"Rightsizing": Not quite as stupid as originally advertised.

[SWMAP]

I cannot understand the plan/study as it is described. Think: the City will run just as it does now with all neighborhoods covered just as they are now. BUT, in six months, the three designated areas will be evaluated to see how the city services worked over the last six months.?????

This makes no sense at all. I can tell the Mayor right now that the trees on my block haven't been trimmed since 1986, despite many requests by phone and in writing. I finally paid a private service to remove huge boughs from a city tree.

i can tell him right now that no street-sweeping has been done in the neighborhood in 2011.

I can tell him right now that my street is never plowed.

I can tell him right now that I requested that the catch basin in front of my house be vacuumed and a truck came and did it two years ago! But as I remember it, I had to stop the truck when it was on Fort st and make a personal request and then they came.

I can tell him right now that the city doesn't have locks for the fire hydrants and so many are opened by kids and the pressure goes down drastically on hot days. The hydrants need locks.

I can tell him right now that the 311 non-emergency line is a big joke: rarely answered and requests are forwared to some other planet instead of a city department [[or so it seems).

[hamtown mike]

Here here swamp! here here!

Or in this case "hear hear." Mayor Bing- don't study, just listen.

[Det_ard]

The rollout of this "plan", "initiative", "study" or whatever it is was one of the worst I seen. It's so unclear that radio news reporters were saying they didn't understand it after the press conference. It's so poorly timed that it took a lot of the WF announcement away. The Bing administration seems so inept, and I had high hopes for the guy. Next...

[donpablo]

I cannot understand the plan/study as it is described. Think: the City will run just as it does now with all neighborhoods covered just as they are now. BUT, in six months, the three designated areas will be evaluated to see how the city services worked over the last six months.?????

This makes no sense at all. I can tell the Mayor right now that the trees on my block haven't been trimmed since 1986, despite many requests by phone and in writing. I finally paid a private service to remove huge boughs from a city tree.

i can tell him right now that no street-sweeping has been done in the neighborhood in 2011.

I can tell him right now that my street is never plowed.

I can tell him right now that I requested that the catch basin in front of my house be vacuumed and a truck came and did it two years ago! But as I remember it, I had to stop the truck when it was on Fort st and make a personal request and then they came.

I can tell him right now that the city doesn't have locks for the fire hydrants and so many are opened by kids and the pressure goes down drastically on hot days. The hydrants need locks.

I can tell him right now that the 311 non-emergency line is a big joke: rarely answered and requests are forwared to some other planet instead of a city department [[or so it seems).

Even though the things you mention here never bother me [[mostly because i dont expect them) I do understand what your saying. However the article does mention the following;

-quote from article-

"Under the plan, which is to start in two weeks, the city will offer concentrated services, including:

•Blight elimination through the demolition of dangerous structures, code enforcement, debris and illegal dumping prevention and the cleanup and boarding-up of open structures;

•Infrastructure improvements to public lighting, roads and water and sewerage lines;

•Land acquisition for redevelopment, reuse and business attraction;

•Beautification through tree maintenance and enhancement of vacant lots;

•Economic development, including rehabilitation of residential structures and improved commercial corridors;
•Public safety improvements to police, fire and EMS services."

So what i get from this is that the city will concentrate the services listed. Its just hard for me to believe that will not take away from services in areas not included.

The big one IMO listed there is "code enforcement, debris and illegal dumping prevention" This, i would like to see, especially with investor owned vacant homes.

[Hypestyles]

MSNBC gives coverage time to the Detroit-Works plan..

http://tinyurl.com/3mzwnkf

[trotwood]

So is this the big announcement that Bing alluded to a month or so ago?

[animatedmartian]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Detroi...03116519757146

DW's Facebook says Bing is going to be on CNN at 2. What's with the national attention all of a sudden?

[jsmyers]

More details:

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-see-long-term

[thebigd]

This has been tried before. City Council picks the same three areas to work on. I am not sure why. Maybe for population reasons.
http://www.thebigdetroit.com

[SWMAP]

KK had the thought of focusing on a few neighborhoods, that's true. But SW wasn't one of them. So it isn't the same three areas this time.
Such vigorous focus on "winnable" areas or segments is a time-tested military and business strategy. So I don't doubt that it has been tried before.