Walker on 4/11/2008 9:42:25 AM wrote:
"Speaking from personal experience without regard for the facts + making broad statements about "those people"= bias, bigotry, and prejudice"
Seeing is believing, life experience is factual. I don't need the weather man to tell me it is raining. I simply look outside.
Maybe your life has been lily white and blind to the realities of the under-priviledged. I dont expect everyone to have the experience that I do.
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Walker on 4/10/2008 4:29:53 PM wrote:
As I said before I don't believe we have "Depressed" areas in Roanoke. There are certainly very POOR areas, but DEPRESSED, I dont think so.
WHERE do the unemployed live pray tell?
You'd have us believe that they come from all over the city without any concentration in any areas.
Call me what you want, I've heard it all from politically correct twits like yourself.
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dontmesswithseth on 4/10/2008 3:08:51 PM wrote:
Speaking from personal experience without regard for the facts + making broad statements about "those people"= bias, bigotry, and prejudice.
I've understood the trolley throughout this conversation. I understand that its purpose is not related to employment opportunities for the unemployed. I don't have a problem with that. My sole issue here has been your outlandish and offensive assertion that, "People who live in Roanoke's depressed areas don't have JOBS."
Per the link below: clearly, yes, they do.
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Walker on 4/10/2008 2:54:15 PM wrote:
I don't need a report from the city of all places to tell me what I see with my own eyes, Seth. Maybe you should open your eyes once in a while.
I am speaking from personal experience. I also stated that obviously I wasn't talking about ALL of them.
On a side note, do you now understand the purpose of the trolley?
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dontmesswithseth on 4/10/2008 2:45:06 PM wrote:
Yeah, Walker, that's what's called a "generalization," and it's actually different from a fact. Also, anecdotes aren't facts.
Here are some facts: http://roanokeva.gov/WebMgmt/ywbase61b.nsf/CurrentBaseLink/231D26E7689C7215852571710064E1E9/$File/UnemploymentRate.pdf
Of course, people without jobs who aren't looking for work are not counted as unemployed, so this does not account for those who are not working by choice in various neighborhoods. Regardless, even in the area with highest unemployment, 72% are not unemployed.
This information is readily available for folks who would like to examine their own biases before making sweeping statements deriding specific populations.
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sweetmilk on 4/10/2008 2:17:35 PM wrote:
Just curious. Does anyone have any idea how long RMH employees get for lunch? My guess is that rank and file get 30 min, upper management an hour or so. Allowing 15 min. minimum for total travel time that does not allow much time to walk to a restaurant, order, have food brought to the table, eat then get back to the trolly. It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the long run. Would it be silly of me to ask if perhaps the City did a study to see what percentages of the RMH employees get how much time for lunch?
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Walker on 4/10/2008 9:35:25 AM wrote:
You dont know how frustrating it is when someone tells you they WANT to work. They give you all the times they can and what they can do, etc.
You find them work and they decline for some stupid reason, "well, I can't work morning shift"
Me: "Okay, well how about day shift?"
Them: "I can only work nights b/c my momma..."
Me: "Great, I have a night shift for you."
Them: "Well, I need to go to the doctor that night...uh, call me tomorrow."
Thats about it, right there.
You call and you call, but they JUST CAN'T do it. Its amazing the "trials and tribulations" these poor people go through, who could be so unlucky?
Thanks Great Society!
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Walker on 4/10/2008 9:30:46 AM wrote:
Seth-
Ive worked in staffing long enough to know where these people live and if they work or not.
Unfortunately, I am not able to provide the voluminous records I have at my disposal to show how right I am.
Many of these people live on the public dime, they receive unemployment by CHOICE or they get disability for some confounded reason (I dont see them as much though, but their family members are on it a lot of times).
They know how to work the system, the VEC tells them how. They come in the office and pretend to apply for work, they go through the same process over and over. They only have to provide evidence that they are TRYING to get a job.
I'll admit I dont deal with EVERYONE in those poorer areas, but I see a lot.
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dontmesswithseth on 4/9/2008 7:56:10 PM wrote:
I am calm. I'm calmly asking if there's any concrete evidence that people in Roanoke's poor neighborhoods don't work. No, that's not directly related to the trolley discussion. However, it's a slanderous statement I think should be challenged. Either there's documentation of that, or this isn't.
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herewegoagain on 4/9/2008 6:01:54 PM wrote:
Walker on 4/9/2008 11:13:28 AM wrote:
"I don't think common sense requires any documentation. This PROVE it mentality is ridiculous."
roenoke, I TOLD you to stop caricaturing him!
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Walker on 4/9/2008 3:00:45 PM wrote:
That was my point TAJ. I thought it was common sense...the reason for the trolleys I mean. Revenue.
In other words, Seth, the trolley idea is NOT meant to help people with transportation.
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TripleActionJones on 4/9/2008 12:12:53 PM wrote:
How does a trolley discussion devolve into illegal immigration and flat earth theories?
Can we throw in some talk about diversity in the workplace too?
And hey, how about that global warming?
;)
I too think this is an idea to stimulate economy and provide something citizens will enjoy.
People who use the trolleys will be more likely to spend money along the way at shops, restaurants and such.
I may be wrong but I think the decision was made on the idea of - "we invest a little in these trolley buses, people use them and spend more money along the way at area businesses, it's good for our city's economy - win/win."
Hope it works out that way.
Perhaps then they can expand the trolley line to extend to other parts of the city.
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dontmesswithseth on 4/9/2008 11:59:16 AM wrote:
Common sense told people the world was flat for hundreds of years. If you're right, then there's documentation of that, in which case it shouldn't be difficult to produce, and you shouldn't mind being challenged.
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Walker on 4/9/2008 11:23:10 AM wrote:
Sorry, one more thing.
I wish we could stop the influx of illegals into our country, its a HUGE issue, but I tell you what...they work their asses off!
The people who complain about illegals taking THEIR jobs...don't want to work, they want more excuses.
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Walker on 4/9/2008 11:20:11 AM wrote:
By the way...I don't believe we have any depressed areas in Roanoke. You want to see depressed, go to Martinsville.
There are jobs here folks. Unemployment is right at 5%, we are at FULL employment as a country.
Does everyone want to bag groceries or work at Wal-Mart? No. But guess what? If you want a job, there's one for you. Suck it up and go to work.
Stop complaining about what you don't have... or that you should have been granted this or that. Get out of MY pocket and take care of your SELF.
We have created a DEPENDENT group of people who will NOT lift a finger for themselves. I've worked in staffing for these types for years....I know who wants to work and who doesn't.
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Walker on 4/9/2008 11:13:28 AM wrote:
Seth-
I don't think common sense requires any documentation. This PROVE it mentality is ridiculous.
My point was that the reason for the trolley system isn't to ease transpo costs or help people get to work. It's to make more money, or to drive more business into downtown Roanoke.
It's a good idea. I think to attach it to any DEPRESSED area of Roanoke would be counter-productive in meeting its goal.
My wife, who works at RMH, said she and other nurses were happy about it, but wondered what SoRo would do with all the homeless people that ride into the area from downtown on the trolley.
I told her it wouldn't be a problem, the trolley goes both ways.
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lynknez on 4/9/2008 9:29:09 AM wrote:
"People in the "depressed" areas of Roanoke don't have JOBS."
Who do we think cleans the buses, fills up their gas tanks and drives us around in them all day? Those people have JOBS but I doubt they are making much more than minimum wage.
If I was making minimum wage, a "free" ride to work would be a big help to me.
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dontmesswithseth on 4/9/2008 9:18:30 AM wrote:
Walker, can you provide some documentation of that assertion about employment and neighborhoods, or are you just displaying your own bias as though it's fact?
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Entropy on 4/8/2008 5:06:54 PM wrote:
exactly, and well said Walker.
woah, did i just say that? ;)
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Walker on 4/8/2008 4:38:42 PM wrote:
"Why not give free bus rides to those people in Roanoke's more depressed areas who need transportation to their jobs"
People in the "depressed" areas of Roanoke don't have JOBS.
This isnt about giving people FREE transportation, its about REVENUE and making it easier for people WITH money to spend it.
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zeke11 on 4/8/2008 4:24:21 PM wrote:
I like the idea of free rides.
I do wonder how they will keep the homeless from using them as shelters from the weather. If you want to get out of the cold, heat, or rain, why not just ride the trolley all day. A rather odiferous clientele might discourage usage by the intended target market. Of course, maybe it would let the trolleys play up the rich railroad history here in Roanoke with a recreation of the "boxcar wino scene".
Just a thought.
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DiamondDave on 4/8/2008 4:14:16 PM wrote:
Of course we'll pay for it with our taxes. So what? Did you expect your taxes to decrease if they didn't run the trolleys?
Sometimes the community good is more important than one person's tax bill. (gasp!)
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Entropy on 4/8/2008 3:28:40 PM wrote:
At first I opposed this plan, and still I kind of do. I think there are better things to be spending money on instead of "trolleys" and I hope these "trolleys" don't mean ripping up the pavement to put in tracks. I hope they are just trolley shaped buses.
I like the idea of putting a line to the hospital to the market as all the carilioneers can hop on the trolley to get lunch out here instead of having to walk to the parking garage, drive to downtown, find parking, get food, repeat to go back to work.... all in an hours time. This will bring money to the market which is good.
Just please tell me they aren't tearing up the road to put a trolley down.
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Starcityflyer on 4/8/2008 12:41:07 PM wrote:
I like the idea so far. Will it have wheel chair lifts? Certainly the city would anticipate the needs of the handicapp? And with all the talk and use of our greenways and bike lanes to save gas, certainly they will also have bike racks.....Won't they?
There needs to be s stop at and or between Albamarle & Walnut Ave. on Jefferson Street.
Albamarle is a main entry point from the S.E. neighborhood, not to memtion the medical buildings located at Albamarle & Wm. Rd. & the corner of Albamarle & Jefferson St. Walnut Ave. is a main access from the Old S.W. neighborhood and look at all the doctor offices and medical buildings between Franklin, along Walnut to Jefferson.
E. Duane Howard
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lynknez on 4/8/2008 8:16:26 AM wrote:
I wonder if this is really serving the needs of the people who need free transportation the most? This sounds more gimicky than helpful. Why not give free bus rides to those people in Roanoke's more depressed areas who need transportation to their jobs rather than running a shuttle between South Roanoke and the Market area?
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DiamondDave on 4/8/2008 7:48:50 AM wrote:
I think this is a great idea. I've always liked the trolley buses in Charleston and Savannah--and now Roanoke.
There is due to be a large influx of workers at the new Carilion-Tech complex in South Roanoke. What a great way to get them downtown to eat, shop, and visit museums. (Now we need a trolley linking South Roanoke to the new Rockledge Community Center on Mill Mountain, which would run from April 1-October 31).
Why can't other city projects move forward with such ease?
Kudos to city staff and council.
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TripleActionJones on 4/7/2008 4:10:26 PM wrote:
Unless I am overlooking something, which I well could be, this actually seems like a good idea.
Especially with the city only having to pitch in $200,000.00 of the money.
"FREE" rides for citizens are a good thing.
I do have some questions though...
Why that particular route?
Is there a large influx of people going from downtown to the hospital, or vice versa?
There are many other places of business along the way to frequent, but it just seemed an odd route - downtown to the hospital!
I would use it,yes.
I don't see myself being in a lot of situations where I'd use it often but I do think many would use it routinely.
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