Off topic thread

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  • Just went by these new turbines today. I'm actually a big fan of them. I love driving by them and just seeing them stretch out for miles. Not as crazy about solar in Michigan. I feel like wind power has good potential for Michigan though. I hope that these will start to actually get to a point where they aren't subsidized any more.

  • In a sculptural sense, they are graceful if not gigantic, and I understand and applaud the reason they are there. I am hoping they do not go further north then Clare, where the landscape changes to "Up North".

  • I recently saw a report from South Florida that sea level rise is starting to affect the expensive homes and their values, on the local waterways and canals. The report said that some are having a difficult time selling their homes and have had to lower the price to below what they paid. Meanwhile, homes on higher ground inland are seeing their values go up. and new high-end developments are being built west of I-95! What I am thinking is that many people like me will want to move away from the ocean. I lived out in the middle of the ocean for a very long time, it's nice but got very stressful when my house was threatened by nature about every four months. It is my hometown but Lansing is also a place that less susceptible to climate change, one of many reasons I moved here. We have water we have far fewer days of excessive heat and only short and infrequent droughts. Perhaps this will be an area that will see an increase in populations and development when people figure out it is a safer place to live than on the ocean or in the desert.

  • I am wondering how most folks feel about the electric rental scooters that have invaded many corners of the city. It looks like fun, but I don't think I will be hopping on one any time soon. I have this both sides feeling, one side they are fun and useful for young people. But on the other side, there are not any other businesses that get to place their product on every corner downtown, the scooters end up spread out everywhere and all fall over onto the sidewalks during windy weather. I can not see them being used very often during the winter. It is not a big deal but it does seem a bit unfair and they look bad spread out everywhere. But! don't let me stop anybody's fun!

  • edited November 2018

    I rode one in Detroit and thought they were fun and were a quick way to get around downtown. They make the "last mile" a lot easier, for someone who is getting off a bus or other transit and wants to get to their destination quicker. It was nice to go from one place to another and made it fun, and was also pretty reasonably priced. I think they're fine, but I agree that they won't be too useful in the winter. I expect they will have a plan for the winter, possibly bringing them inside so they don't get destroyed by snow plows.

  • The city just wrote up two whole ordinances covering this that will get their public hearing tomorrow. One deals with impoundment of improperly parked scooters and one deals with riding them on the sidewalks in the central business district.

    https://lansingmi.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11052018-2367

    I'm in full support of them; I simply don't believe the preceived negatives outweigh the positives. So long as they are regulated - which the city is doing - I don't see any problem with them. So far, there haven't been any major problems. In fact, Detroit is even expanding them into the neighborhoods given how many people don't own cars or have reliable cars.

  • I personally have found them a nuisance in other city's that have had them in a while. More so because cities do require them to use the street in the CBD which can cause a hold up in cities with narrower streets - not exactly an issue in Lansing. My other complaint, and perhaps judgmental, but often the people I see using these are people who could stand to walk a little more. I say that as someone who is working on it myself. However, @Jared, I can see how it also helps with convenience. People don't always have the time to walk it nor is it convenient to always take a bike with you.

    Overall, I'm personally on the fence, though I do see them as an eyesore showing up even on the outskirts of town. Safety is also a concern, although it's part of the companies guidelines, I can definitely say I've seen my fair share of users not obeying the user rules. I'm sure as time goes on this, and local regulations, will help to control this. I think right now there are way too many littering the streets but who knows, maybe that will change. I wish they could also just limit their use to downtown and surrounding areas.

  • All good points, thank you I'm "liking" them a bit more, they may have been packing them up for winter already. I don't see them on the corner on REOtown today.

  • I love them. They provide an option for people that want to park outside the core and ride in without paying for parking, they're an option for routes too long to walk but not as bus-convenient, and in my case I use them if I want to travel within downtown but don't want to get my car out of a lot.

  • I can see how they are a good way to get around town. I do not have a smartphone [just a dumb one!] so, I have noticed one thing I like about them, people have to hold on with both hands so they can not use their phones will driving!

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