As if the recent Action Greensboro, Community Foundation Walker-Lomax Scandal wasn't enough of a concern for Greensboro's ongoing Downtown Greenway project, Allen Johnson and Doug Clark, Editors of the Greensboro News & Record have been going out of their way of late to warn us of the dangers faced by downtown trail users just an hour away in Durham, North Carolina.
And as if to add insult to injury, the Greensboro Police Department now reports that downtown Greensboro has the highest rates of criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft in the entire city.
It would appear that our "leaders" inability to see beyond the tall buildings has once again impaired their judgement. That, or all those late night parties with Uncle Milton. I tried to tell you that shit he peddles is bad for you but nobody listens to Billy 'till everything goes to pot then you want me to clean up the mess. Well screw that!
Prior to 2007, downtown was one of Greensboro's safer neighborhoods. Then neighborhoods like my own, tired of 30 plus years of living in frontier justice, decided to rise up and demand Greensboro make our neighborhood safe. I'm happy to say that according to that very same GPD map I linked to above my northeast Greensboro neighborhood is now on par with New Irving Park. I'm also happy to say that I played a roll in making that happen.
Now, what to do? Will GPD resort to moving officers from neighborhoods like mine to patrol the Downtown Greenway? Not if they don't want a bloody citizens uprising on their hands, they won't. Actually having cops around for the last 5 years has been very comforting and not having had to shoot at anything other than paper for 5 years has taken a load of stress off of myself and others but if you think for one moment that northeast Greensboro or any of the other once deserving but deprived neighborhood will stand for such things so that Greensboro's elites can have their playthings... Are you really that dumb?
Forget building performing arts centers for $60 Million, if it were me in charge I'd be hiring, training and equipping cops ASAP!
Then there's the actual patrolling of the greenway. Police cars won't fit on greenways. Bicycles fit but bicycles can be slow in an emergency. Motorcycles fit but Greensboro has very few motorcycles and as one who has ridden motorcycles for 40 years I can tell you the types of motorcycles currently used by GPD, while great for their intended use, are ill equipped for use on walking trails. Are the foundations and non profits going to buy motorcycles with some of that taxpayer money given to them by the City of Greensboro to build the Downtown $6 Million Per Mile Trail?
Short sighted buffoons.
