Thursday, August 13, 2009
Metro columnist Dan Casey: A land where no move would go unseen
Dan Casey is The Roanoke Times' metro columnist.
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@roanoke.com
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Dan Casey
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Read Dan's blog
Timesland seems to have few fans of red-light cameras, which the city of Roanoke is considering installing in nine locations around town.
But gee, judging by e-mails, voice mails and blog comments I've received, you readers aren't short of suggestions for other kinds of government "cams" to cure all sorts of problems.
The Roanoke City Council hasn't yet decided whether to install these sneaky, robotic, money-grabbing gizmos. But if the council ultimately takes a pass, members might want to consider some of your, uh, interesting ideas.
Dick Taylor of Fincastle, as well as some others, proposed a camera for the city council chambers. Taylor calls it "a Decision Cam" that issues fines to indecisive elected officials.
"Every time any subject comes up and the council votes to adopt it, then rescinds the vote, then votes later on to resurrect it, then votes again to do away with it and then finally commissions several studies ... it will all be captured on the "Decision" cam," Taylor said.
The fines "will be more than enough to finance a new amphitheater," Taylor chided.
John Johnson of Roanoke suggested a cam for the back room behind council chambers. "I ... want to know what City Council is smoking," he wrote.
Some readers suggested bathroom cams.
"I suggest bathroom-sink-cams to make sure all employees are really washing their hands after using the facilities," said Jonathan Hirst of Southwest Roanoke County.
John Angove of Bedford County wants the cams in bathrooms stalls.
"Then they could fine the men who pee on the seat and make another dollar," Angove wrote.
A.S. Cooper of Roanoke rather acidly argues that cameras shouldn't be limited to public restrooms.
"I think we should be filmed in every aspect of life, to make sure we're not breaking the law," he said. "Every move we make should be filmed, archived and gone over by the police -- all for our own safety, of course."
Bob Holden of Montvale would rather see cams that shoot pictures of drivers talking on their cellphones. They're far more prevalent, dangerous and irritating than occasional red-light runners, he argued.
Of course, first the General Assembly would have to outlaw adult drivers talking on cellphones. I bet they'd raise the gas tax before they did that.
"What about sidewalk cams, so we can make sure no more than 6 people are congregated at one time on the sidewalk causing an obstruction (a very dangerous problem we have in our most overcrowded sidewalks)?" wrote Beth Deel of Roanoke. She's a member of the performance art group that staged the "Must See TV" demonstration last spring.
Not everyone is in favor of more cams. One of them is Sandi Saunders of Hardy. She believes the cameras in general are unfair.
"Some people get caught, some people do not," Saunders wrote. "Some people pay dearly, some appear to skate. The luck of the draw, money and timing plays a bigger role than the actual law or enforcement of it."
And not everyone is against red-light cameras. One of them is Billy Vincent of Hunting Hills.
"I'm so tired of seeing people running the red lights, I say, 'Bring on the cameras!' " Vincent told me. "Let 'em make all the money they can."
John Holst of Pulaski County suggested many kinds of cams. One would catch spontaneous art protests on the Roanoke City Market. Another would catch people washing cars during a drought. And we need them for historic districts, too, he argued, "to root out people who disobey guidelines and use non-authentic materials on their homes."
Scott Shepherd of Moneta suggested "the cigarette out the car window cam."
Dick Howard of West Roanoke County suggests a cam to catch cyclists running stop signs. And Jack Doyle of Southwest Roanoke County suggested cameras trained on the red-light cameras, to prevent them from being vandalized. That's occurred in Montgomery County, Md.
Perhaps the funniest suggestion I received was from a reader of my blog who goes by the handle "Rich."
His suggestion: "Ketchup cam ... pointed outside the Wiener Stand ... to fine people who put that red abomination on hot dogs."
Now that's a moneymaker! Maybe we should put one outside Texas Tavern, too -- and change Roanoke's name to something like Big Brother, Va.
Thanks for playing along. Keep those comments coming on the blog!
Dan Casey's column runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
