Crime
A windshield perspective on vehicle theft
Imagine, if you will, public reaction to a law enforcement press release like this: Police are encouraging car owners to lock their cars inside their garages. A secure car is OUT OF SIGHT!!! The Downtown Pct. is experiencing a rash of car thefts. On average 5 cars a week are stolen. In the past you … Continue reading
The wrong kind of walkability?
Lesley Conn’s Dec. 7 Savannah Morning News story, “Package store request galvanizes Victorian District neighbors,” contains an interesting passage. Nearby residents, she writes, are worried the liquor store will create “more pedestrian traffic on an already well-trod corridor.” What could happen if there are too many pedestrians? Would the sidewalks crumble? Too late! They already … Continue reading
When is it socially acceptable to threaten the lives of innocent people? When they are riding bicycles
Savannah has a well-deserved national reputation for being mannerly, a distinction local convention and tourism officials have used in marketing the Hostess City of the South. But it’s important to remember that not everyone in charming old Savannah is courteous, as a glimpse at the reader-supplied content on the Savannah Morning News’ Web site will … Continue reading
Making bikes work by taking them there
It happens every now and then. I’ll be riding my bike to work and I’ll pass another person, dressed business attire, getting into his or her car. Later, as I’m nearing my office, I’ll see the same person exiting the car or cruising in search of a parking spot. It makes me wonder how many … Continue reading
Calling crashes “accidents,” even when they aren’t
“Accidents Will Happen” is the first song off Elvis Costello’s 1979 LP “Armed Forces.” It’s also the attitude many journalists and law enforcement officers seem to take in regard to car vs. pedestrian or car vs. cyclist crashes. I first heard an objection to the word “accident” in describing these types of incidents several years … Continue reading
“Soured economy” offers another reason to rethink one-way streets
The front page of the Exchange section in today’s Savannah Morning News offered a grim assessment of the local economy, which probably won’t surprise many people. The headline: “A soured economy comes home to roost in 2008.” While the nation’s largest industries and colossal financial institutions are angling for government assistance, Mary Carr Mayle and … Continue reading
Time for Savannah to chicken out?
A story from today’s Christian Science Monitor, “Whole lotta clucking going on in cities” suggests that more Americans raising chickens in their backyards. Keeping chickens is part of a larger urban homesteading movement and is popular with folks who like to “eat local” or who are concerned about factory farm conditions, according to the article. … Continue reading
WWJJD?
I’ve been thinking a lot about crime in the last couple weeks and violent crime in particular. There’s a definite relationship between sustainability and crime, with the former often being offered as a way to reduce the latter. Walking and bicycling, for example, are both sustainable modes of transportation that can have a positive effect … Continue reading
