Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Better ways to have spent $280 M in taxpayer money
In 1995, the Edward Jones Dome was built for $280M. The main tenant, the St Louis Rams, just left the taxpayers on the hook until 2021 for $12M per year.
Riverfront Times has made an irreverent list of 25 things to do with the empty dome. My personal favorite, having grown up with the pop-a-matic games of the 70s, is:
10. Replace the roof with a clear plastic bubble and fill it with dice, like the old Trouble board game. All future decisions involving taxpayer money will be resolved by fiat of the giant dice popper.
This got me thinking along a more serious line: what are better ways that $280 could have been spent? I do get that a lot of money gets dropped at an NL game. 50-75000 people pay for tickets; pay to park; buy food and drinks and merchandise at the stadium; sometimes go out for a meal before or after the game; and sometimes purchase room nights at hotels. But so many families are priced out of this experience that I have never felt that stadium building for pro sports teams is/was a good investment. So I started thinking -- what could a city buy?
1) Free Wi-Fi
That's why I loved to read that New York City wants to build one of the largest public wifi networks. The request for proposals was announced on May 1, looking for the installation, operation, and maintenance of up to 10,000 hotspots. It will be ready in four years.
Wikipedia reports free wifi is available in some way across 150 cities in the world like: Bangkok (Thailand), Blackpool (UK), Helsingborg (Sweden), Toronto (Canada), Denver (USA), Guadalajara (Mexico)and Stellenbosch (SA). Business Insider report 9 cities with the best free Wifi among which Helsinki (Finland), Taipei (Taiwan) and Hong Kong (China).
In the Netherlands there is a start-up, planning to build free wifi-networks in 38 cities, costing € 10 million. It was launched last year in Tiel, a small city of 41.000 citizens. At the moment 16.000 unique visitors in Tiel use the free wifi 20.000 hours per week. Other cities like Leiden (115.000 citizens) and Zwolle (120.000 citizens) are offering free wifi in The Netherlands too. And more will follow soon.
Wikipedia reports free wifi is available in some way across 150 cities in the world like: Bangkok (Thailand), Blackpool (UK), Helsingborg (Sweden), Toronto (Canada), Denver (USA), Guadalajara (Mexico)and Stellenbosch (SA). Business Insider report 9 cities with the best free Wifi among which Helsinki (Finland), Taipei (Taiwan) and Hong Kong (China).
In the Netherlands there is a start-up, planning to build free wifi-networks in 38 cities, costing € 10 million. It was launched last year in Tiel, a small city of 41.000 citizens. At the moment 16.000 unique visitors in Tiel use the free wifi 20.000 hours per week. Other cities like Leiden (115.000 citizens) and Zwolle (120.000 citizens) are offering free wifi in The Netherlands too. And more will follow soon.
2) A Construction Job Training Center
If you're looking for a job in construction or manufacturing, there's a new training center in Birmingham that will help you get the right certifications.
Wright Way Inc. opened its doors on Friday with a free training session for people interested in the construction field.
The company will work with job seekers who need soft training and skilled-trade training.
Wright Way Inc. opened its doors on Friday with a free training session for people interested in the construction field.
The company will work with job seekers who need soft training and skilled-trade training.
3) School Technology
Gates makes a strong case for making new technology part of our investment in education. He cites the example of the Christopher Columbus Middle School in Union City, New Jersey, where the local telephone company, Bell Atlantic, conducted an experiment in computerization and networking. The school was in trouble. Dropout rates were high and test scores were low. Bell Atlantic funded the installation of networked computers linking students' homes to classrooms, teachers, administrators, and the Net. Teachers, parents, students, and administrators were trained to use the computers. Two years later, “The dropout rate and absenteeism were both almost zero”
4) Sports fields - for Kids
The Fourth of July brings more than just fireworks and celebration to the mild summer climate and Rocky Mountain air of Denver, Colorado. It’s also a time where nearly 800 elite fastpitch-softball teams from across the country travel to for the annual Colorado Sparkler, Sparkler Juniors, and Fireworks.
While Colorado is not known as a true hotbed for softball talent, it becomes the center of the sport’s recruiting universe for one week where more than 600 college coaches attend to watch the best players compete in the country’s largest fastpitch event. This week (June 30-July 6) the three events, which are produced by Fort Collins-based Triple Crown Sports, will combine for more than 3,000 games played on 133 softball fields at 30 different sites; bringing in an estimated $30 million in economic impact to Denver, Aurora, Westminster, and communities in Northern Colorado.
While Colorado is not known as a true hotbed for softball talent, it becomes the center of the sport’s recruiting universe for one week where more than 600 college coaches attend to watch the best players compete in the country’s largest fastpitch event. This week (June 30-July 6) the three events, which are produced by Fort Collins-based Triple Crown Sports, will combine for more than 3,000 games played on 133 softball fields at 30 different sites; bringing in an estimated $30 million in economic impact to Denver, Aurora, Westminster, and communities in Northern Colorado.
5) House some homeless
Those who are homeless in Killeen will have a place to stay this winter after the city cut a ribbon for its first homeless shelter Thursday night.
Families In Crisis, a local nonprofit organization, will operate the $1.4 million facility that will house up to 74 people.
According to a compilation of surveys by the Central Texas Homeless Alliance conducted earlier this year, 532 people identified themselves as homeless in the Killeen-Temple metropolitan area.
Larry Moehnke, Families in Crisis board president, said the shelter, at 412 E. Sprott Ave., will operate 365 days a year and provide housing for people from 3 p.m. until the next morning.
Families In Crisis, a local nonprofit organization, will operate the $1.4 million facility that will house up to 74 people.
According to a compilation of surveys by the Central Texas Homeless Alliance conducted earlier this year, 532 people identified themselves as homeless in the Killeen-Temple metropolitan area.
Larry Moehnke, Families in Crisis board president, said the shelter, at 412 E. Sprott Ave., will operate 365 days a year and provide housing for people from 3 p.m. until the next morning.
6) Riverfront Times suggested 10 better ways to spend St. Louis taxpayer money than building the $1.1 billion dollar stadium designed to replace Edward Jones. One stuck out for me:
5. Gift four years of undergrad tuition to 5,813 students at Washington University
7) On the topic of the 1.1 Billion dollar St. Louis stadium that never emerged
Inside Tuesday night’s fan meeting, the room turned tense as Nadra, a critic of the stadium proposal, questioned why officials were committing public money to the project without funding “40 years of neglect on the north side”.
“This isn’t the stage for that,” one fan shouted. “What made you so important?” went another, as jeers rained down from across the room.
Nadra continued. “Is the NFL interested in doing anything to promote the racial justice that has been misaligned here?”
Whatever the answer from NFL senior vice-president of public policy Cynthia Hogan may have been, few likely heard it. A group in the back had begun to chant: “If we don’t get it, shut it down,” while unveiling a banner that read “Fund Schools, Not Football.”
“This isn’t the stage for that,” one fan shouted. “What made you so important?” went another, as jeers rained down from across the room.
Nadra continued. “Is the NFL interested in doing anything to promote the racial justice that has been misaligned here?”
Whatever the answer from NFL senior vice-president of public policy Cynthia Hogan may have been, few likely heard it. A group in the back had begun to chant: “If we don’t get it, shut it down,” while unveiling a banner that read “Fund Schools, Not Football.”
8) We could build grocery stores
Adults living in neighborhoods with supermarkets or with supermarkets and grocery stores have the lowest rates of obesity (21 percent) and overweight(60–62 percent) and those living in neighborhoods with no supermarkets and access to only convenience stores, smaller grocery stores, or both had the highest rates (32–40 percent obesity; 73–78 percent overweight), according to a study of more than 10,000 adults.
The lack of supermarket access corresponds with higher rates of diet related death in Philadelphia.
In Los Angeles, a longer distance traveled to reach a grocery store was associated with higher BMI. Those who traveled more than 1.75 miles to a supermarket weighed 0.8 BMI units more (4.8 pounds for a 5’5” person).
A national study of more than 70,000 teens also found that increased availability of chain supermarkets was associated with lower rates of overweight.
The lack of supermarket access corresponds with higher rates of diet related death in Philadelphia.
In Los Angeles, a longer distance traveled to reach a grocery store was associated with higher BMI. Those who traveled more than 1.75 miles to a supermarket weighed 0.8 BMI units more (4.8 pounds for a 5’5” person).
A national study of more than 70,000 teens also found that increased availability of chain supermarkets was associated with lower rates of overweight.
9A) We could build bike lanes
1. It inspires more people to ride bicycles
If you build it, they will come. Time and time again, cycling studies have shown that adding bike lanes motivates more people to get out and bike. New Orleans saw a 57% increase just six months after bike lanes were marked. Los Angeles also saw a 52% jump in cyclists on their new lanes. Meanwhile, New York City found it was able to double the number of people commuting by bicycle in just a few years after introducing a few cycling initiatives including bike lanes. In a country plagued by obesity, the health benefits of a population that rides bicycles should not be mitigated.
2. It stimulates the local economy
That same increased use also results in a boost to commerce. While communities often fight bike lanes out of concern that it will discourage vehicular traffic from coming to the stores, recent studies have shown that bicycle lanes have the opposite effect on sales. In Manhattan, streets that had bike lanes put in saw their business increase by nearly 50%. A business boom, particularly one of that size, can probably be attributed to a number of factors, but surely an increase in people in the area plays a big role. Similar results were found for businesses by bike lanes in Portland.
3. It’s safer for cyclists
Accidents happen, but research illustrates that city streets with bike lanes reduce the rate of cyclist injury by 50%. For years, the conventional wisdom was that sharing the lane with vehicles made for safer cycling, but data supports that having a separate lanes significantly cuts down on the number of cyclist emergency room visits. In fact, protected bike lanes – those with barriers dividing cyclists from vehicles – cuts the injury rate by a whopping 90%.
If you build it, they will come. Time and time again, cycling studies have shown that adding bike lanes motivates more people to get out and bike. New Orleans saw a 57% increase just six months after bike lanes were marked. Los Angeles also saw a 52% jump in cyclists on their new lanes. Meanwhile, New York City found it was able to double the number of people commuting by bicycle in just a few years after introducing a few cycling initiatives including bike lanes. In a country plagued by obesity, the health benefits of a population that rides bicycles should not be mitigated.
2. It stimulates the local economy
That same increased use also results in a boost to commerce. While communities often fight bike lanes out of concern that it will discourage vehicular traffic from coming to the stores, recent studies have shown that bicycle lanes have the opposite effect on sales. In Manhattan, streets that had bike lanes put in saw their business increase by nearly 50%. A business boom, particularly one of that size, can probably be attributed to a number of factors, but surely an increase in people in the area plays a big role. Similar results were found for businesses by bike lanes in Portland.
3. It’s safer for cyclists
Accidents happen, but research illustrates that city streets with bike lanes reduce the rate of cyclist injury by 50%. For years, the conventional wisdom was that sharing the lane with vehicles made for safer cycling, but data supports that having a separate lanes significantly cuts down on the number of cyclist emergency room visits. In fact, protected bike lanes – those with barriers dividing cyclists from vehicles – cuts the injury rate by a whopping 90%.
9B)Fund a community bike project
Volunteers and community activists in the Gifford Park Neighborhood started the Open Shop program in 2007 as a neighborhood-based community involvement program that focuses on the transportation needs of neighbors. The Bike Project continues to work to improve access to bicycles for everyone through Open Shop, Earn-a-Bike, and maintenance classes. In addition to serving as a hub for sustainable and equitable transportation, the Bike Project also serves as a social learning space that promotes youth mentorship, community building, and mechanical intelligence.
10) Build Libraries
To measure the value of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the library's economic influence and its benefits for its users, which were measured with time value....To measure users' benefits, the study measured the time that 1300 users spent at ht library. The value of the time used by each individual was calculated by applying the intermediate value of male and female wages in the area. The total value of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library was $3 per $1 of library expenses, and varied according tot he possibility of changes in time value offered by the users of the library. The library created $6.14 per $1 of budget provided by the city government.
...
In the study of Florida public libraries, a total of 17 public libraries were analyzed to assess the benefits to adult users who were 18 years of age or older; this study also considered the economic impact on these users....The analysis showed that approximately $6.40 of the total value per $1 of the budget was created.
...
In the study of Florida public libraries, a total of 17 public libraries were analyzed to assess the benefits to adult users who were 18 years of age or older; this study also considered the economic impact on these users....The analysis showed that approximately $6.40 of the total value per $1 of the budget was created.
10 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
