No one asked, but…
• Kudos to those in the city who are using some strategic thinking as they cut the grass in public areas. The topic came up on social media a few days ago when people noticed the lawn being mowed at the “triangle” on Lakeshore Boulevard.
Some had been concerned that the grass wasn’t being cut, and then when the cutting started, others were concerned that the wildflowers were going to fall victim to the blade. Scott Cambensy, Director of Public Works, told me the city has certain “no mow zones,” as well as areas that are cut to allow for unobstructed vision at intersections.
Regarding greenspace maintenance, Cambensy says each area is evaluated based on a number of factors, but overall, when it comes to things like safety, erosion, and attention to nature, “We continue to search for a balance.” Sounds good… and the wildflowers, as seen above, survived the cut.
• Along those same lines, the median of the U.S. 41 Bypass, which cuts through both Marquette and Marquette Township, always seems to be in need of a little TLC. Whether it’s the out-of-control weeds (not wildflowers), or an abundance of litter, the visuals are often less than flattering.
The county takes care of the maintenance as part of an agreement with the state, and I guess they do what they can. But as we’ve seen over the years, the grass in those medians is never going to look good past the first month it’s installed.
Litter is another issue, and I think there are some groups that try to keep up with it, but it’s often out of control as well, and particularly noticeable when the snow melts in the spring.
Since I think the current system of planting grass in areas that get a minimum level of attention is doomed from the start, wouldn’t it be nice if an entirely different plan could be implemented? Maybe something other than grass? I don’t have any great ideas, but I know what we’re doing now doesn’t work.
• Last week I dined at one of our local establishments and overheard a conversation between a visitor and one of the wait staff. The visitor wondered what was happening in town over the weekend and was told… “Well, there’s Art on the Rocks. That’s about it.”
I almost spit out my beer on my chicken wings! (Don’t worry… I didn’t.) I don’t blame the unnamed waitress for not being up to speed on EVERTHING THAT WAS HAPPENING LAST WEEKEND IN MARQUETTE! But I do think management could do a better job keeping our front-liners informed about local events.
It really wouldn’t be that hard for someone in the office to print out a list of upcoming activities and ask staff to give it a look-see before they start their shift. As long as we’re going to be a tourist destination, we should at least make sure our service workers are well-versed on local events. Don’t ya think?
• Sticking with the event theme… the annual Blueberry Festival downtown was once again a raging success. Some vendors experienced their best day ever! And why not? There was plenty to see and do for visitors and locals alike. There was music, art, food, and top shelf people-watching. And it was the festival’s first run under the adult beverage-friendly Social District.
So, as I suggested to DDA director Tara Laase-McKinney… why don’t you do this more often during the summer? My guess is that the vast majority of people at the festival were from somewhere else. And there’s a different bunch of them in town every week, looking for something to do, especially downtown.
It obviously couldn’t be a Blueberry Festival every Friday, but we could certainly come up with some kind of theme that would work. Laase-McKinney didn’t immediately dismiss the idea, but her furrowed brow couldn’t hide her thoughts of what it would take to pull it off. More staff hours and a challenge to find interested vendors would probably top the to-do list, but dang, wouldn’t it be cool?
• And that provides a nice segue into a discussion about downtown parking. When I went to the meter-thing closest to my car, I was pleased to find that parking was free for the Blueberry Festival. So there… I just said something nice about parking downtown.
I’ve seen enough not-so-nice things said about parking downtown that I thought I would weigh in with an unsolicited observation. And here it is…
Yeah, the new meter program takes a little getting used to. And some of the lots that used to be free now require payment. And with all the tourists in town, it’s harder to find a spot than it used to. And… well, that might be about it. Just know this. It is what it is, and it ain’t never going back to what it was.
I don’t like trudging up or down a hill to the meter-thing any more than you do, especially during the winter. But there is a remedy for that, and it’s the Passport Parking App available at the DDA website. Yes, you’re required to have a little tech knowledge and the appropriate platforms on your phone, but it’s available and it works.
Things change. Sometimes for the better… sometimes not. I’m pretty sure the folks at the DDA are not trying to make our lives harder. So we might as well quit complaining and get with the program.
• Here’s a question for you. What were you doing last Tuesday morning at about 3am? (I don’t really want to know. I’m just setting up this next observation.)
I was in bed, wide awake, listening to the garbage/recycling trucks as they went through my neighborhood not once, not twice, not three times, but… yes four times! That’s how many trips it takes up and down each street to take care of the stuff we put on the curb. Four trips.
That, in and of itself, is not the problem. The problem is the NOISE! Those things are so loud it’s downright frightening. And just like our new parking meters, I don’t think there’s much we can do about it. The cart system is here to stay, so as long as we keep coming up with more garbage and recyclables, there’s going to be one night a week when the nightmares are real.
• While we’re talking about trucks… I still believe it was an unfortunate development when the Eagle Mine folks were denied permission to build a road from their mine near Big Bay to their mill in Humboldt.
Yes… the road would have cut through the unblemished wilderness of northern Marquette County. And the effects of that were why the EPA and other environmental groups opposed the road. But there were also other factors to be considered. Like the environmental impact of big trucks that have to drive many more miles, on well-traveled highways, to get the ore where it needs to go.
And it’s not just that. There are also safety issues that come up when our busy roads are saturated with close to a couple hundred trucks a day, traveling right through our most populated areas.
I don’t think we’re going to get a do-over with this. I just think we’d have been better off to let the mine build the road.
• And finally… am I the only one who thinks those annoying weather warnings that disrupt our television viewing are just too much? I get particularly irked by those Winter Weather Advisories we get in the middle of winter. Duh.
Instead of a complete takeover of my TV for an inordinate amount of time, how about a simple crawl at the top or bottom of the screen? Or, in lieu of that… how about nothing? Short of heading to the basement for a tornado, which is a rare occurrence around here, exactly what do they expect me to do when warned of an incoming storm? I honestly don’t know.
In addition to weather forecasts readily available on my smart phone, I can always simply look out the window. I’m just waiting for the day when that stupid weather warning interrupts a big game just as the winning shot is in the air. If that ever happens, we’re definitely gonna need a storm warning.