Ways to improve city’s quality of life...

Ways to improve city’s quality of life

Do you ever look around and just know Burbank would be a much

better place if certain things could be done? Every new City Council

comes up with up with a set of objectives. They usually miss a key

point. The devil is in the details. Don’t you wish:

* Those who choose to address the council and council members who

reply would lay out factual cases and stop imputing base motives

without proof? In other words, keep the thrust and parry of debate to

the issues without seeing a conspiracy in every action. After all,

mind-reading is in the realm of fortune-telling, and neither of which

has ever been a human strong suit.

* Drivers of all vehicles came to full stops at stop signs and

took the necessary two or three seconds to look both ways?

* The city would repaint all those center lanes used for left

turns so they would not tempt motorists to use them as regular

traffic or passing lanes?

* All city staff resided in the city and so had to live with their

decisions on potentially annoying or dangerous projects?

* The city posted signs that read, “Cyclists must obey all traffic

laws?”

* The police put up the following sign at a different four-way

stop intersection each week: “A rolling stop is worth $150” (or

whatever is the current fine for that infraction).

* Every council member and city employee were required to read a

brief summary of the history to the Soviet Union’s 70 years of strong

central planning?

* The city charter was modified to impose a limit of two terms on

membership on all boards and commissions? It would certainly help

create a membership that better reflected the changing ethnic

backgrounds in the city.

* The city charter was modified to require the city attorney to be

elected and a resident of the city?

* Left turns were not allowed into or out of corner convenience

malls and parking lots?

* City planners would modify parking requirements to reflect the

growing population of sport-utility vehicles by reducing the number

of spaces designated for compact cars?

* The council understood and acted on the idea that the only way

communities like Burbank will have a seat at the Federal airport

decision maker’s table is to force the issue through Congressional

action that writes into law a requirement that host cities have a

voice equal to the airlines, manufacturers, federal government and

traveling public?

* We had monthly, public financial statements of City Council and

the Board of Education performance against adopted budgets?

* The City Charter had a revolving door provision that all elected

officials of Burbank were barred from seeking city or school district

employment until two years after the expiration date of their elected

term of office?

* All Planning Board actions and building permits carried factual

evidence that supported the statement, “The project covered in this

action meets all parking requirements of the city codes and will not

create further traffic congestion?”

* The city would describe, in plain language, the money trail that

requires help when levying new or higher taxes or fees?

* The council would understand that hiking and cycling don’t mix

with bow hunting in our hillside areas, especially when they are in

proximity to residences?

Those aren’t much to ask, are they? Just think how traffic flow,

communications, safety and quality of life would improve.

WALT MEARES

Burbank

Voting is a snap, according to writer

Regarding Debbie Berlin’s letter concerning voting: The city made

it easy to vote for those who wanted to. They provided voting hours

on the Saturday prior to the election, and there’s always voting by

mail. The city clerk is available by phone to answer questions about

polling places, which have long hours on voting days. Also, employers

are required by law to allow their employees to vote.

Ms. Berlin complains about the inconvenience of going to her

polling place as if it were on another planet. She can make it very

easy on herself, and host an election at her home next time if she

truly wants to “participate in all ways possible, particularly

elections.”

Some people have enough “extra time” to compile a list of reasons

to not vote and enough “extra time” to write a letter about it, but

can’t find or make the “extra time” to actually vote.

TOM CELLI

Burbank

Writer questions authority’s motives

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see what’s going on

with the Airport Authority and Star Park. It’s dirty tricks in the

name of “profits.” I find the behavior reprehensible in the extreme.

If the airport feels it can’t compete with Star Park, maybe

commissioners should consider lowering their own rates.

The main thing this episode brings to my mind is this: These

people, engaged in the most dubious of business practices, are the

same ones who expect us to believe what they say, and trust them with

the expansion of the airport for “purely safety purposes” and believe

them when they say voluntary curfews are sufficient. Yeah, right.

If this is the way they conduct business, they first airline that

offers them a bonus will be allowed to run red-eye flights at 3 a.m.

Therefore, we need to regulate them at every turn and leave nothing

to their word or honor. They have none.

LORI J. MCCAFFERY

Burbank