The mayor told the BPA to form a roundtable with other factions to come up with a plan. Fat chance! BPA loses.

We first became suspicious that the BPA was too full of itself when it took a survey and asked respondents to choose between its plan or nothing at all.  We realized that it had come up with a rigid  plan on its own without offering discussions about options for Grovers to participate in.

Instead they hoped to take their flawed survey  “data” and use that to push their plan through without the need for in-person resident input.

The BPA introduced itself as a grass- roots group of citizens, but it became  clear that it was trying to please all factions in town including those that could care less about the residents and their parking problems. Their stated goal was to try and satisfy everyone, when we residents needed someone to advocate specifically for us.

Its main idea was a cockamamie scheme to help the North End, but only at night-time.  It did not seek professional help with its plan, and it seemed convinced that its slick presentation would reveal that they, a bunch of amateurs, were capable of solving the Grove’s most vexing problem by itself.

But they failed to do the parking math where there are often more cars than spaces in season.  How can you have a parking equation when one side, the glut of cars, was not considered, and only the number of spaces was paramount.

Once the public saw the basics of their plan, the enthusiasm was subdued.  At the Committee meeting half maybe liked it, half didn’t like it, and as Yogi said, “the other half didn’t care.”  The fact is that the night-time proposal won’t do much to help the residents during the days when an invasion blitzkrieg of tourist autos would be coming into town.

When the BPA went to the Committee Workshop on Dec. 9th they evidently expected that the Committee would fall all over itself to congratulate them for their brilliance.  Instead, they did not even know the name of the group that they were addressing, calling it the “Planning Committee” and they seemed to have no insight regarding the complicated  historical and  political dynamics in the Grove.

They left the  meeting empty-handed as the CMA, the Committee, the Mayor, and the Groaners failed to raise them on their shoulders for a parade around the room.   But they should have known that in advance.   Their name should be “The Beginners Parking Alliance.”

The next day they complained that the BF report on the meeting was inaccurate, so today they sent out a glossy summary of how they think the Committee meeting went.

Talk about a play on words! The BPA seems very good at spinning the truth in their direction. Read it yourself.

Committeeman Brantley is quoted by the BPA as saying,  “This is the closest any of the concerned parties have come in trying to help make the situation better with the Township’s leadership.”

This bizarre statement is celebrated by the BPA—-there goes their credibility.

Now they will have to change direction and get together with the Chamber, the Groaners, the citizens, and the CMA, although the latter will be doing their own research on parking.   What will emerge at the other end?  What do you think?

Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.  12/12/19

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