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"I have never heard of a person that took a job that they had no way to get to."
Exactly and they live in an area with economic poverty and have no way to get to other job centers, then it will be tough for them to even get a job. You periodically hear stories of people walking 2 hours or biking 30 miles each way to get to work but that's very rare. I don't think access to jobs is really a big concern but reliability on getting to your job will be much improved with frequent bus service.
"The other points are fair, maybe, I don't really know as I don't know enough of Raleigh's poorer areas to know if there aren't grocery stores or clinics nearby."
Southeast Raleigh is one of the greatest food deserts here in the area. There's a Food Lion somewhere and that's about it. Businesses have periodically opened up but due to crime or other reasons, nothing has lasted long enough to stick. The food desert of southeast Raleigh | Raleigh Public Record
Back after college I sold my car to pay off my credit card bill and rode a bike to a minimum wage ($5.15/hr) job. Four miles each way. It sucked. But I still went to work.
Southeast Raleigh is one of the greatest food deserts here in the area. There's a Food Lion somewhere and that's about it. Businesses have periodically opened up but due to crime or other reasons, nothing has lasted long enough to stick. The food desert of southeast Raleigh | Raleigh Public Record
You article says the economics don't work and implies crime may have nothing to do with creating food deserts in SE Raleigh.
'The problem is economics, he said, because the big chain grocery stores usually built in 35,000 to 40,000 square feet of space.
“[Stores] have got to have families going in there spending $300-$400 month and there’s got to be a lot of families doing that,” he said. “Those folks don’t have the income to do the purchasing to support that.”'
Back after college I sold my car to pay off my credit card bill and rode a bike to a minimum wage ($5.15/hr) job. Four miles each way. It sucked. But I still went to work.
Ah, but you already had (A) a car to sell, (B) a bike to ride, and (C) a job to go to.
Imagine if you didn't have either A or B, and if there was no C within 5 miles of where you lived.
You article says the economics don't work and implies crime has nothing to do with food deserts in SE Raleigh.
'The problem is economics, he said, because the big chain grocery stores usually built in 35,000 to 40,000 square feet of space.
“[Stores] have got to have families going in there spending $300-$400 month and there’s got to be a lot of families doing that,†he said. “Those folks don’t have the income to do the purchasing to support that.â€'
Read the paragraph above where you got the quote.
Quote:
So what causes these vacuums? National attention shed on this issue often finds mixed reasons for grocery stores not to locate in lower-income neighborhoods – and not all those reasons are based on fact. Some grocery executives worry about crime rates, some argue there might be less profit in a low-income area.
Worrying and speculating about crime has deterred, and continues to deter, a lot of forward progress.
Back after college I sold my car to pay off my credit card bill and rode a bike to a minimum wage ($5.15/hr) job. Four miles each way. It sucked. But I still went to work.
Don't worry - there are already plenty of people against spending a small percentage of money to stripe bike lanes on the roads so you can get there safely if that's what you choose
Quote:
Originally Posted by muvonga
You article says the economics don't work and implies crime may have nothing to do with creating food deserts in SE Raleigh.
'The problem is economics, he said, because the big chain grocery stores usually built in 35,000 to 40,000 square feet of space.
“[Stores] have got to have families going in there spending $300-$400 month and there’s got to be a lot of families doing that,” he said. “Those folks don’t have the income to do the purchasing to support that.”'
That makes a lot of sense - I just mentioned crime because I know the Food Lion in Southeast Raleigh has a security guard so I'm not sure if it was even remotely a factor. I don't live there.
Right, so that a grocery bill of $100, which currently rings up as $106.75 with tax, will break everyone's wallets because that bill now costs $107.25.
That's minor compared to how much food prices themselves fluctuate. You want to complain about working people struggling, start with that.
The point is, the area has already grown. Put transit in place to serve those areas that already exist, including those areas that are not considered sprawl.
Transit would only increase sprawl if they ran a route where few to no people lived. There is no evidence of anyone doing that, or planning to. That's not how municipal/regional transit works. Thus, your sprawl complaint is irrelevant to what Wake County is trying to do here.
You do realize what paycheck to paycheck means? There's nothing left. Sales tax is charged on a whole lot more expenses than just the grocery store. Live on credit if they can get it.
Ah, but you already had (A) a car to sell, (B) a bike to ride, and (C) a job to go to.
Imagine if you didn't have either A or B, and if there was no C within 5 miles of where you lived.
If there is no min wage job within 5 miles of my house I would move. Because it would mean I would live in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully we aren't planning on running buses to those areas. I really hope not. The ROI is negative infinity.
You walk your first two weeks. Take your pay check and buy a bike. I bought my wife a brand new one from Target for $70.
Now you have a bike.
Nobody said it was easy. It's going to suck. I know, I was there.
Every time I drive to Lowes and Home Depot I am in awe of the day laborers there. They show up with nothing on their plate and hope to make some money for the day. They eventually learn a trade and turn that into a business. I sold my car to one. He bought it for his teenage daughter. Came to this country with nothing and built his business and provided for his family.
Sorry, just a tangent rant. We can give people opportunity but in order to move forward we as a nation must have the American drive that, unfortunately, many American citizens have lost. I see this in my union as well, the entitlement mentality is among us and how the company should pay us more, treat us better, etc.
You do realize what paycheck to paycheck means? There's nothing left. Sales tax is charged on a whole lot more expenses than just the grocery store. Live on credit if they can get it.
So, those people living check to check... Do you judge them for their iPhones and big screen TV's like some might judge welfare recipients? Or is there a double standard?
If there is no min wage job within 5 miles of my house I would move. Because it would mean I would live in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully we aren't planning on running buses to those areas. I really hope not. The ROI is negative infinity.
You walk your first two weeks. Take your pay check and buy a bike. I bought my wife a brand new one from Target for $70.
Now you have a bike.
Nobody said it was easy. It's going to suck. I know, I was there.
Every time I drive to Lowes and Home Depot I am in owe of the day laborers there. They show up with nothing on their plate and hope to make some money for the day. They eventually learn a trade and turn that into a business. I sold my car to one. He bought it for his teenage daughter. Came to this country with nothing and built his business and provided for his family.
Sorry, just a tangent rant. We can give people opportunity but in order to move forward we as a nation must have the American drive that, unfortunately, many American citizens have lost. I see this in my union as well, the entitlement mentality is among us and how the company should pay us more, treat us better, etc.
And if you can't afford to move anywhere closer to where decent jobs are because of your lack of income.....? I'm not saying I disagree with anything you're saying, but it comes with built-in assumptions that everyone's lot in life is the same. It's not. You already mentioned selling your car after college to pay off a credit card debt, which actually showed that you were three steps ahead of people in the situations I describe - college, car, credit.
I'm not even talking about running bus lines to the middle of nowhere. But even covering more of Poole and Rock Quarry Roads in SE Raleigh (I hate to pick on them, but it's a good case study) would be a massive improvement. Plenty of people live there because it's cheap, but the area is an employment wasteland.
Ah, yes, now I see. Another transplant. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose . . .
After 30 years I don't consider myself a transplant. What percentage of Raleigh citizens (or even Wake County citizens) has been here 40 years or more? I would guess, less than 10%. I'm not saying that what you think does not matter, but in the big picture, political control has passed to "transplants" as you put it. We are the norm and you are the outlier. C'est la vie.
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