September 2009 Archives

Saturday morning, I found a note (pictured here -- sorry, it was rained on before I got the photo.) taped to the window of my car.

"Drivers you need to park at your house!" The end of the note is underlined in red pencil, I suppose for emphasis.

The whole thing amuses me. Friday night, as I'm sure you all know, was Bike Night.

This would be my third Bike Night as a downtown resident, living just two blocks from Continental Square. So I've come to expect a few things on that night.

First: There will be no parking near my apartment building. I'll have to drive around and around to find parking anywhere.

Second: I will not be able to take my normal route home from work, because I leave West Manchester Township at 6 p.m., right when the bike parade starts. If I take Roosevelt Avenue, I will smack right into the parade.

(To be clear, I'm not trying to complain about the above things. I know it's going to happen, and I accept it as a part of living where I live.)

The city, AHEAD, Safer York and York College are hosting the York Businesse Academy, which runs Saturdays from Oct. 10 through Nov. 14.

Classes are in city council chambers at 1 Marketway West, on the third floor.

The academy is for small-business owners or people who want to start their own business. Classes will help them inprove their business knowledge, according to a news release.

New this year is a class on running a green business.

Cost is $50 for all 10 sessions. Seating is limited, so register early. Call 846-4600, ext. 247 or email lfreeland@yorkcpc.org.
     
Keep reading for a list of all the classes.    
     
     

 

Market and Penn Street Farmers Market is having its first Broccoli Bash from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 10.

Linda Birmingham, part of the market's friends group, says the event will have food, games, music, prizes, food demonstrations, a broccoli-only cookbook, free samples, tastings of broccoli recipes and .... strolling vegetables?

Check out the market's Web site after Oct. 1 for more information and a schedule of events.

Those of you who have driven down Roosevelt Avenue recently have probably noticed that it's a LOT smoother than it has been.

Work to repave a portion of that street, from Pennsylvania Avenue to Philadelphia Street (extending onto Penn Street to King Street) has been going on for a few weeks.

The base course is finished, said Jim Gross, public works director, and crews are working to adjust the manholes. (Those are still popping up in the middle of the road, so you still have to watch.)

Gross said he hopes that PennDOT will be back in the next few weeks to finish the final paving.

Work on the other end of Roosevelt Avenue will continue into next year, Gross said.

Between 7 a.m. Thursday (Sept. 24) and 7 a.m. Friday (Sept. 25), eating at Denny's will benefit the York City Recreation and Parks Bureau.

During that time, 10 percent of receipts will go to the parks bureau, according to a news release.

The restaurant is at 1199 Loucks Road.
     
 

I wish I hadn't been driving so I could have taken a picture of this.

I often feel like driving through the city is kind of an obstacle course. You have to dodge the bikers, the people who wander into traffic without a second glance, and, my favorite, the double parkers. I feel like I can't make one trip through the city without hitting at least one spot where someone has just parked in traffic to talk to someone, pick someone up or drop someone off.

This afternoon, I was driving east in the 300 block of West Market Street when I saw a car stopped ahead in the right lane. Actually, it wasn't just stopped; it was parked. No one appeared to be in it. No flashers on, no blinker, nothing. It was just parked in the lane, right next to another car. And there were empty parking spaces no more than 10 feet from the car in either direction.
 
Why do people insist on double parking instead of just finding a parking spot? Is it the threat of meters? Or are people just too lazy to walk a few more feet?
 

It's daffodil-planting time!

An e-mail from the York County Community Foundation tells me that the 5th annual Daffodil Dig is Oct. 3. The goal is to plant 10,000 daffodil bulbs.

Volunteers are needed to plant bulbs at: Farquhar Park, Broad Street (at the corner of Market Street), and Memorial Park. If you have a digging tool, you can help.

Contact Kristy Byrnes Baker at kbaker@yccf.org for information.

Or, you can visit the foundation's Web site and information is available there.

Free recycling bins are available for city curbside customers from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 15.

Pick up the bins or buckets in Continental Square. Bring proof of customer status and city residence, such as your driver's license or your sewer bill.

On Friday night, I went home from work to find that both my fiance and I were too lazy to cook dinner.

So we debated where to go. We talked about some downtown options, but it was raining a bit (and I had spent all day in the rain at the York Fair) and we didn't want to walk through it. So somehow, the conversation turned to the suburban options.

We headed to Chili's in West Manchester Township. People were waiting outside because there it was packed inside. The host told us the wait would be 45 minutes.

No, thank you.

We headed out and toured through the parking lots of several nearby restaurants. Same situation: people packed into the lobbies, spilling out the doors.

Eventually, we said forget it and headed back into the city, parking our car behind the White Rose and heading in. We still had to wait - maybe 15 minutes - but at least we got to do so in chairs at the bar.

And there was a Chesapeake burger (that's the one with the hot crab dip on top) at the end. So worth it.

We should have just headed downtown in the first place.

A co-worker shared this article from MSNBC about parking woes around the country.

The article basically looks at how parking enforcement turned from a "public policy" into a moneymaker in many cities.

There are lots of interesting tidbits in there. Example: Washington DC has camera-equipped streetsweepers that photograph the cars parked in their way. Another: A woman gets parking tickets for parking too close to her own driveway.

That story links to another, from the New York Times, which did a pretty extensive look at one year of parking tickets in the city. Biggest ticket day? Day after Thanksgiving, they found.

At any rate, it's clear that parking creates issues in many places.

The city recently released a list of upcoming flu clinics.

The first one is at William Penn High School, in conjunction with the Education First parade and rally this weekend.

The school will be a "point of distribution site," which is meant to be an effective way to mass-dispense vaccinations or medicine if there was an emergency, according to a news release. Those working will have a chance to learn and tweak anything that needs improvement for the future, the release states.

Read on the jump for the entire list of flu clinics.

Walking down East Market Street today, I overheard a conversation between what appeared to be a father and son. As they passed Martin Library, the adult explained to the child, who was about 6 years old, that the library would no longer be open on Sundays because of the state budget impasse.

"I heard it on the news," he said. "Isn't that something?" 

Both seemed legitimately concerned. Without getting into the complex details of the stalemate, an adult conveyed to a child how government affects our lives and our communities. Whether it was intended, I found the conversation to be a good teaching tool and hope I eavesdrop on more like it.
    
 

The week of Labor Day, all curbside trash, recycling and yard waste collections will be delayed one day in York.  (In other words, Monday customers will be picked up on Tuesday, Tuesday customers will be picked up Wednesday and so on.)

City offices will be closed Monday for the holiday.

Don't forget, the Labor Day parade starts at 10 a.m. Monday. The route begins at Smalls Field and ends at Kiwanis Lake, where there will be a festival with a fishing derby and fireworks.
 

     
 

Work on the Market Street parking garage continues.

One thing I had not noticed (since I never park in the garages) is the sign that says "monthly parkers only." Councilwoman Genevieve Ray brought it up at last night's city council meeting.

City business administrator Michael O'Rourke said transient parkers are not allowed in the garage right now because the construction work is taking up some of the spaces. So only the monthly parkers and the city vehicles assigned to park there are allowed in right now.

Once the garage renovations are finished, space will open up again.

O'Rourke said today that the renovations are moving a little ahead of schedule. The project, which started in March, was slated to take 12 to 15 months. O'Rourke said he is expecting to see work on the facade, which will be partially bricked, start soon.

The city will hold an auction on Sept. 23 to get rid of miscellaneous items.

Some of the items seem like typical supplies that might accumulate in any office: typewriters, printers, computer monitors. Others are old vehicles: trucks, SUVs and old police cars.

Then there are the pieces of heavy duty equipment: a street sweeper, a paint machine, an asphalt maintainer. There are lawn mowers, battery chargers, desks and paper towel dispensers.

And then there are the weird items: