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Thread: City considers impounding abandoned shopping carts

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    Member steven's Avatar
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    City considers impounding abandoned shopping carts

    Abandoned shopping carts have become such a problem in some neighborhoods that the city might start impounding them and charging stores fees to get them back.

    Over a two-week period last fall, the Mayor’s Impact Team rounded up more than 100 carts in one part of the North District.

    Last summer, Margaret Szczepaniec counted 23 abandoned carts in a single day dotting a half-mile stretch. She is involved with the Black Rock-Riverside Good Neighbors Planning Alliance, a group that has been taking aim at the problem.

    “It’s a quality-of-life issue,” she said. “It starts with the small stuff, and leads to bigger stuff.”

    Alliance chairman Richard Mack, who also heads the Riverside Business Association, said most of the recovered carts belong to the Tops Market at Amherst Street near Grant Street. Mack and officials from the city’s Division of Citizen Services said other vendors, including a nearby Wegmans, have taken effective steps to minimize the number of stolen carts. Wegmans, for example, has a manned security van and customer service crews in its parking lot at its Amherst Street store.

    But carts from other stores continue to cause neighborhood eyesores, said North Council Member Joseph Golombek Jr., who thinks it is time to consider a new law. He is introducing a resolution today that seeks input from businesses, community leaders and city attorneys on a plan that would see Buffalo charge stores impound fees for recovered carts. The bill does not say how much the city might charge per cart.

    Golombek said he is not worried that such a law might be branded anti-business.

    “We’re just trying to make sure our corporate neighbors are good citizens,” he said.

    Mack said no one likes to see new fees imposed, but he claimed some vendors — including Tops — have not done enough to address the problem.

    “If you start hitting them in the wallet, maybe they’ll take it seriously,” said Mack.

    A Tops spokesperson said she is surprised to hear that neighborhood leaders and some city officials don’t think the chain has been responsive. Tracy Pawelski said a system has been set up at the Amherst Street store, the source of many complaints, where the chain retrieves abandoned carts within 24 hours. She said Tops even supplements its cart-collectors with an outside contractor. She added that some complaints they respond to end up being carts that do not belong to Tops.
    http://www.buffalonews.com/102/story/45545.html
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    Member Sylvan's Avatar
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    Lightbulb

    Here we go again with more big brother bull****!!!

    "allow society to breed self-centered @$$holes who steal carts, then punish the food supplier of that society". That is so f***in' backwards its pathetic!!!

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    Member steven's Avatar
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    Tell us how you really feel sylvan
    People who wonder if the glass is half empty or full miss the point. The glass is refillable.

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    I doubt he's still doing it, but about 20-years-ago there was an old man that used to drive around Niagara Falls collecting shopping carts and returning them to the appropriate businesses. I have no idea how much, if anything at all, he was compensated, but he seemed to always be smiling.

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    Member unioncop's Avatar
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    about 15 or so years ago there also was an older gentleman who would drive around south buffalo picking up carts and returning them to the store for between 15-20 dollars depanding on the store. seems worth it to me
    "PAY POLICE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT"
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    Thats Right..prosecute The Victim

    While I truly understand the concern for the "shopping cart" problem that has existed for quite a long time....lets not entirely blame TOPS or WEGMANS.
    The real offenders are the customers, many who are LOW-INCOME and cannot afford a vehicle. ESPECIALLY the 1st of the month when their food stamps are issued. Many buy for the entire month, or buy just to use up all of their entitlement. THESE low income customers cannot or will not pay a taxi to shuttle their groceries to their home.Thus they use the carts for their convenience and are too irresponsible or LAZY to return them.. except maybe to bring back large quantities of empty bottles for deposit.
    WEGMANS' AMHERST ST.on the other hand, caters to MANY more "upscale" customers, those with higher incomes that own vehicles and dont need to use the carts to bring home their groceries.
    While I agree it is an unsightly problem in the neighborhood, persecuting TOPS is NOT the answer.
    Perhaps , RAILINGS front of the store so that carts cannot be even taken out to the parking lot..the customer will have to drive their vehicle up to the store to load their groceries., while those with no vehicle will have to carry their bag(s )of groceries beyond the store front off the property.
    Another idea would be to PROSECUTE those customers who remove the carts from the property, I'm sure the Buffalo Police would be very busy arresting those violators and aren't the courts already filled with other more important crimes?
    IT'S insane , but understandable that elected officials and others of "importance' like to make "headlines" , on issues like this, blaming the wrong party.
    If TOPS ever decided to close their store, on AMHERST ST. I'm sure that the cart problem would be the least of any one's concerns.
    Lets go after the source of the quality of life problem (shopping carts)THE CUSTOMER!! and deal with the cause and cure.

  7. #7
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    Quote Originally Posted by sylvan_fettle
    Here we go again with more big brother bull****!!!

    "allow society to breed self-centered @$$holes who steal carts, then punish the food supplier of that society". That is so f***in' backwards its pathetic!!!
    Don't purposily bypass the naughty word filters.

    Thank you

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    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    Golombek said he is not worried that such a law might be branded anti-business.

    “We’re just trying to make sure our corporate neighbors are good citizens,” he said.

    Mack said no one likes to see new fees imposed, but he claimed some vendors — including Tops — have not done enough to address the problem.

    “If you start hitting them in the wallet, maybe they’ll take it seriously,” said Mack.
    It is anti business.

    For starters how about making sure your corporate neighbors carts are not stolen?

    How about a law that states if you steal a shopping cart you will have a fine and community service? Or is he worried he would lose some of his voter base?

    Can someone fill me in on Golombek?

    Business owner? Life time government person? Someone who works for someone and got elected?

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    Unregistered Dr Funky's Avatar
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    lol you cant drive an inch in my city without seeing a shopping cart SOMEWHERE lol!!!


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    lol @ the coincidence of this thread

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    Don't blame the customers TOO much, lol.

    A lot of people in the city are too poor to own cars refuse to blow a wad of cash on taking a Taxi home with their groceries. Taking shopping carts is certainly inconsiderate toward the store, but I assume many of these folks don't know any better. They'll take the cars if the know the store isn't enforcing anything.

    In bigger cities where a much larger margin of the population WALKS to get around, people use these nifty little laundry/grocery carts which are very well equipped to schlep a week's worth of food home:



    These carts really enable true urban living. I've seen a few people in Buffalo using these, but not many They typically sell for about $12-20. Stores like Tops might want to consider selling these.

    Also, something the city needs to do is enforce better design guidelines for pedestrian amenities when developers built new big box stores. The Tops/Target/Regal complex on Elmwood Ave is way too hostile to pedestrians. The least they could have done was make redbrick walkways between the parking lanes that lead from the store to the sidewalk. Instead, these poor folks are at the mercy of busy Suzy in her mammoth SUV doing her makeup while on the phone trying to pull out of the parking lot.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shovel ready
    In bigger cities where a much larger margin of the population WALKS to get around, people use these nifty little laundry/grocery carts which are very well equipped to schlep a week's worth of food home:



    These carts really enable true urban living. I've seen a few people in Buffalo using these, but not many They typically sell for about $12-20. Stores like Tops might want to consider selling these.
    I had one of those when I lived downstate. Street parking was limited in my area so moving the car to drive a few blocks wasnt always the best option. It sure made quick trips to the local grocer and laundrymat easier. When it snowed, I pulled out my son's trusty flying saucer sled instead and off we'd go

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    Member Linda_D's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by joe d.
    While I truly understand the concern for the "shopping cart" problem that has existed for quite a long time....lets not entirely blame TOPS or WEGMANS.
    The real offenders are the customers, many who are LOW-INCOME and cannot afford a vehicle. ESPECIALLY the 1st of the month when their food stamps are issued. Many buy for the entire month, or buy just to use up all of their entitlement. THESE low income customers cannot or will not pay a taxi to shuttle their groceries to their home.Thus they use the carts for their convenience and are too irresponsible or LAZY to return them.. except maybe to bring back large quantities of empty bottles for deposit.
    WEGMANS' AMHERST ST.on the other hand, caters to MANY more "upscale" customers, those with higher incomes that own vehicles and dont need to use the carts to bring home their groceries.
    While I agree it is an unsightly problem in the neighborhood, persecuting TOPS is NOT the answer.
    Perhaps , RAILINGS front of the store so that carts cannot be even taken out to the parking lot..the customer will have to drive their vehicle up to the store to load their groceries., while those with no vehicle will have to carry their bag(s )of groceries beyond the store front off the property.
    Another idea would be to PROSECUTE those customers who remove the carts from the property, I'm sure the Buffalo Police would be very busy arresting those violators and aren't the courts already filled with other more important crimes?
    IT'S insane , but understandable that elected officials and others of "importance' like to make "headlines" , on issues like this, blaming the wrong party.
    If TOPS ever decided to close their store, on AMHERST ST. I'm sure that the cart problem would be the least of any one's concerns.
    Lets go after the source of the quality of life problem (shopping carts)THE CUSTOMER!! and deal with the cause and cure.
    You've absolutely hit the nail on the head, Joe d. I used to live in that neighborhood (I also knew Margaret Sczepaniec as well as her grandmother, her parents, older sister, and two brothers, too!). The Tops on Amherst ST is only a few blocks west of the Wegmans, but the area around the Wegmans was and remains much better off than the immediate area around the Tops. When I lived in that area, I almost never went to businesses beyond Assumption Church. I always shopped on Elmwood or Delaware.
    Your right to buy a military weapon without hindrance, delay or training cannot trump Daniel Barden’s right to see his eighth birthday. -- Jim Himes

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    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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  15. #15
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    How many carts do you think are actually used and never returned on a daily basis?


    These would get pricey



    Starting at $185 a pop. I wonder how many are used and never returned X $185 per month. That cost directly effects their bottom line.

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