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Have you driven downtown yet and seen the absolute train wreck FIASCO they’ve made of Grand Avenue?? Updated flower beds with gorgeous flowers and plants? Gross. More parking spaces on Grand? Disgusting. Taking away a whole dang lane?! That’s where I draw the line. I understand that people with engineering degrees and decades of experience in traffic engineering probably put months, maybe years, into this change and likely took into consideration things like reduced collisions, traffic calming, improved pedestrian safety and more, but I don’t care, it just doesn’t feel like downtown unless you’re scared you’re going to knock off your side mirror on a parked truck sticking halfway into your lane. You might be thinking to yourself, “But Rachel, do these changes affect your life in any way, shape or form?” And the answer is no, but that is neither here nor there, let’s stay on topic. I know this lane removal thing was done on South Avenue like a decade ago and everything turned out to be fine and didn’t interfere with my life in any aspect, but how will “they” know I’m mad at “them” about this if I don’t gripe about it on a Community Watch page? (I don’t know who “they” are; I’m guessing some mythical imaginary people in the Facebook universe who listen to all our gripes and try to make all of our Community Watch dreams and wish lists come true. Speaking of, how will we get a Golden Corral to come to town, especially if we just keep taking lanes away, all willy nilly?) Let’s get back to Grand Avenue—I know that the weeds in my flower beds are taller than my 5-year-old child; I’ve never planted a single thing in my entire life; and I can’t even keep a plastic houseplant alive, but I have very strong opinions about the flowers they’re putting in the new beds, which is again, something that affects my life greatly. The additional parking? I know a few months ago we were griping about needing more parking on Grand but, friends, I think pivoting to griping about the additional parking they added was a good move; let’s keep that up. Anyways, I’m so worked up over all of this, I’m thinking of organizing a rally. We can all meet on Grand Avenue (since there will be enough parking now), we can visit a few stores, support some small businesses, enjoy the cool new strung lights, bask in the knowledge that we live in a city that recognizes the importance of a vibrant downtown district, and then stop and smell the flowers when we’re done. Meet ya there!
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