INC NEWS - Durham does need a change...

[Newman Aguiar]

You will not have any argument from me against the value of life, even one
life.  I would go so far to suggest to you that the most vocal opponents of
this ordinance have the highest regard for life, particularly the lives of
the panhandlers.  My suggestion to Mike was that since we do value life, it
would seem prudent to take immediate action to prevent the number of lives
lost in fatalities, where at least one of the drivers was on a cell phone.
Seems to me, this is a more pressing issue where life is concerned as it
relates to pedestrian safety and drivers.  Yet, we take no action here.  So,
we at least ought to question the veracity of the safety argument on that
basis, even if we are unwilling to look at the evidence.

 

Furthermore, I might suggest that the "Can You Spare A Change" campaign
places more value on the lives of the panhandlers, since it has a good
chance of getting the panhandlers off the street and connecting them with
the resources they need.  The proposal, while it uses the illusion of
safety, has no merit, because, we already know from existing ordinances and
the efforts of other cities that such bans are not successful in getting the
panhandlers off the street.  To restate this point, even facing arrest and a
couple of days in jail, the pan handlers continue to frequent the street
corners.  If you are unsuccessful in getting the pan handlers off the
streets, which is what the evidence suggest, there is no gain with regard to
their safety.  Yet, there is significant cost with enforcing such
ordinances.

 

  _____  

From: Ronnie Griffin [mailto:res1m28r at verizon.net] 
Sent: Monday, October 08, 2007 3:50 PM
To: inc-list at durhaminc.org; Newman Aguiar
Subject: Re: INC NEWS - Durham does need a change...

 

There is no doubt that the NCDOT needs to do better design work and much
more to improve pedestrian safety.  Did you see the Bill Anderson interview?
Did you recognize where the interview was conducted?  Do you realize that
this is an intersection where at least one panhandler has been killed?  What
is a life worth?  In my opinion, the preservation and saving of one life is
much more important than your analogy of safety not holding water.  

 

I must and do agree with Mr. Shiflett.  The City Council has also been
proven to be wrong and change a decision on more than one occasion.

 

Ronnie Griffin         

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