Block Parking

Block Avenue in Fayetteville was recently spawned to be an asphalt of ingenuity.
The need began from the timely replacement of water and sewer lines that were dated back to the late 1800s. Since all that churning of the concrete was already necessary, the improvement of the resurfacing seemed just, but it was just enough too much.
The back-in parking method on one side with the parallel parking on the other would have worked if Block Avenue wasn’t about as wide as a city alley. There have been numerous counts of critique — from business owners to patrons to delivery drivers — about the stupidity of the design. The Fayetteville Street Committee will decide if the back-in parking should be redrawn to pull in parking.
On a related topic, the paid parking agenda in the downtown Dickson Street area proved to have a few road bumps. The revenue will essentially pay for a parking deck to be built in the Walton Arts Center parking lot, which is a “nonprofit” entity that is severely leaning towards expanding into Bentonville. Oddly enough, the mayor approved suspending all paid parking just weeks after its inauguration during the several hundred thousand visitors of Bikes, Blues & BBQ weekend and has chosen to roll back the start hours of paid parking to
2 p.m. each day.
There were months of discussions prior to either of these “improvements,” and actions from the Fayetteville City Council illustrated they were seeking public opinions. Forums that occurred in city council/public agenda meetings portrayed that all arguments would be taken into consideration.
However, these problems are the same issues that were addressed by individuals before hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we are reviewing the process and trying to make it better, however these thoughts and issues are not new material. They are just being spoken by the right mouth to the right ear.
For the 411 on Fayetteville parking, visit http://fayettevilleparking.com/faq.html.

Negligent Tort
Tort is a civil wrong as opposed to a criminal act.*
Rogers School District announced that parents chaperoning out-of-state trips longer than 24 hours would have to face their confirmed duty and accept written liability consequences for the students. Adult escorts to overnight programs will be subject to a background check and can face individual consequences if found at fault for accidents or damages occurred under the chaperone’s watch.
The clause we as individuals believe protects our rights is called “Tort immunity … the legal theory that certain individuals or groups are immune from the assessment of damages or findings of liability.”* Most schools have this protection for employees and volunteers who supervise events within state boundaries, but crossing state lines eliminates the school’s authority over the individual. This is a particularly relevant situation to Northwest Arkansas, with schools in this area taking multiple trips out of state to Missouri and Oklahoma during the year.

Email your tips and tidbits to theKruthTalks@gmail.com.

*Taken from the Northwest Arkanas Times, Monday, Oct. 18, 2010, Page 3A: “Parental Chaperones Face Liability, Background Checks” by Caleb Fort.