I disagree strongly with Dyna on this one. And I can see this being hard for most listmembers (well educated and gainfully employed) to relate to. But the undersides of bridges are a very important resource for the homeless and for some travellers (hitchhikers, people on the tramp, etc). I've spend hundreds (not an exaggeration!) of nights traveling with little or no money (sometimes on the way to a job, sometimes just for the heck of it) from Miami to British Columbia, from Maine to southern California, and bridges have saved me on many an occasion. You are right that they are not the best defence against the cold (often having a "wind tunnel" effect) but they sure can't be beat when it is raining and you don't have any other place to go--especially when you are new to a town and haven't had time to explore other options. Setting up tents in urban areas just isn't realistic (except in some cases in wooded park areas)-- they are way too high profile, attracting the attention of kids, others who may wish you harm, and the police. (But by the way, many tents are self-supporting these days and don't require tie downs anyways).
Access to the undersides of bridges can literally mean the difference between staying safe and dry (and thus warm) or getting a drenching and being exposed to hypothermia. In the vast majority of locations, people under bridges are more or less invisible to citizens and cause very few problems. This brings to mind a related issue--Minneapolis has done almost everything it can to drive out of town low cost motels that might provide an alternative for people needing short term inexpensive shelter. I remember being downtown at Greyhound a couple years ago when a young couple got off a bus and had to layover before continuing on the next day. They asked at the desk where they could find a cheap motel for their overnight. The person at Greyhound (who must get questions like this almost everyday) had no idea where to send them and was suggesting options that would have cost at least double what they could afford. It was too late in the evening to get to a shelter and it was raining. In a situation like that, what the heck are people supposed to do? I would get some cardboard for padding and head for the nearest bridge. If you were to try sleeping out in urban areas for awhile or even just to sincerely talk with and listen to the people who do use the bridges for shelter, I doubt you would still feel that "all together barring off the underside of bridges does no harm to the homeless." Bruce Shoemaker (temporarily back in my former home of Luang Prabang, Laos--a poor country with a total budget for all branches of the national government less than that of the Minneapolis Public School system but where people take care of each other and where I see less homelessness than in Minnesota). --__--__-- > > Message: 9 > Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2003 00:40:00 -0600 > Subject: Re: [Mpls] No response yet from Erik or the Mayor on the Bridge > Rods > From: Dyna <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > The temperature will go below zero tonight, and probably way below > zero before this winter is over. To survive outside in this weather you > first need a couple hundred dollar sleeping bag for a start. The wind > will blow right through that bag though, so you will need a windblock > like a building, vehicle, or tent. Take a look at the undersides of > those bridges where they installed the rods- there is little or nothing > there to tie a tent too. Then consider the other factors that make > bridges a bad shelter choice- noise, salt brine dripping from above, > etc.. Add it all together and barring off the underside of bridges does > no harm to the homeless. > > > > Dyna Sluyter > .com/> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:m1r3201@ REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
