Category Archives: Public Services – General

Public Services - General, Transportation

Tribune Poll: Suburbia puts public transit ahead of road expansion

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Here’s a positive sign that the tide is shifting in America toward more sustainable methods of transit. From the Chicago Tribune:

Reflecting the increasing strain of gridlocked traffic, a majority of Chicago-area residents think improving bus and train service is so important to the region that repairing and expanding expressways and toll roads should take a back seat, a Tribune/WGN poll shows.

Most suburbanites support investing more in mass transit than roads, sharing the long-held stance of a large majority of city residents, the poll found. Suburban residents also said they are driving less and taking more advantage of expanded suburban train and bus service in communities where the automobile has been king.

Drivers who said they would back spending more on mass transit cited the growing stress associated with congestion; high gasoline prices; and, to a lesser degree, the environmental and financial benefits of riding transit instead of inhaling belching emissions from cars.

City of Peoria, Public Services - General

HOI spotlights accessibility deficiencies

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HOI News (WHOI, channel 19) has been looking at how well the City of Peoria meets handicap accessibility standards — specifically for those in wheelchairs. Reporter Jessica Wheeler actually tried getting around town in a wheelchair, and she found out it’s not easy.

They’ve aired a couple of reports called “Wheelchair Challenge” — you can see/read them here and here. I found this information compelling:

There are 7,642 corners in the city, of those- just 387 have the new A.D.A. ramps that became standard in 2004.

2,603 have the old A.D.A. style ramps.

1,143 of the corners have no ramps at all.

1,801 have ramps that don’t meet A.D.A. Standards.

While the other 1,708 have no sidewalks at all.

That means just 5% of the city’s corners meet the new A.D.A. standards.

Something the new Peoria Public Works Director says will be addressed.

I have to admit, I never realized the city’s ADA accessibility for sidewalks was as deficient as it is. In all the talk about putting in sidewalks for able-bodied high schoolers so they (presumably) won’t walk in the middle of the street, it’s amazing that this kind of inaccessibility for the disabled among us hasn’t been given a higher profile during the budget process.

Kudos to HOI for raising awareness of this need.

Public Services - General, Radio

Pledge now… you filthy freeloader!

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Money BagsWCBU is in their pledge drive this week (you can pledge on-line). Generally speaking, I hate pledge drives. Still, even with all the interruptions, I still think there is less time spent asking for money during a pledge drive than commercial stations spend in ad time every day, so I’m not complaining.

I do have one complaint about the method used to raise money, and that is when they stop simply asking for money and start acting like you’re obligated to give; that you somehow owe them money because they’ve chosen to provide their content for free over the airwaves. To me, this makes them sound like a “squeegee guy” — the guy who approaches cars stopped in traffic and cleans their windows without asking, then demands payment.

I guess I’m not sure what the guilt-trip tactic accomplishes. One could just as easily assuage one’s guilt by not listening to their station anymore, and what good would that do? Their costs of delivery stay the same whether people listen or not. You can draw more flies with honey than vinegar, so why not stay positive?

Nevertheless, I think it’s a good cause because they do provide good content. I’m not a big classical music fan, but I do appreciate their stellar local news coverage. So, I’m pledging this year.

And besides, this gives me an idea: Maybe I’ll conduct my own pledge drive here and try to raise some money to cover my time and expenses. Hey, I think I may be onto something…. No ads, just annual pledge drives and underwriters…. Hmmm, this could work for the Chronicle…. Thanks, WCBU!

Public Services - General, Social Justice

Should government get out of the education business?

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Here’s an article sure to get you thinking. It’s called “Enterprising Education: Doing Away with the Public School System” (PDF file), by Andrew Young and Walter Block. Here’s their summary of their argument:

We critically examine the accepted notion that primary education is a legitimate and necessary function of the state. The notion is based upon three tenets: 1) public education is a necessary condition for democracy, 2) the market will not provide equal access and quality of education to all, and 3) education represents an external economy. Each tenet is addressed and evaluated according to its merits. In doing so, we also contrast the fulfillment of the ends implicit in the tenets under state and market provisions. We conclude that the state provision of primary education cannot be justified by these goals, and that market provision is a preferable alternative.

That’s right. They argue that government should get completely out of the schooling business. They don’t consider half-measures like District 150’s contract with Edison Schools a truly free-market solution. In their opinion, all government involvement in education should be completely eliminated and free market allowed to reign supreme.

Shocking? Brilliant? Absurd? I would encourage you to read the whole article before passing judgment on it. I will say that I think they make some excellent points, even if I don’t agree with their ultimate conclusion. But before positing details of my own opinion, I’d like to hear what my readers think of Young & Block’s article.

I love articles like this that challenge fundamental assumptions. Be honest; have you ever heard anyone seriously argue against public education? I hadn’t. I think that going back to square one, so to speak, can help us clarify our thinking about public education and maybe even lead to some novel solutions to its challenges.