Editor’s Note: “The Economic Development Side” originally appears in the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce’s weekly member e-newsletter. It is written by Rhonda Dishner, the Economic Development Alliance’s executive assistant.
No one likes to have their morning commute disrupted.
Some people on their way to work, or driving the kids to school, are probably on autopilot as they drive a familiar route. So, having to move over unexpectedly due to a blocked traffic lane can be a minor inconvenience. That is, until the reason for the lane shift becomes obvious.
Let’s rephrase the first sentence above. No one likes to have their morning commute disrupted — unless maybe it’s to skirt the orange cones around a dumpster and the heavy equipment at a demolition site. Specifically, the work site of another burned-out, derelict house being taken down.
Thankfully, finally, this is becoming a routine occurrence in several Pine Bluff neighborhoods. The blight is being eradicated at a steady pace. And the published condemnation lists serve to warn violators that time is short for remediation. Or else there will be even more green space where once stood overgrown, crumbling eye-sores.
To this writer and others, it’s definitely not a nuisance to maneuver streets on which the nuisance structures are being eliminated. Kudos to all involved in this form of urban development. The tearing down makes our community ripe for building it up again.