Where to go when you need to go in Manchester, NH

After driving about an hour through the Scottish countryside last Sunday, my wife and I arrived in the town of Balloch, on the bonnie shores of Loch Lomond. And when we got there, the missus had go. And I mean really, really go.

The only places around that had facilities, however, were restaurants and pubs — places where one is expected to buy something in exchange for use of the loo. But alas, we did not have time for a wee pint or dram of whiskey.

But then, miraculously, we can upon this:

The sign posted to the left of the door informed us that for a mere 10 pence (about 16 cents at current exchange rates), we could use this spacious (about the size of four standard port-a-potties) water closet, which cleans, disinfects and air dries itself and the floor:

Click to read more ...

A throw-away downtown

Ever peek inside the sidewalk trash cans in downtown Manchester, NH? I do.

And what I spy, almost without fail, is an array of plastic soda bottles, aluminum beer cans, plastic Dunkin' Donuts cups and glass bottles.

For reasons unbeknownst to me, downtown is the only section of Manchester to have no recycling opportunities whatsoever, not even sidewalk recycling bins like this one I saw in downtown Milwaukee, Wis., last month:

While downtown receives daily trash pick-up, it is the only area of the city that does not have weekly recycling pickup. When I lived downtown this meant if my wife and I wanted to recycle (we did) that I had to personally cart our recyclables to the sorting facility on Dunbarton Road - a waste of time and gas that further contributed to traffic congestion and pollution in the city.

Click to read more ...

Pawns for parks

Of the 73 city parks in Manchester , 26 are deemed “passive” on the website of the Manchester Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Department.

Listed among these passive parks is Livingston Park, which boasts not just a nature trail, playground and boat launch, but also a swimming pool, a ball field, tennis courts, a track and, in the winter, outdoor ice skating. In my book, this park is far from passive. I’d even go so far as to describe it as being an "active" park.

There are, of course, a number of truly passive parks in Manchester, like Oak Park and Wagner Memorial Park. Also included in this truly passive category are most of the downtown parks. Save for special events, there’s not much one can do in spaces like Victory Park, Veterans Park or Kalivas Park other than sit.

Indeed, the only hardware boasted by such parks is trash cans and park benches, as seen here in Kalivas Park:

Click to read more ...

Diner's choice

Walking up Merrimack Street toward the Pine Street parking lot a couple of days ago, a homeless man emerged from Piss Alley and fell in behind me. After about a dozen steps, he began to shake me down in the traditional manner.

“Excuse me, sir. Excuse me,” he said, trotting to catch up with me.

When I stopped, he came closer. He told me was homeless and hungry and could he please have some money for lunch.

As I’ve noted in a previous blog post, I’m averse to just handing money over to the homeless. Instead, I offer to buy them a meal. All, save one, have turned down this offer, and I expected this gentleman to do the same.

Shockingly, he did not.

Click to read more ...

A depressing walk down Elm Street

Elm Street depresses me these days. Walking the six blocks between Merrimack and Bridge streets earlier today I counted 11 vacant or soon-to-be vacant storefronts dotting our city's main downtown throughfare:

I am probably most upset by the closing of Tee Shirt Bodega, a shop that produces funky custom T-shirts:

Click to read more ...