Wilcox House got a new roof

Wilcox House got a new roof. That, by itself, is hardly newsworthy. I get that that’s a pretty small story. But what is interesting is that it likely means something is going to happen with the house, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Read Full Post »

Work on Plymouth’s most uncomely new building continues at glacial speeds

There’s an old adage you’ve all heard: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”  That’s true, no doubt. But I’m pretty sure it was built faster than the new commercial building at Main Street and Ann Arbor Trail.  This eyesore – my apologies to those that like this place – has been “coming soon” for a seeming eternity.

Read Full Post »

Art in the Park: the more things change…

the more they stay the same.

Art in the Park is one of Plymouth’s premier yearly outdoor events.  I’d say it’s the king of all the local festivals and fairs.

What really stands out this year is that it looked surprisingly the same as last year’s event.  The same vendors have the same tents in almost the exact same places.  There appear to be more empty spaces this time around.

While this might appear to have a negative tone, I certainly intend no such thing.  This is more an observation than a judgment.  As always, there are some cool things to be found.  I bought a painted coin pendant, which, though pricey, is quite nice.  I do not remember this vendor in years past.

There’s still another day of AIP, so come out and see for yourself what is offered.

Read Full Post »

The DDA’s side of the story on valet parking

Because I had relatively strong feelings about valet parking downtown, I figured that contacting the Downtown Development Authority might be a better way of voicing my concerns than simply blogging about the matter.  I’m pleased that I got responses from the DDA, by email, within hours.

What follows is the body of the response email, which explains the whole point of valet parking in front of Compari’s and Panache, how it works, and how the city believes this may actually increase downtown parking.  Having gotten the DDA’s side of the story, if you will, I feel better about the program, which is still in trial phase.

Thank you for your comments on valet parking in downtown Plymouth.  As you indicated, the valet parking pilot programs in front of Compari’s and Panache are for a limited time and will be evaluated after 90 days.

The intention of the Downtown Development Authority Board and the City Commission when approving the valet parking experiments was to free up public parking downtown during peak periods.  The thought is valet parking would allow for many vehicles to be parked on private parking lots, thereby leaving more public parking spaces for visitors to the downtown.

The valet in front of Compari’s – which is for all visitors to downtown – parks cars in the Saxton’s parking lot, a private lot which was previously closed at night.  Some nights, nearly 40 cars are parked in the Saxton’s lot.  The valet from Panache parks its vehicles in the Westchester Square parking lot off Forest Ave., which is also a private lot.  The numbers there are generally much less.  However, in both instances those are vehicles that would normally take up public spaces.

Of course, valet parking is voluntary and those who don’t want to valet their cars can  find public parking spaces throughout downtown Plymouth at no charge.

I will forward your comments to the DDA Board and City Commission.  Also, feel free to attend a DDA Board meeting (the second Thursday of the month)  or a City Commission meeting (1st and 3rd Mondays) to further express your concerns.  Both groups meet at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

Thank you, again, for your interest in downtown Plymouth.

Decide for yourself whether this sits well with you.  I’m not certain that I think the program should remain in place, but I now have less gripes about it.

Read Full Post »

We three kings of Orient are…

I’m not much for holiday decorations.  I’m a Scrooge when it comes to Christmas.  But I like seeing the The Three Wisemen aka the Magi making their way from east to west through Kellogg Park.  They have, quite fittingly, started their journey before the leaves are all off the trees.  It’s a long way from Persia to Bethlehem, after all.

Read Full Post »

New construction downtown moving along

The new multi-business building being built downtown, at the corner of Main Street and Ann Arbor Trail, seems to be taking shape.  I am not afraid to say that this looks like it is going to be an ugly building and doesn’t fit with the character of the city.  But, it’s coming, like it or not.  Here are some shots of the construction as of November 10, 2011.

Read Full Post »

The compass and Art in the Park

Art in the Park starts tomorrow.  While I generally think that all the downtown events are good for the city to some degree, I think I have lost personal enthusiasm for this event.  I hope it goes over well, and I hope it brings a lot of cash and cool people into the city.  But I’m probably not going to spend too much time down there myself.  I like being able to go where I want to go, when I want to go there, and AitP gets in the way of that.  I must be getting old and curmudgeonly.

Here’s a link to the official website for the event.

http://www.artinthepark.com/

I also noticed the the compass at Ann Arbor Trail and Main Street was being re-painted and/or re-coated.  I like the aesthetics of it, but the more I think about it needing maintenance (at who knows how much cost) the more I question the return on investment.  It doesn’t look that great and it needs to be kept up.  I think brickwork would’ve looked as nice and required less work on a year basis, but I could be wrong.

Sorry for if this seems unnecessarily negative.

Read Full Post »

“Snowpocalypse” 2011

The most devastating storm of our lifetimes — if you believed all the pre-storm hype — came and went Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.  Roads were deserted but passable.  The City of Plymouth plows were out on residential streets early Wednesday morning and made them clear enough to drive.  The amount of snow, except where drifts were created, was quite manageable.

I, at the editor’s request, contributed some photos from around town while enjoying my half day off yesterday.  You can see them at Plymouth Patch.

http://plymouth-mi.patch.com/articles/winter-storm-drops-6-inches-in-southeast-michigan-5#photo-4722612

 

Read Full Post »

What the heck’s been going on?

I’ve been out of touch for awhile.  Oh, I’m still around town — I didn’t go anywhere.  I just have kind of gone into a shell.

I think it started with a 7 day trial I had in early November.  It took a lot of life out of me.  From there I rolled into more end-of-the-year craziness at work, as well as holiday craziness.  I never fully recovered from that.  All that stuff sapped my creative energy.

“Blogging” — I hate that word as a verb — is kind of like any other sort of writing or creative expression.  You can get “writer’s block.”  For three months I guess I’ve been all blocked up.  Hopefully, like the ground in spring, my mind will thaw and new life will emerge.  I’d prefer it not take until spring for this to happen.

One thing that did catch my attention, and I hope to get around to it soon, is the ugly building that is going to be built where the old gas station stood at Main and Ann Arbor Trail.  The design just doesn’t fit downtown Plymouth, at least in my ever-so-humble opinion.

Read Full Post »

A stick in the mud

Maybe I’m getting old and crotchety but I think I’m no longer a fan of the Chili  Cook Off.  The cook off itself is a great idea, and there are some excellent chilis showcased each year.  Very few foods are better than a really good chili.

That said, I’m beginning to be a little irritated by the atmosphere surrounding the event.  I’ve got nothing against bikers as individuals, but I’m not a fan of the biker culture.  There’s a gang or pack mentality that just doesn’t sit well with me.

When I walked around the event today, I saw bikers seemed to kind of go where they wanted to go, stand wherever they wanted to stand, without regard for others.  More than that, I was at a stop sign and one female biker parked her bike directly in front of mine so that I could not move, allowing at least 100 bikes, maybe more, to turn in front of me.  I don’t know why they’re allowed to be directing traffic in a congested downtown area.

This will come off a bit judgmentally, I regret.  I normally give people a fair amount of grace.  But I don’t really like that I didn’t feel like I could be comfortable with my daughter and her friends at the event because of some of the trashy shirts and clothing bikers and their women wear.  Grow up already.  You’re 50 years old plus.  Do you think curse words are still funny?  I’m more surprised than offended.

If those relatively minor complaints weren’t enough, 3 motorcycles were stolen today.  2 were stolen at last year’s event.

I recognize these are my hang-ups.

Read Full Post »