Downtown District hires bodyguards for downtown visitors and residents
If this doesn't make you want to frolic downtown, Bob Eury doesn't know what will:
A new team of guides, trained in first aid, hospitality and other helping skills, is working the streets of downtown Houston.
Outfitted in dark blue, the new downtown public safety guides will be on duty seven days a week, starting at 9 a.m. each day.
The Houston Downtown Management District developed the program in response to focus group meetings with various downtown users, including residents, business owners and artists.
It's not hard to guess that downtown "users," residents, business owners, and artists are tired of being accosted by the homeless. And despite the assertion by KTRK-13 that downtown is booming, a recent KRIV-26 story illustrates the problems that $4 billion hasn't fixed:
Take a walk down a portion of Main Street and Prairie: you'll see restaurant after restaurant, bar after bar that has closed up shop. “For lease” signs, empty windows – basically, there's just nobody around.
In just the past three months, about eight, once popular, joints in this area have closed. [...]
“You still gotta worry about where you park your car, still going to have the homeless people around regardless of where you're at.”
We've seen countless stories of malfunctioning parking meters, wrongly ticketed drivers, parking lot operators gone wild, etc., and things haven't improved with Lilliana Rambo's Parking Authority. Add to that the homeless and the Danger Safety Train, and, well, Main Street and surrounds are just not that inviting.
It's unclear if eight Safety Guides can turn things around, but if you are brave enough to head downtown, and you seek out one of the Safety Guides, share your experience with us. We'd love to hear about it.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/26/11 06:06 PM | Print |
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