Originally Posted by
grump
I read the plan proposed in the shoe shine rag today for the area around Blvd Mall. You can tell the “planners” like Kulpa are running things because the article sings the praises of things like “rain gardens”. For those unitiated to the modern jargon of “planning” a “rain garden” is a new technique for controlling storm water runoff. Essentially, it’s a hole in the ground, lined with rocks and pretty flowers to make it look acceptable into which storm water runs and then sits until it slowly percolates into the ground. Those who have paid attention to land use disputes in Amherst have heard the “banana” crowd in Amherst whine for years about the clay soils in Amherst with their relative impermeability. Now, through the miracle of “planning” the impermeabilty issue has apparently magically vanished and “rain gardens” will solve our storm water runoff problems. Allow me to suggest an alternative name for “rain gardens”; I suggest we call them “mosquito maternity wards”. And Kulpa, again employing his magical powers as a “planner”, has divined the desires of future generations for “pedestrian spaces”. This is magical along the lines of Harry Potter type stuff, future generations aren’t even born yet, that’s what makes them future generations. And Kulpa has no better idea what they’ll want than you or I do. To the extent he pretends otherwise, he’s just another arrogant fraud.