Beautification is the process of making visual improvements to a person, place or thing. With regard to a town, city or to an urban area, this most often involves planting trees, shrubbery, and other greenery, but frequently also includes adding decorative or historic-style street lights and other lighting and replacing broken pavement, often with brick or other natural materials. Old-fashioned cobblestones are sometimes used for crosswalks; they provide the additional benefit of slowing motorists.
Beautification projects are often undertaken by city councils to refurbish their downtown areas, in order to boost tourism or other commerce. Often, this is also spurred by broken sidewalks, which pose a safety hazard for pedestrians and potentially insurmountable obstacles for wheelchair users. These projects are frequently part of other larger projects such as construction, especially in conjunction with ones for transit, such as streets and roads and mass transit.
ABOVE DEFINITION DEFINED IN WIKIPEDIA - You can look it up yourself at wikipedia.org
Because I have been a resident of my city for over 20 years, I feel that this need is important. I have worked with many of these workers, who are utilized to help maintain the beautification of our City. I am not being negative toward them and their work they have done. They have done much work but the supply of workers, doesn’t meet the demand of our city. Neither do the funds for the equipment meet its financial needs. I still don’t think that this has any effect on why I am writing this blog.
I’ve recently noticed that area’s where the big offices of the City Hall, or The Police Department, or the Community Relations Office are located are much cleaner than other area’s in our City. I noticed things that have been over looked even though the workers continue to maintain certain areas of the City’s shrubs and scenic views. The City has made many developments and many enhancements but I have also noticed money being spent in areas of our City that could be spent on other areas of more importance.
For instance one area of the City where the welcome sign is has been beautified twice! Not just once but the first time they did it, I was amazed and it looked beautiful and over time I have watched them change it for a second time. They laid down grass and then they dug it up and laid it out again, it was like kids with building blocks. Either someone was making decisions and couldn’t decide exactly the way it should have looked in the first place.
These are the things I have witnessed with my very own eyes. I have also witnessed many of the crime rates going down because of the same Beautification Unit fighting to keep Graffiti down, while focusing on that other things get overlooked in my opinion. But at the same time if you don’t have a Community that gets involved to help their City grow things remain the same.
So, I’ve done my part aside from complain about these several incidents I stood back and just watched as time has went by. But I’ve held it in long enough. I walked through this one tunnel several times and every time I have I have to pass the smell of urine and bird pooh. I walked to go get dinner several times or to go get videos and then I come home and when I finally get home to relax I am disgusted by the smell and sight that I lose my appetite.
I have faced not only these horrid eye sores but I have had to deal with homeless men that are hanging around the area. I had one man come up to me suspiciously look around to see if anyone was looking as he stepped to me in my space and asked me if I was married and if I lived alone and where was I walking too. Now in other towns and areas I have never had to deal with this type of behavior but this tunnel has attracted the wrong attention and because of the lights that haven’t been changed in I don’t know how many years it is darker than usual at night.
These people who mentor our children I remember a time back when I was younger. I was in fourth grade I will never forget this moment, I really wanted to learn my times tables. It was a big thing for me because back then Math was my favorite subject. Our Mayor at the time was visiting our class it was a big day for me to meet the Mayor she sat next to me this big heavy set woman with white hair and on the small chair. I thought wow how important I felt. Right? Doesn’t it always seem that way when you are younger that these important people in your life make you feel important! Well she sat with me trying to teach me my times tables, but she didn’t teach me she showed me how to cheat. That experience alone made me lose all the trust I had in the system alone. I honestly at that age was upset that she had taught me to cheat and didn’t really take the time to teach me my times tables.
Well she’s not the Mayor anymore no, we’ve had several since then but the latest one I was surprised to hear about because he was a man who I had held in high regard. His wife was believe it or not was a teacher or substitute one or the other, anyhow he was recently in the news paper for domestic violence and alcohol. I mean come on! Well this blog isn’t about their family issues, nor is it about their life, it’s about my experience with the business positions they have held in my City and the fact that not even our Officers are being paid enough money for what they do.
Enough of my ramblings, here are a few Photographs to share with you what I am talking about….. It was funny because just yesterday i had brought up the subject and today i caught the Beautification Unit working on the same area of which i am discussing. But they still left behind the years of bird droppings and the stains on the walls have yet to be taken care of. The piles were bigger than this, as previously shown on other photo's it's just that they swept some of it up just not all of it. Above is before, they swept up some of it, and below is after they swept it. what more can you get from these community service/cal trans workers that don't get paid to do this.
Another point is that not only are the City officials responsible for making sure these issues are being met, but it's the responsibilities of some of these business owners. #JustSaying
No comments:
Post a Comment