineyard, because of the fear of spreading COVID.
It would have seemed almost a parody of rich, “coastal elitism’’ – stirring up bitter Trumpists in The Heartland -- and would have probably caused gridlock on much of the Vineyard, which already has excess celebrities and too many people who want to see them. In the summer there are too many people, period. The Obamas are mostly rich because of their best-selling books.
Going to Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, or Block Island on an August weekend is daunting and can be very unpleasant – an exercise in claustrophobia and sky-high prices.
Toxic Texas
The Trumpian GOP officials who run Texas with an iron fist have opposed mask mandates and other serious efforts to quell COVID-19. At the same time, they warned that the migrants at the Mexican border pose a grave threat of spreading the disease.
Well, less than 6 percent of illegal migrants at the border are now testing positive for the disease, while the overall rate in the state is 7.4 percent.
This reminds me of the fact that the crime rate among illegal aliens is lower than that of native-born citizens; of course, they have to be more careful….
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Prepare for new COVID variants this fall, to be spread in America, as with Delta, by Trump cultists/suckers. Epsilon, Lambda, Omega…. It’s starting to sound like a bunch of college fraternities.
Reading in Prison
There’s a craving by many convicts to improve, even save themselves, through reading. Look at Books Behind Bars, which provides quality reading material to inmates in Pennsylvania and a few other states. Then there’s the growing program by Lapham’s Quarterly to distribute that gorgeous nonprofit journal of history and ideas to prisons around America.
With so many Americans incarcerated (about 1.8 million at last count), and many of them very poorly educated, these programs are inspiring. By helping to change the lives of convicts they can help the rest of us, too, by raising the chances that more convicts have the intellectual and emotional wherewithal to pursue orderly lives when they get out.
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