OPINION
THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10 -16, 2019 • Page 5
The scooter invasion
more than it
inconveniences
benefits
Anyone who has recently driven
through or near downtown Decatur has
likely seen the proliferation of scooters
on almost every block. At times, the
scooters are neatly lined up along city
sidewalks and other times, they are
haphazardly left lying wherever the
operator decided to leave them.
Scooter companies such as Bird and
Lime say their products will reduce
car usage, traffic and carbon emissions
in the cities served by the company.
Opponents of the scooters complain
about issues such as abandoned
scooters blocking sidewalks, a lack of
helmet requirements and impeding the
flow of traffic.
Love them or hate them, it
appears that electronic scooters have
successfully invaded both Decatur and
Atlanta and made themselves right at
home.
According to Bird, 10 scooters
can be parked in one standard size
car parking spot. While this logic is
an impressive argument in support of
scooters and a great marketing line, it
is doubtful that scooters will always
be required to be parked in designated
parking spots. If regulations are
implemented that determine where the
scooters can be parked, enforcement
will be difficult at best as users can
leave the scooters wherever they
please.
While the concept of having
environmentally friendly, low-cost
transportation options is admirable,
those who do not use the service
are inconvenienced and exposed to
possible injury by abandoned scooters.
I can’t think of any other mode of
transportation or any public service
that benefits a small segment of the
population and inconveniences others.
Shortly after the scooters appeared
on Decatur’s streets, I saw one
abandoned in a travel lane on the
narrow, crowded bridge over Sam’s
Crossing. Vehicles were swerving to
avoid it.
Decatur’s downtown area is already
visually cluttered with public art,
signage and colorful walkways at
intersections. When scooters can be
abandoned wherever the user chooses,
the clutter is magnified even more.
At some point, municipalities will
have to make decisions that may not
align with their social and environment
concerns to protect the ambiance of the
city and safety of all who live, work or
visit.
As appealing and novel as scooter
service is to some, there are many
more who are, and will continue to be
inconvenienced. Every new idea that
comes around shouldn’t be allowed
when the greater public sees no benefits
from the service.
johnh@dekalbchamp.com
John Hewitt
Oh! Canada
As I crossed the mid-century mark
a few anniversaries around the sun ago,
I decided to make a higher priority of
actually taking the trips and adventures
on my bucket list before the good Lord
decided to take me-and to get goin’
while the goin’ was still good.
So, last Christmas we made
an incredible holiday trek to the
Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs,
W. Va. The resort is too incredible to
describe in a few sentences, and the
time spent with my daughters and son-
in-law on Amtrak en route as well as
at the hotel, gave us a host of priceless
holiday family memories. I was greatly
touched when my father started a
new family tradition this year of
favorite Christmas memories and that
Christmas trip has already landed atop
those lists with my daughters.
But this year my girls are both
elsewhere with their mothers, so I
wanted to plan something memorable,
and singular as I was not likely to take
this trip again later. I selected The
Canadian-the flagship of Canada’s
rail system-Train No. 1 traverses from
Toronto to Vancouver, east to west and
train No. 2 (my choice), the reverse
from Vancouver to Toronto.
I actually prefer train travel in
many ways. I flew from Atlanta to
Seattle, taking Amtrak from the under
renovation King Street Station in
p'""" ‘One Man’s
f Opinion’
rill Ci mi
bill.csicrane@gmail.com
downtown Seattle to Vancouver. On
this leg of the trip I met an incredible
woman, Ms. Loretta Young Phillips,
who at 85 was on her way to spend
the holidays with children and
grandchildren north of the border. Our
time together may be another column
all its own someday soon.
In Vancouver I spent a lovely
Christmas Eve getting to know the
city, having only been previously to
Victoria Island nearby. An enchanting
Christmas market had at its center
a three-story Christmas manger—
much like an heirloom family holiday
centerpiece back home—only this one
contained a live three-piece music
combo on its second level, which
again made me feel more at home. On
approach they were rocking to “Rockin’
Around the Christmas Tree,” originally
recorded by Lithonia, Georgia’s own
little Miss Brenda Lee.
After visiting the market, I walked
along the waterfront back to the
Marriott Pinnacle Vancouver for
what turned out to be an incredible
Christmas Eve dinner, with the best
bowl of summer squash bisque I’ve ever
experienced.
Christmas morning brought a
return to Vancouver’s grand Pacific
Central Rail Station and off across the
Rockies—the views were indescribable
and majestic.
The Via Rail staff are most
professional, hospitable and
accommodating-I sense even more so
than usual during the holiday season.
Our accommodations were
a comfortable and compact sleeper
cabin for two with a half-bath and a
communal shower just steps away. A
glass-domed lounge car offered even
more incredible 360-degree views as
the vistas unfolded. Excellent meals
were included with our fare. Our first
stop to deboard was in the ski burg of
Jasper, population 4,605-plus, easily
trebling during ski season. Nearing half
our cabin departed here for the slopes
on Boxing Day.
This was not my first trip visiting
our northern neighbor; prior business
ventures had well introduced me to
Toronto, Montreal and Windsor. This
trip, and Canada in general, welcomes
diversity. Asians are among their
largest and most visible minority
population. Passengers onboard this
train trek represented most every
continent. I counted at least 10
languages that I overheard but could
not understand. But smiles, nods and
holiday greetings were the common
language of all.
Friends in Toronto have already
given me good reason to return here
soon, and though I remain loyal to my
Budweiser family of products, I admit
to a growing fondness for LaBatt’s
shades of blue.
This was perhaps the whitest
Christmas and most snowfall I have
also ever experienced, other than some
Christmas ski trips to Park City and
Steamboat Springs, Colo. Yet unlike on
those, I was seldom in the snow and
cold. As I type these words, there is a
comfort watching this beautiful scenery
roll by, accompanied by a nice hot mug
of cider, from the comfort of my cabin,
knowing that the warmth of the VIA
Rail team and fellow passengers outside
were also just a few steps away. Happy
New Year, back to being out and about.
Bill Crane also serves as a political
analyst and commentator for Channel 2 s
Action News, WSB-AM News/Talk 750
and now 95.5 FM, as well as a columnist
for The Champion, DeKalb Free Press
and Georgia Trend. Crane is a DeKalb
native and business owner, living in
Scottdale. You can reach him or comment
on a column at bill.csicrane@gmail.com.
