Groundspeak Portal

Many cities, including the city of Denver, have recycled old parking meters to help in the fight against homelessness.  They are located in various places.  I think that this would make a great category.  If anyone is interested, please create this category.

In St. Louis they haven't retired their parking meters, and the homeless just hang out and ask for your change as you try to put into the parking meters. Is that the same thing?   

Bright new green parking meters have been installed at key corners in the Central West End — but they’re collecting money for a good cause, not for city parking coffers.  The Central West End Association and the City of St. Louis have installed four of the green meters as part of a “real change” campaign to discourage the random giving of money to panhandlers. Coins collected in the meters will be given to local social service agencies. The collection meters are parking meters that have been decommissioned and specially adapted.

Here in Atlanta the city has a proposed to put 4 of these boxes in place. Downtown  Atlanta has a problem with homeless persons panhandling all day.The news reporter intervied people on the street and the overwhelming response was it will mot help stop panhandling. The reporter statee that a large city ( I think Denver) had placed these and collected only $430 for the year. I thin that the panhandlers will hang near the box in an attempt to get the money from people right away.

Off the soapbox, but I thinks this is not a WOW category, NOT Global and I certanly will not "make a special trip to visit the waymark"

I would vote no.

The concept was back in cable news this morning.  It is a plan that is being implemented in more and more cities.  There are mixed reactions to the meters. 

rose red:

The concept was back in cable news this morning.  It is a plan that is being implemented in more and more cities.  There are mixed reactions to the meters. 

 

I bet!

 

BQ

I would also vote 'no'. It's not particularly interesting, it's not global (it's hardly US national), it promotes an agenda and once people put their foot down that their homeless problem will never be resolved with pocket change when, if anything, the tax dollars they already pay should be devoted to providing proper resources, these meters will disappear.

I've seen these at zoos for donations to the zoo. What if the category was for general recycled meters?

I like this one. I've never seen one. It would be something I would have to keep an eye open for, or actively search out. Maybe no a big WOW, but I'd say wow.

Politcally, I think that government should govern, and leave charity to charitable organizations and churches. Wherever government gets involved they tend to bring a high overhead of corruption and mis-management. There is a difference between giving a tax write off to encourage people to be charitable and actually collecting the money and spending it. I guess you can tell my Daddy was a Libertarian.