Sunday, August 27, 2006
Festival Buckingham, Busses and Affluence
Festival Buckingham
Hot and a little windy
An overfull crowd on Pershing Drive
People huddled in the shade
A block party, Pershing shut down
Ritmos Latinos boom from the speakers
People milling by tables set by the county
Housing aid
Groups to join
Face painting
Food—carne asada
Brideway 242, Mama Rose’s Ices
Bubbles at the BCCA tent and kids to pop them
And dancers in feathered head dresses
Purple, red and white jump fountain-like from the heads of teenage girls
While the wind threatens to pluck the plumage
And men hold masks to their faces in the dance
Other husbands and wives who’d huddled under the scant shade of wilted trees
And some who spent time under the misting tent fill the spaces
In front of the tables and make a gauntlet for the dancers to run
An emcee barks Spanish for the love of Bolivia
And the crowd cheers
Thank you BU-GATA for a great show.
++++++++++
If the county builds a better bus system, will the students come, and if so, how many more than currently ride?
That’s one question Seth Rosen at the Arlington Connection failed to ask county administrators in his article “County Targets Teens and Transit” in last week’s (Aug. 16-22) Connection. The answer is an implied “Yes,” to the first half, but the second half remains ignored.
Some of the ideas the teens had for increased use seemed like good ones—the student discount on tickets, for instance, should be implemented. Price was a major factor cited in a countywide transit survey of teens.
What confuses me, though, is that a teen may become a county AIM (Active! Involved! Motivated!) member (it’s free), and then head to one of the bus system’s Commuter Stores with the AIM card and get $25 worth of fares (metro and/or bus) for $12.50 each month. That is, the county and Metro seem to be doing just what the students say they want.
The simplest solution, it seems to me: a couple times a semester, have an AIM employee and a Commuter Store employee swing into the local high schools and set up a registration table. Then, sell the tix right there. Since students in the article also said they’re confused by the system, the Commuter Store people could hand out maps or answer questions. There, be done with it.
But no, the quick, straight path is not the Arlington Way—first we must study, and then STUDY SOME MORE, and then have public comment, and then….
All this studying is to try to find ways to make buses cool—ain’t gonna happen. Until buses pick you up at your house and drive straight to your destination (without stopping for anyone else) they’ll never have the pull of a car. Don’t spend a zillion dollars in order to increase teen ridership by seven people.
++++++++++
At the county fair, the Sun Gazette handed out can cozies with its relatively new tag line: “In the community, with the community, for the community.” Isn’t that nice? It’s the tag line handed down from their new owners (of about a year) American Community Newspapers.
Funny, but I still can’t get a free copy in the Buckingham neighborhood (even the 7-11 on South Glebe near the TJ Center no longer has a stack on Wednesdays). C’mon ACN, we’re in your community, why don’t we get our copies dropped onto our lawns?
But then you notice the other tag line: “Reaching the most affluent audience in the Washington, D.C. metro area.”
C'mon, Buckingham is in just-barely-North Arlington. My townhouse is worth nearly about a half million dollars—that’s affluence! (at least everywhere else in the nation). Boy-oh-boy, I don’t know what a fella’s got to do to join their club.
Hot and a little windy
An overfull crowd on Pershing Drive
People huddled in the shade
A block party, Pershing shut down
Ritmos Latinos boom from the speakers
People milling by tables set by the county
Housing aid
Groups to join
Face painting
Food—carne asada
Brideway 242, Mama Rose’s Ices
Bubbles at the BCCA tent and kids to pop them
And dancers in feathered head dresses
Purple, red and white jump fountain-like from the heads of teenage girls
While the wind threatens to pluck the plumage
And men hold masks to their faces in the dance
Other husbands and wives who’d huddled under the scant shade of wilted trees
And some who spent time under the misting tent fill the spaces
In front of the tables and make a gauntlet for the dancers to run
An emcee barks Spanish for the love of Bolivia
And the crowd cheers
Thank you BU-GATA for a great show.
++++++++++
If the county builds a better bus system, will the students come, and if so, how many more than currently ride?
That’s one question Seth Rosen at the Arlington Connection failed to ask county administrators in his article “County Targets Teens and Transit” in last week’s (Aug. 16-22) Connection. The answer is an implied “Yes,” to the first half, but the second half remains ignored.
Some of the ideas the teens had for increased use seemed like good ones—the student discount on tickets, for instance, should be implemented. Price was a major factor cited in a countywide transit survey of teens.
What confuses me, though, is that a teen may become a county AIM (Active! Involved! Motivated!) member (it’s free), and then head to one of the bus system’s Commuter Stores with the AIM card and get $25 worth of fares (metro and/or bus) for $12.50 each month. That is, the county and Metro seem to be doing just what the students say they want.
The simplest solution, it seems to me: a couple times a semester, have an AIM employee and a Commuter Store employee swing into the local high schools and set up a registration table. Then, sell the tix right there. Since students in the article also said they’re confused by the system, the Commuter Store people could hand out maps or answer questions. There, be done with it.
But no, the quick, straight path is not the Arlington Way—first we must study, and then STUDY SOME MORE, and then have public comment, and then….
All this studying is to try to find ways to make buses cool—ain’t gonna happen. Until buses pick you up at your house and drive straight to your destination (without stopping for anyone else) they’ll never have the pull of a car. Don’t spend a zillion dollars in order to increase teen ridership by seven people.
++++++++++
At the county fair, the Sun Gazette handed out can cozies with its relatively new tag line: “In the community, with the community, for the community.” Isn’t that nice? It’s the tag line handed down from their new owners (of about a year) American Community Newspapers.
Funny, but I still can’t get a free copy in the Buckingham neighborhood (even the 7-11 on South Glebe near the TJ Center no longer has a stack on Wednesdays). C’mon ACN, we’re in your community, why don’t we get our copies dropped onto our lawns?
But then you notice the other tag line: “Reaching the most affluent audience in the Washington, D.C. metro area.”
C'mon, Buckingham is in just-barely-North Arlington. My townhouse is worth nearly about a half million dollars—that’s affluence! (at least everywhere else in the nation). Boy-oh-boy, I don’t know what a fella’s got to do to join their club.
Comments:
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If they're really serious about getting students to use Metro or ART buses, the rides should be free to the students, with the school district and the transit authorities negotiating a mutually agreeable payment. B. Dunbar
# posted by 
: 6:02 AM
: 6:02 AM 
I know what you mean about the Sun Gazette ... they won't deliver to me, either, and I live across the street from the Mercedes dealership. That's not affluent enough? OK, so I could never afford to buy a Mercedes. But don't I get credit for proximity? Once I was on the cover of the Sun Gazette (as Santa), and had to call them and get them to mail me a copy.
Re: "The simplest solution, it seems to me: a couple times a semester, have an AIM employee and a Commuter Store employee swing into the local high schools and set up a registration table."
Why not just give out a yearly supply of bus passes for every stupid liberal voter the lines up each election day to keep the Arlingtongrad County Junta of gutless Donkocrats in office.
Moreover, while waiting in line, the County Junta can hand out free cucumbers to every toddler so they can go home and jettison their Thomas the Train set to practice putting a condom on the stiff vegetable way before they enter the school system - now this is what I call "progessive home schooling".
Finally, the County junta can expand the myriad of county run dog poop parks (perhaps even use eminent domain to take some land from that other place called "Arlington") so that the dogs can get free County junta subsidized bus fares also.
Arlington is nothing more than a liberal cesspool filled with elitist liberals that think the only way to earn a vote is to subsidize the stupid voters.
Why not just give out a yearly supply of bus passes for every stupid liberal voter the lines up each election day to keep the Arlingtongrad County Junta of gutless Donkocrats in office.
Moreover, while waiting in line, the County Junta can hand out free cucumbers to every toddler so they can go home and jettison their Thomas the Train set to practice putting a condom on the stiff vegetable way before they enter the school system - now this is what I call "progessive home schooling".
Finally, the County junta can expand the myriad of county run dog poop parks (perhaps even use eminent domain to take some land from that other place called "Arlington") so that the dogs can get free County junta subsidized bus fares also.
Arlington is nothing more than a liberal cesspool filled with elitist liberals that think the only way to earn a vote is to subsidize the stupid voters.
# posted by : 6:45 PM
: 6:45 PM
Hey Anonymous,
My name's Steve Thurston, the editor of this blog. You know, I respect your right to free speech enough to leave your comments up, but I must admit I wish you had guts enough to identify yourself. Oh, and it's "buses" or "busses," but you need to know how to use a dictionary for that.
My name's Steve Thurston, the editor of this blog. You know, I respect your right to free speech enough to leave your comments up, but I must admit I wish you had guts enough to identify yourself. Oh, and it's "buses" or "busses," but you need to know how to use a dictionary for that.
# posted by : 7:43 PM
: 7:43 PM
Since liberals find it very hard to refute well established fact (fact acknowledged outside the confines of Arlingtongrad) they respond in this case by going after a simple spelling mistake and act like God (liberals hate the real God but like to play their secular God) and want said author to expose himself).
As such, Arlingtongrad is a liberal cesspool where government subsidized sewer art, flying foreign flags to honor 9/11 and where the Pledge of Allegiance is construed as divisive by a County Junta Board Chairman who believes speed bumps are the perfect way to allow liberals to slow down so they can read the reelect a Donkocrat bumper stickers that are on almost every mode of transportation within this urban village of elitist leftist crack pots.
As such, Arlingtongrad is a liberal cesspool where government subsidized sewer art, flying foreign flags to honor 9/11 and where the Pledge of Allegiance is construed as divisive by a County Junta Board Chairman who believes speed bumps are the perfect way to allow liberals to slow down so they can read the reelect a Donkocrat bumper stickers that are on almost every mode of transportation within this urban village of elitist leftist crack pots.
# posted by : 6:57 AM
: 6:57 AM << Home
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