Random thoughts for a random Tuesday.

0
188

1. Why do we judge government and private action by such different standards? The private market let the Baptist Tabernacle languish for decades but, when the city bought it, some said they’d better hurry up and do something with it, lest the purchase be viewed as proof that private interests would’ve handled the property better.

Have these folks been exposed to a different history than I have? Or, by “hurry up” do they mean within the next 25 years or so? And, if there is sudden, significant interest, couldn’t the city just sell it?

2. Why don’t we just go ahead and provide free wireless Internet access downtown? Have we even examined how much it would cost? We have at least three networking companies downtown. Surely they can help earn their enterprise zone tax breaks.

3. Where are we supposed to sit downtown? I don’t think I’ve ever been in a successful city center anywhere that didn’t have ample seating.

4. How much is a small surface parking lot worth downtown? They’re unquestionably one of the most unattractive, inefficient uses of urban space. If we’re going to use public money to buy property, lets start buying them up. They’re cheaper, as is planting grass and trees rather than rehabbing buildings. We’d have places to sit and connect with each other and the Internet, and buildings right next to parks are more attractive. They could also function as market and event space.

5. What’s wrong with the industrial zone just east of Vincennes in the general vicinity of Main and Market? Isn’t there a bunch of empty and/or underutilized property there? Who wouldn’t want their high tech campus to overlook the river? Couldn’t people walk or ride bikes to jobs there using preexisting infrastructure, including folks from Clarksville and Jeffersonville when the Greenway is complete and from across the river when the K&I bridge is opened back up?

6. Is it fair to ask new investors to spend $300-500K to purchase and do full building rehabs when long-time building and business owners- some of whom have probably paid off their buildings or have some serious equity to work with- aren’t even expected to open their windows and paint every once in a while?

LEAVE A REPLY