The world is long on excuses and short on solutions. Do as I did, move closer to work. You make choices where you live and they shouldn't be dominated by how big the back yard is.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
How parking lots became the scourge of American downtowns
http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/06/how-parking-lots-became-the-scourge-of-american-downtowns/372207/
Friday, November 21, 2014
U2's Bono: serious injuries from bike wreck
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/11/19/bono-injuries-more-serious-than-thought/19301551/
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Wage growth in the U.S. is stuck in the '70s | Marketplace.org
Wage growth in the U.S. is stuck in the '70s | Marketplace.org: Wage growth in the U.S. is stuck in the '70s
Pause
1:06 / 2:44
Pop-Up
Embed
Subscribe
Help
Support Us
Jolie Myers/Marketplace
Jamaad Reed.
by Krissy Clark
Monday, September 1, 2014 - 14:21
STORY
When Jamaad Reed started his job as a cashier at a Wal-Mart near Cincinnati, he made $8.15 an hour. That was two years ago. Since then, he has seen a couple of raises, which have meant his wage has kept up with inflation — but just barely. As of March of this year, Reed was making $9.05 an hour.
“I'm stuck,” he said recently. “You know what I'm saying? I feel like I'm stuck in the same spot.”
"Stuck" is a pretty good word to describe wages for most American workers over the last few decades. Not just in the case of lower-wage workers like Reed, but along most of the income spectrum, except for those at the very, very top.
In fact, most American workers have seen little to no growth since the late 1970s, if you adjust for inflation, according to Elise Gould. She's an economist with the Economic Policy Institute and author of a new study that analyzes wage data from census surveys over the last several decades.
That's not to say that individual workers haven't seen gains. But, says Gould, “as productivity has continued to rise, typical workers’ wages simply have not.”�
That’s a very different economic picture from a half-century ago. In the first few decades after World War II, as the nation's productivity grew, so did wages. So what happened?
“This is one of the questions that people are arguing about right now,” says Linda Barrington, the executive director of the Institute of Compensation Studies at Cornell University.
Barrington says some economists point to a loss of worker bargaining power, meaning workers are less able to claim growing productivity gains in the way they could when labor unions were stronger.
Others blame a shift in business strategy over the years to one that focuses more on shareholder returns, “as opposed to sharing the returns and the gains to all of the employee base,” says Barrington.
Meanwhile, technological advances and globalization have meant there are fewer middle-wage jobs to be had in the U.S. Now, workers who in a previous era might have had relatively well-paying manufacturing or clerical jobs have to settle for lower-paying jobs in the service sector instead.
Even as economists debate the reasons behind American workers’ stagnating wages, one thing is certain. They don’t just affect individual wallets, but the economy as a whole.
As Barrington points out, “Every worker is also a consumer.” And consumers are what drive the modern American economy.
Featured in: Marketplace for Monday September 1, 2014
Pause
1:06 / 2:44
Pop-Up
Embed
Subscribe
Help
Support Us
Jolie Myers/Marketplace
Jamaad Reed.
by Krissy Clark
Monday, September 1, 2014 - 14:21
STORY
When Jamaad Reed started his job as a cashier at a Wal-Mart near Cincinnati, he made $8.15 an hour. That was two years ago. Since then, he has seen a couple of raises, which have meant his wage has kept up with inflation — but just barely. As of March of this year, Reed was making $9.05 an hour.
“I'm stuck,” he said recently. “You know what I'm saying? I feel like I'm stuck in the same spot.”
"Stuck" is a pretty good word to describe wages for most American workers over the last few decades. Not just in the case of lower-wage workers like Reed, but along most of the income spectrum, except for those at the very, very top.
In fact, most American workers have seen little to no growth since the late 1970s, if you adjust for inflation, according to Elise Gould. She's an economist with the Economic Policy Institute and author of a new study that analyzes wage data from census surveys over the last several decades.
That's not to say that individual workers haven't seen gains. But, says Gould, “as productivity has continued to rise, typical workers’ wages simply have not.”�
That’s a very different economic picture from a half-century ago. In the first few decades after World War II, as the nation's productivity grew, so did wages. So what happened?
“This is one of the questions that people are arguing about right now,” says Linda Barrington, the executive director of the Institute of Compensation Studies at Cornell University.
Barrington says some economists point to a loss of worker bargaining power, meaning workers are less able to claim growing productivity gains in the way they could when labor unions were stronger.
Others blame a shift in business strategy over the years to one that focuses more on shareholder returns, “as opposed to sharing the returns and the gains to all of the employee base,” says Barrington.
Meanwhile, technological advances and globalization have meant there are fewer middle-wage jobs to be had in the U.S. Now, workers who in a previous era might have had relatively well-paying manufacturing or clerical jobs have to settle for lower-paying jobs in the service sector instead.
Even as economists debate the reasons behind American workers’ stagnating wages, one thing is certain. They don’t just affect individual wallets, but the economy as a whole.
As Barrington points out, “Every worker is also a consumer.” And consumers are what drive the modern American economy.
Featured in: Marketplace for Monday September 1, 2014
Frustrations, and desperate demands for more public transportation $$ on Staten Island as MTA shapes capital plan | SILive.com
If you want to learn something about Mass Transit, one must compare and contrast what others are doing with their transit systems in order to gain a much broader and more in-depth perspective of things over time. Once people know that you are highly knowledgeable about a given issue and related policies, they will give you the respect that you truly deserve, especially when you speak out in a public meetings able to use key words and phrases that many people will readily understand. People will like you even more if you are from their own community or you moved there and have stayed a long time and paid your dues so to speak. You will be taken far more seriously - besides the powers-that-be do not have a clue about how important a given issue is until you stand up for yourself and make them see things your way.
Frustrations, and desperate demands for more public transportation $$ on Staten Island as MTA shapes capital plan | SILive.com
Frustrations, and desperate demands for more public transportation $$ on Staten Island as MTA shapes capital plan | SILive.com
MBTA's 1st Rapid-Transit Station in 27 Years Opens | NECN
MBTA's 1st Rapid-Transit Station in 27 Years Opens | NECN: The MBTA's first new rapid-transit station in 27 years is open at Somerville's Assembly Square.
Tuesday, Sep 2, 2014 • Updated at 8:29 AM EDT
The MBTA's first new rapid-transit station in 27 years is open at Somerville's Assembly Square.
Orange Line trains will now have a 10-minute ride from downtown Boston. The station is the capstone of Somerville's massive $1.5 billion Assembly Row development.
Assembly Row is not completed, though it's already home to dozens of retail outlets and restaurants, two new apartment complexes, a Legoland Discovery Center and a 12-screen movie theater.
While the station will open to passengers Tuesday, construction is expected to continue through November.
It's the first Orange Line station for Somerville and one of six new T stops slated to open there in the next decade.
�
Tuesday, Sep 2, 2014 • Updated at 8:29 AM EDT
The MBTA's first new rapid-transit station in 27 years is open at Somerville's Assembly Square.
Orange Line trains will now have a 10-minute ride from downtown Boston. The station is the capstone of Somerville's massive $1.5 billion Assembly Row development.
Assembly Row is not completed, though it's already home to dozens of retail outlets and restaurants, two new apartment complexes, a Legoland Discovery Center and a 12-screen movie theater.
While the station will open to passengers Tuesday, construction is expected to continue through November.
It's the first Orange Line station for Somerville and one of six new T stops slated to open there in the next decade.
�
Monday, August 18, 2014
The Cities That Spend The Most On Bike Lanes Later Reap The Most Reward | Co.Exist | ideas impact
The Cities That Spend The Most On Bike Lanes Later Reap The Most Reward | Co.Exist | ideas impact: ""Investing in a network of fully separated bike lanes could save cities huge sums in the long-term. But too little investment in wimpy infrastructure could actually decrease enthusiasm for cycling.""
This is what some commenters had to say about the issue:
This is what some commenters had to say about the issue:
ONATHAN NORDLAND HAMTECH87 Your point is well-taken. Our towns and cities have developed in a way that has increased distances between homes, and between homes and important places. It is why Walk Score was created, so people would have information on such distances when they decide to locate somewhere.We need to create better planning and zoning policies that bring mixed-use, compact development so you are never too far away.
Poverty and public transportation
Poverty and public transportation: “If you miss your bus,” Ferrell repeated, “well, there’s an hour out of your day at best. But what if that makes you an hour late to work, or causes you to miss a doctor’s appointment or a meeting? What if it costs you the opportunity for a job? Or what if you just miss your bus and have to sit in the hot sun or the freezing cold or the pouring rain and wait an hour for the next one?
“If you’re a person of low income, or limited income, and you depend on the bus, that’s the world you live in. That’s the real world.”
“If you’re a person of low income, or limited income, and you depend on the bus, that’s the world you live in. That’s the real world.”
Friday, August 15, 2014
A Typical Day Riding On a MATA Bus: OMG - is it far worse than a public transit system in a third-world country?
This following can
be a typical day while riding on a MATA bus for many others and me. Yesterday,
I was at the bus stop to catch the 4 bus at Lauderdale and Mississippi at 7:55
AM. The bus came late at 8:15, should have been there by 8:10. The bus was late
to the terminal and I also missed the transfer over to the 53 Summer/ Binghamton bus for
8:27 and the next 53 usually comes late or not at all or I have to catch the 19
Valentine out to where I wanted to go and then walk several blocks to my
destination. The good, timely trip is four hours long including wait time.
However, on my way back to the starting point at 10:15 AM, the 53-summer bus
passed right by me and several other riders so fast that we could not even tell
who was driving the bus. We had to wait another hour for the next bus, which
was also late. I arrived at the terminal at Noon and we asked the driver to
stop the 4 bus and they ignored us. The 4 took off without us and the next one
did not come until 12:37. The 5 U of M bus came so I got on it. It got me close
enough to home to walk two long blocks home by 1:10 PM --- this was a 6 hour
day with MATA to go do one simple thing --- return a package of socks to Ross -
Oh and to go to the Kroger since I was out that way. It is just as hard for
many people finding a job or keeping one while depending on MATA’s system.
Perhaps, we need to scrap MATA and privatize our transit system here in
Memphis, TN. Now before you begin to think of me as a common vagabond walking
around with a backpack like on that show Kung Fu trying to resolve all our
problems, I am not like that person. What I am is a Car-Free Citizen. I have
been for several years by choice. And yes, I do know it all - simply because -
I actually live the lifestyle that so many of you are only talking about in
various community meetings and so far, many of you do not have one clue about
how to be Car-Free in Memphis, Tennessee, especially with systems in place that
do not work very well. That is why I started this blog
carfreememphis.blogspot.com, to provide many of you with valid support that
matters the most. It will save you from having to attend a lot of needless
community meetings. I mean, why have ongoing community meetings about bike
lanes, when the law already allows bike riders to ride down any street without
these lanes at all. The lanes are already there, at least in our own minds
because it is also pointed out this way in our Tennessee Drivers Manual. So
painting bike lanes on the street should not take an act of congress or even
asking a community's permission. The law is already on the side of painting
those bike lanes. By the way - a group of baboons is called a congress. Yes,
that is true, and even funny! But, how long are people going to keep laughing
at Memphians for acting just like those baboons. It has been 20 years since we
first had the funding of the DOT to do all of this and the powers-that-be here
in Memphis refused to do hardly anything for us pedestrians. Now, they want us
to have more meetings and do more community outreach, when it has already been
done to death. Now they want us to redo these meetings with our unsuspecting
young adults - how sad. You, younger folks may also have to wait another 20 to
40 years for your city to work well for you. And of course, it never will work
at the rate it is going now. That is, unless you learn from my wisdom. If you
do not learn anything, then you will grow older while wearing depends
undergarments and as you soil yourselves at bus stops wishing you had listened
to me. Meanwhile, other cities around the world will look futuristic and beyond
your wildest dreams and also behind gated walls, while Memphis becomes a
third-world stench. Now the third- world is not all that bad necessarily,
I was having a long discussion, on that very same day, at the MATA terminal,
with several older men from South Africa, a third world country, with first
world aspirations. These guys insisted that over there, the public transit
system is far superior to that of Memphis, despite the third world problems. I decided to find that out for myself and came across the
following document: 26th Annual Southern African Transport Conference
2007: http://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/5868. There
were other documents that I found, but this one seemed to be the most
favorable, lacking having been there myself, and trusting these guys at their word, as they were complaining about MATA
also, but still truly happy to be living in America. Once you begin reading up on such things, you will also begin to have a well researched opinion on local issues and develop a world view.
Anyway - I love America! God
bless America! God bless you!
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Garrison Chosen to Lead Memphis Area Transit Authority - Memphis Daily News
Memphis Area Transit Authorities new president and general manager, Ron Garrison, recently worked for Proterra, Inc. And before that, he was executive director of StarMetro in Tallahassee Florida. After decades of the worst bus system in the USA, we will hopefully get change for the better under new leadership, such as new busses that do not rock and rattle the passengers, more buses that are run more often and on time, WI-FI on and busses and near bus stops, real time GPS tracking along each route, and high quality bike racks that can actually hold more than just two bikes --- how about five bikes; and can we please get some restrooms along each route. Now here is a true dreamers request for sure, let's have a shopping bus that runs every hour whereby there is plenty of leg room to move around, a place under the bus to roll shopping carts, and top racks on the inside for backpacks and coats, and last, but not least, a restroom on the bus.
Garrison Chosen to Lead Memphis Area Transit Authority - Memphis Daily News
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
What Transit Will Actually Look Like in the New Suburbia - CityLab
There is a good idea in this article about a Car-Free zone that's worth looking into.
I believe you will like it!
What Transit Will Actually Look Like in the New Suburbia - CityLab
I believe you will like it!
What Transit Will Actually Look Like in the New Suburbia - CityLab
The Rise of Private 'Luxury' Mass Transit Buses - CityLab
This is a great idea. We should have a mass transit option for shopping with the ability to roll bikes and grocery carts and baby strollers under the bus. We should have Wi-Fi and restrooms and the ability to lay back and relax until we actually get to our final destination and all without having to look up from a good book to keep an eye out for our final stop or else we might pass it up. This type of system could have massive shelters and facilities along the major drop off points with plenty of space to spread out and wait for the return ride.
The Rise of Private 'Luxury' Mass Transit Buses - CityLab
The Rise of Private 'Luxury' Mass Transit Buses - CityLab
Monday, July 14, 2014
Helsinki's ambitious plan to make car ownership pointless in 10 years | Cities | theguardian.com
The ambitions of Memphis should be the same, if not better!
Click this link to find out more: Helsinki's ambitious plan to make car ownership pointless in 10 years | Cities | theguardian.com
Click this link to find out more: Helsinki's ambitious plan to make car ownership pointless in 10 years | Cities | theguardian.com
Thursday, July 10, 2014
The Disaster We’ve Wrought on the World’s Oceans May Be Irrevocable
Hey, check out this Newsweek Link!
The Disaster We’ve Wrought on the World’s Oceans May Be Irrevocable
The Disaster We’ve Wrought on the World’s Oceans May Be Irrevocable
Is Air Pollution Aging Your Brain? | ThinkProgress
You have got to read this post! Click the link below.
Is Air Pollution Aging Your Brain? | ThinkProgress
Is Air Pollution Aging Your Brain? | ThinkProgress
Monday, June 23, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Monday, June 2, 2014
The first major academic study of protected bike lanes in the U.S. is out | PeopleForBikes
The first major academic study of protected bike lanes in the U.S. is out | PeopleForBikes by Michael Andersen, Green Lane Project staff writer
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Bike Camping at Hillsdale State Park, Kansas — Bike Overnights
If you have never been camping by bike, then you do not know what you have been missing. I use to do it myself during my younger years and talk about serenity and freedom. Click the following link to find out more about it: Bike Camping at Hillsdale State Park, Kansas — Bike Overnights
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
Sunday, May 18, 2014
This City Aims to Be “Car Free” in 20 Years | The Mind Unleashed
Memphis, Tennessee, should do the same thing. Anything less is unacceptable behavior.
This City Aims to Be “Car Free” in 20 Years | The Mind Unleashed
This City Aims to Be “Car Free” in 20 Years | The Mind Unleashed
Auto-Free Livable Cities Guide
Auto-Free Livable Cities Guide: Memphis C/D /F/D/D/D- 65.5 without cost of living
Cost of living B
With cost of living 72.7
Cost of living B
With cost of living 72.7
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Island in Scotland to be First 100% Self-Sustaining Place on Earth | The Mind Unleashed
You have got to click this link and read this article!
Island in Scotland to be First 100% Self-Sustaining Place on Earth | The Mind Unleashed
Island in Scotland to be First 100% Self-Sustaining Place on Earth | The Mind Unleashed
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
PIMPING OUT MY GRANNY CART
I have been car-free for several years.
I have faced every scenario possible since giving up my vehicles.
For example, I pimped out my granny cart with a new set of wheels.
The brand name of my granny cart is called EASY WHEELS.
The brand name of my granny cart is called EASY WHEELS.
It is distributed by the Narita Trading Co. Inc.
The cage section is flawless in design and it still serves me well.
However, the plastic rimes and rubber tires that came with their cart crumbled to pieces while out in the street with a load of groceries.
However, the plastic rimes and rubber tires that came with their cart crumbled to pieces while out in the street with a load of groceries.
Either the rubber tires rolled off the rim, or they become badly chipped causing the whole cage to rattle violently, or the rimes cracked and even exploded into tiny pieces.
I bought the cart online, but have since forgotten where I bought it from, but did keep ordering wheels from Narita at first and like I just said, their wheels have failed me each and every time.
Here in Memphis, Stewart Brothers Hardware sales these carts in their brick and mortar store and that's also where I went to get my new wheels, among other related cart parts, such as heavy duty cog pins, washers, and metal sleeves.
Your cart may be a different brand name from mine or a different size, so you may need to adjust for the upgraded wheels and parts.
The Peddler Bike Shop sold me some heavy duty grocery bags that I hang on my bike rack or on my pimped out granny cart.
I also added a padlock with a cable to the cart.
One thing is for sure, since I pimped out my own granny cart, I have never had a single breakdown!
Me and my posse are available to come speak for your special event for a fee, especially since we think we know it all and actually do live a car-free lifestyle.
 |
| I replaced the springs with heavy duty metal sleeves. |
 |
| Here are the metal sleeves. |
 |
| These lawn mower wheels fit over the cart axles of my Easy Wheels Black Jumbo Cart perfectly adding even more strength to the axles. |
 |
| Bang - The Whole Thing: Pimped Out Granny Cart, Heavy Duty Grocery Getter Bike Bags, Red Water Proof Laundry Bag, and a Tan Backpack. |
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Peddler Bike Shop Highland Storage Unit Destroyed In Sunday Fire | Local 24 News | News, Weather and Sports for Memphis & the Mid-South | WATN-TV | LocalMemphis.com
I hope all is well with the Peddler Bike Shop. People have depended on the Peddler for many years. Although the storage shop has been destroyed completely, the retail shop is still open for car-free citizens like you and me. The Peddler provides a full line of products and services. Our prayers go out to Signatures printing shop, who lost their whole business in the blaze, though no one was hurt and also two firefighters who had to be admitted to the hospital, one of whom was released already, while the other is being kept for further examination but is not in critical condition.
Peddler Bike Shop Highland Storage Unit Destroyed In Sunday Fire | Local 24 News | News, Weather and Sports for Memphis & the Mid-South | WATN-TV | LocalMemphis.com
Peddler Bike Shop Highland Storage Unit Destroyed In Sunday Fire | Local 24 News | News, Weather and Sports for Memphis & the Mid-South | WATN-TV | LocalMemphis.com
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Tell US DOT: Bicyclists' Safety Counts
Action Center: Tell US DOT: Bicyclists' Safety Counts
https://www.votervoice.net/Shares/BNR9LA4dAC5nIAFG69K7FAA
https://www.votervoice.net/Shares/BNR9LA4dAC5nIAFG69K7FAA
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Neyla Antonella Paracolli Walks A Car Free Street in Siegen, Germany
Over the past few days my friend,
Neyla Paracolli, visited Siegen, Germany.
I want to share one of her photo's that she sent me
while walking down one of their Car-Free Friendly Streets.
Neyla is also a singer-songwriter
and here is some of her videos.
Peace & Love
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Saturday, April 26, 2014
How Montreal built a bike lane by debunking the autoparkolypse | PeopleForBikes
Click the following link to find out how they did it:
How Montreal built a bike lane by debunking the autoparkolypse | PeopleForBikes
How Montreal built a bike lane by debunking the autoparkolypse | PeopleForBikes
Save a Bike. Save the World. Sign the petition to help us stop bike theft.
Please sign this petition by clicking the following link:
Save a Bike. Save the World. Sign the petition to help us stop bike theft.
Save a Bike. Save the World. Sign the petition to help us stop bike theft.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Available for Mass Transit: Does MATA Care At All?
We have the worst mass transit system in our country.
There are even new technologies to help improve our situation.
Yet Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) refuses to embrace innovative changes for the better.
Which makes one wonder if MATA truly has any authority whatsoever.
So let's just remove the word "authority" from their name then!
In fact, let's replace their entire name with Car-Free Citizens Transit (CCCT).
Simply put, CCCT would embrace fuel cell technology like other transit systems are doing, which saves taxpayers big money, drives down overall operating cost, and drives down the costs for bus rides by car-free citizens.
With these costs cut, CCCT could afford to expand its system and it will get a car-free citizen to wherever they need to go on time and with zero emissions.
These fuel cell buses allow for a ride that is nice and clean, quiet and smooth.
However, MATA busses are more like riding in a hot and humid slave ship that rocks back and forth, up and down, and it even roars and rattles.
The only thanks car-free citizens ever get from riding in MATA's old gas guzzling clunkers: a big blast of exhaust fumes and road debris in our faces.
It is amazing that MATA is actually charging us to board their buses!
Car-Free Citizens’ are paying a whopping $3.50 for one of MATA's all day passes, which hardly leads us to anywhere positive in a timely fashion.
If one of us has some place special to be, we will most likely be late.
The powers-that-be who are responsible for MATA should be embarrassed over this ongoing debacle after celebrating over 30 long years of the worst public transit service in our history.
If our leaders do not want to embrace positive social changes for our public transit system, then it's time to change our leadership, so that the rest of us can finally breath some fresh air here in Memphis.
Click the following link to view the entire State of the Union Address for Fuel Cell Technology across the USA: https://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/pdfs/state_of_the_states_2013.pdf
Sunday, April 20, 2014
CARFREEMEMPHIS.COM? Develop Your Own Brand Name; Don't Steal It From Me!
 |
| Policy Analyst and Researcher and Blogger, Car Free Memphis, since 2011 |
And, there is to be a 30-day car-free challenge throughout the month of April.
I am happy about this event in the scheme of it all.
I thought they were talking about my own blog.
I even waited for my own name to be mentioned.
But, I was somewhat disillusioned that there was no such connection to my blog or me.
Perhaps they did this unconsciously and without the intent of causing any confusion between whom I am and whom they want to be like.
They obviously want to be like me, but they are not!
Perhaps, they are using the same words that I have used to make them look better, as it should be, because I have worked hard building up the brand name of Car Free Memphis.
I use this blog of mine to reach out to people and raise awareness from a real car-free citizen's point of view.
There are already thousands of car-free citizens in Memphis; it is just that the majority of them are now living in poverty and the powers-that-be does not truly care about them nearly as much as they say they do.
If the shoe fits, wear it!
The powers-that-be is more like poverty pimps, top-level professionals, always making promises they never intend to keep.
And, they prove that I am right consistently by cutting every budget possible, making peoples lives meaninglessly miserable.
The first thing they did was to cut jobs and sent those jobs overseas; then, they only offer our own citizens part time, low wage, temporary work with little or no health care coverage.
The powers-that-be has driven our citizens into deep poverty and onto the dole long-term and then they blame the victims!
Nonetheless, I still decided, after years of in-depth research and actually living car free, to start my own blog.
Here, I tell people snippets about my own story, but I also pick up on the insights of others based on their stories about being car-free citizens.
I go on and on about about this issue to everyone I meet, so much so, that other people told me to blog about it; then that’s what I decided to do.
I decided to call my own blog Car-Free Memphis and launched it in 2011.
Since then, Car-Free Memphis has provided the best information possible to its readers.
Therefore, I presume this makes me an expert.
In fact, I have been car-free for the past 13 years and I have earned a dual BA degree and an MPA despite all my ongoing struggles to do so.With that being said, let’s move forward with my ongoing complaints about how being CAR-FREE in Memphis, Tennessee, is HELL ON EARTH!
Now the powers-that-be prefers to be self–righteous and infiltrate every aspect of our lives; often saying that if we only love God more, then we will all be blessed with wealth beyond our wildest dreams, so long as we give every dime right back to the powers-that-be in one way or another – that is why church, the government, and corporations truly stick together folks - they all want a one-third cut of our pie and if there is one single micron of a crumb left over for us, we better not dare let them find out about it because they will find a way to get it even if it destroys us all.
We should be questioning if we have a democracy anymore and if not, then perhaps an oligarchy.
Together, they share our wealth among themselves; they are the top 1%; the owners of production.
Talk about the franchising out the holy name of our GOD, not to save souls, but to make them richer.
Speaking of franchising, it seems like nearly every establishment one spends their money at these days goes right back into the hands of a few people who owns nearly 99.9% of every establishment.
These few business owners believe that their massive corporations are people and they can vote for every one of us; and in fact, we are their slaves these days.And how do they remind us of this fact and what is reminiscing of the slave trade? Slave Ships.
And what do many of the urban poor use as transportation these days? Public Transit.
The majority of my own blog readers ride a MATA bus for at least three and half hours both ways to get to a part-time, low wage job; and it is not just a simple short two-way trip up and down one street like Poplar Avenue with no transfers that takes a mere 30 to 60 minutes one way.
The stress of the long bus trips can break one’s spirit, just like slaves ships do.
Moreover, the majority of poor people, here, live in communities located in food deserts.
And going out to get groceries on a MATA bus can become a gruesome 7-hour round trip day.
So, the purpose of being car-free is not some nostalgic agenda whereby people have all decided to be car-free for the sake of recreation alone; it is a lifestyle that is actually forced on them with no adequate infrastructure whatsoever.
And, these car-free citizens have been doing it this way for decades.
Little or nothing is being done by the powers-that-be to make life any better.
For instance, every time car-free citizens step off of a curb here in Memphis to cross the street at a crosswalk, the walk signs, turn to don’t walk and citizens are nearly run over by impatient car drivers.
It forces people to jaywalk, and why not, if there is an equal or better chance of surviving if they do!
Have you ever tried to cross the street of Summer Avenue?
I have crossed that road and some people honk at me, curse me out, and have nearly run me over several times - that is just this week alone!
Read this article: The Invention of Jaywalking by Sarah Goodyear.
We need to rid ourselves of these jaywalking laws and/or put the burden of such laws onto motor vehicle drivers to watch out for car-free citizens at all times instead of limiting the movements of pedestrians to a slow crawl.
Until the lives of the most impoverished car-free citizens are better off, especially those who are disabled, it is not going to be any better for those people who are middle class or wealthy class whenever they want to become car-free.
To illustrate, try finding a restroom when your car-free in Memphis without soiling yourself first!
Imagine having the urge to go to the restroom while riding on a MATA bus; when it is bouncing up and down; when people are swaying back and forth onto you.
This only happens because many MATA buses are like raggedy old slave ships that can make most people seasick.
If one gets off the MATA bus just to use the restroom, the next bus may not be coming for another hour or more.
Hope to God you do not have friends and family members with you when this happens.
We are living in a city whereby the buses do not run every ten minutes like in other cities.
Here in Memphis, there is no real time GPS tracking system whereby the bus riders can know exactly where the bus is and when it is going to be at a preferred bus stop.
Instead, the bus riders have to wait out in the elements near the street where exhaust smoke is blown into their faces and road debris smothers them from head to toe for up to 20 minutes.
The powers-that-be will use the word GREEN to implicate a wholesome policy agenda and they are painting the whole town the color green it seems, but as for the saving our environment, there is nothing green about this situation at all because the fumes of Memphis spout up 7.8 metric tons of CO2 into the air every year.
So, if Memphis were actually living green, then people who come to visit us would be green with envy.
Our city is not on the green list folks, but it has made just about every shit list there is!
In fact, it has been deemed the asthma capital of the Mid-South; it is the bankruptcy capital; it’s the poverty capital; it is the crime capital; and I am talking about our people in leadership, not just the so called thugs on these streets; and moreover, it is the capital for poverty pimps.
The powers-that-be refuses neither to make adequate improvements, nor to completely replace whole systems with better ones, but they have continued to grow rich anyway, while the rest of us live pay check to pay check or on food stamps and welfare.Instead, they are paying the best writers to spin fairy tales about how green we are living.
It is the biggest lie ever told, especially when the powers-that-be are cutting away at the very backbone of doing so, such as cutting public transit funding by at least four million dollars; and then, cutting back the services so much so that the whole system might as well be shut down at this point.
And why not shut it down if it is not going to work any better than it has for the past 30 years!
At one point, the public transit system was boycotted because of who had the right to ride where on the bus based on racial issues; and now, the public transit system is boycotting all of its riders because they do not want to treat any of the bus riders with dignity regardless of their race.
Let’s just replace MATA and start over with brand new name and a brand new system based onhydrogen fuel cell technology, the bus drivers and passengers would be thrilled at how smoothly these buses ride.
Let’s have buses running east, west, north, and south on every major street 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, if it is necessary.
Let’s have bike lanes running the full length of all major streets, like the Union, Poplar, and Summer Avenues.
We can be a world-class city, but not without redesigning our entire city to be Car-Free friendly.
In a city like this, there would be adequate bus shelters, restrooms, bike shops and pit stops for resting weary bones whereby people are not treated like a vagabond.
There would be no vagabonds on our streets if the homeless were provided with homes, instead of treating them like common criminals or turning them into criminals.
Memphis is truly full of poverty pimps; and if these two words have the stinging power that I desire they will have; then please, please, please, feel free to steal them away from this blog – go post these words everywhere that you can.
In fact, use the words - poverty pimps - on every billboard across our city and tell them - clearly - to get the hell out of our city!
However, leave the words - CAR-FREE MEMPHIS - to me; it seems that I am the only policy expert that knows how to use them effectively; and, I am not about to apologize for it either.
PEACE & LOVE
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)