You ever have one of those moments where you want to think a certain way but reality jumps in and forces you to think another? I had one of those last night.
We had a little emergency that required us to be out around 1am in Youngstown last night. Once that was all taken care of we had to get home so partially out of habit and partially out of a desire to get home and sleep, I drove from one end of Market starting in Boardman all the way to Logan to get on Youngstown-Hubbard Rd. I could have jumped on 680 but that would have taken longer and, hey, I've driven those streets about a thousand times.
That route took me past some familiar sites on the Southside. Some were familiar because we used to visit them when I was younger, like when dad would stop at Ghossains to play the number. Others were familiar because of stories in the news, like cruising past Auburndale and wondering if any of the folks I saw wandering the streets at that time belonged to a certain gang known for roaming that area. You see, when it's that late my mind immediately starts questioning what anyone is doing out that late for a stroll.
I'm a bit of a news junkie so when a car full of young guys rolled past, turned around at the bend near the 680 exit and hustled back south I had to wonder they were up to. Are these the kind of guys we read about who somehow find themselves being shot at by unknown persons while minding their own business cruising side streets in the wee hours of the morning?
Downtown was less bleak, of course. Buffalo Wild Wings had a decent crowd and the buildings were lit up enough to provide a sense of security. Up the hill to YSU and the university area was just as brightly lit.
Of course once you're past Belleria crossing over 422 you may as well have stepped off the planet.
Wick Avenue is
dark as you pass by the old dealership on the right. Real dark. As in, just keep driving on that flat dark. Once you hang a right and pass by the Golden Dawn the weeds get tall and the area looks abandoned by the city. I've said it a hundred times in this space: Youngstown-Hubbard Rd. is one route by which people going to St. E's enter the city. Why does it have to look like Baghdad on a bad day?
Look, my view is that Youngstown is the heart of the region. It has to succeed if the whole Mahoning Valley is going to succeed. You can't have a gaping hole where 10% of the population is unemployed, 50% are drop outs and more than that are on some form of the social safety net. That is not a recipe for any city to prosper.
I don't think the city is as bad as some but it's been a long, long time since I cruised through in the late night and I have to tell you, I wouldn't have minded seeing a cruiser somewhere along that trip. I got a sever case of slow-swivel-head at every red light, watching cars behind me, to the side of me and kept a close eye on the sidewalk. And that bothered me because I don't do that at home.
The thing is, though, as someone who writes about the area, who wants to see the area be great, how can I deny the feelings I had as I rolled down Market St.? People will have those same thoughts and feelings as they come in for a show at the Covelli Centre, go downtown for dinner and drinks or use city resources like St. E's. As much as the Williams administration has done for the city (and they've done a lot) there still isn't that sense of "hey, come on over and visit, you'll be safe" that you get in other places. Setting that tone would go a long way toward getting money from outside the city into the city.
Just my thoughts, folks.
Posts
