I am not a regular columnist for them. I actually passed the letter I wrote to the Lansing City Council along to one of their editors with a "would y'all like an article about this?" They were quite eager for one, voila.
I largely agree with your letter, nice to see it get published somewhere. And you're welcome to keep beating that horse as far as I'm concerned. I live downtown, use the trail multiple times per week (weather-permitting) and am a board member for FLRT; so the trails matter to me. The city matters to me. It's future is not bright if this sort of stuff becomes the new norm.
I share your concern about the homeless issue but I'm not very vocal about because it seems in vain with this current city administration and political climate. There's a loud group of politically active people who will not accept any measures that limit the activities of the homeless at all, and they're being listened to consistently. The same folks are why we never had a chance at saving Eastern.
Keeping parks clean and encampments off the trail is pretty standard stuff, if it's not getting done it's either intentional or gross incompetence. I lean towards the former.
I would like to see the greater Lansing governments get together and to solve this problem. I don't like the thought of people needing to camp out but I believe if the community would create a camp with good tents and a place for those folks to gather get food and medical help, and transitioning them to real housing, education and employment most people would go there. The folks who take over downtown EL are small in number, but they do chill the atmosphere where less people use the plaza. I know they may have a right to be there, maybe if they had somewhere else "to be" most of them would choose to be there rather than downtown EL or on the trails.
Today I noticed that the new trees have been planted along E. Michigan Ave! They look fairly mature so may survive the tree vandals. There is also a variety of different kinds of trees. Looks OK, a few of the old trees are still there and look so nice in comparison. There were also more trees planted in the traffic island on the east end, the more tree the better! The street looks good, and this may help get the vacant and rundown properties improved, sold or leased. It worked on Clemens, almost every house on that street is occupied and being well taken care of.
Regarding the homeless issue, I see it as being largely a problem with people who refuse help that's offered and refuse to play by the rules that rest of us do. I'm not for outright forcing people to get help, I am for making it hard on them when they make it hard on others, such as the kind of policies that some people call "anti-homeless". If you give them a "camp" you'll end up with trash-strewn, crime-infested wasteland who's problem will inevitably spread beyond its boundaries. At the end of the day, these people take over popular public spaces and causes problems because they can.
Regarding Michigan Ave, despite the streetscaping not being as nice as I'd hoped and the bike lane being a dangerous joke, it's going to be fantastic to see done. It's been way too long coming. I share the belief that it will significantly improve investment and development prospects.
OK, have to tell you one more story. My wife's bicycle having been stolen, she is now riding my old e-bike. She left it locked up to the bike racks at her work in downtown Lansing overnight (I told her this was a bad idea). It wasn't stolen... but someone tried, they have security footage of a guy there from 11:00 PM to 2:00 AM trying to yank their bike rack out of the ground. He failed, obviously. Three hours of effort. Remarkable.
My idea about the camp would be a place where people would have to follow rules and regulations in order to camp there. It is true that there are people who will not except any help offered, or any rules, I think that most of those people may be mentally ill or addicted to drugs and are not in the right mind to except help. However, I believe that the majority of homeless people are just that and could live in a place that required that they follow the rules. I like the idea of a mini house community, give people jobs taking care of the camp, classes in how to keep house and function in society. Criminals and mentally ill folks would have seek shelter elsewhere. As for the "I don't want any help" people who populate the parks and downtown EL, I guess enforcing rules for loitering, public drinking, and intoxication, sleeping in public areas, even littering, would give people the idea that this is not an anything goes area. Perhaps there could be some sort of curfew for downtown areas.
I don't know what the answers are but if I had faith in our authorities enforcing rules for loitering, public drinking, littering, or even reliably keeping violent repeat offenders locked up... I'd feel a lot more comfortable with experimental efforts to help these populations. I'd be more comfortable seeing taxpayer money spent on such efforts if the parks, schools, roads and community centers were in tip-top shape.
The biggest thing I keep coming back to regarding the homeless, is why do they seem to have more freedoms, fewer rules and fewer answers to give than those of us paying taxes to the city. I used to have more empathy for the homeless, but seeing the way they behave, treat our city and often refuse help, has really driven me past having any sort of care.
I would like to enjoy what our city is trying to offer it's residents, and I pay for it. Why do I have to deal with these problems in parks and on the river trail?
I know this is not an opinion you can say in public right now but felt the need to share it here, as it sounds like I'm not alone.
I there to be help for those who want it, however, we also can't just offer unlimited help. I saw an article saying shelter stays are up to something like 280 days?! That blows my mind.
Ditto Lymon. Why bother having rules like "it's illegal to stay overnight in a city park" or "it's illegal to litter" or "it's illegal to steal" (for often these camps have shopping carts, at least, that are clearly stolen) if, so long as you break the rule in a particularly blatant manner, no law enforcement will bother you about it? Makes no sense whatsoever. I don't want this of course, but you might say, if we're being honest, may as well just go ahead and delete those laws. Apparently we don't actually care.
Comments
I am not a regular columnist for them. I actually passed the letter I wrote to the Lansing City Council along to one of their editors with a "would y'all like an article about this?" They were quite eager for one, voila.
I share your concern about the homeless issue but I'm not very vocal about because it seems in vain with this current city administration and political climate. There's a loud group of politically active people who will not accept any measures that limit the activities of the homeless at all, and they're being listened to consistently. The same folks are why we never had a chance at saving Eastern.
Keeping parks clean and encampments off the trail is pretty standard stuff, if it's not getting done it's either intentional or gross incompetence. I lean towards the former.
Regarding Michigan Ave, despite the streetscaping not being as nice as I'd hoped and the bike lane being a dangerous joke, it's going to be fantastic to see done. It's been way too long coming. I share the belief that it will significantly improve investment and development prospects.
I would like to enjoy what our city is trying to offer it's residents, and I pay for it. Why do I have to deal with these problems in parks and on the river trail?
I know this is not an opinion you can say in public right now but felt the need to share it here, as it sounds like I'm not alone.
I there to be help for those who want it, however, we also can't just offer unlimited help. I saw an article saying shelter stays are up to something like 280 days?! That blows my mind.