January 15, 2008

Pushing shopping carts into statute book

The city is once again eyeing a crackdown on shopping carts.
Tired of finding the carts tossed in the Pequabuck River or cluttering sidewalks, officials are looking into the possibility of a new law that might set new standards for controlling the carts.
Dale Clift, a city lawyer, said a new ordinance could require shopping cart owners to put identification on their carts, post signs notifying customers the carts can’t be taken off the property and imposing fines for reclaiming lost carts.
A small volunteer project by the Greater Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Clean Harbors has rounded up some wayward carts in recent weeks, but officials are angling for a more comprehensive approach that might clamp down on a problem that residents have complained about for years.
Clift joked that the issue is “a sexy one,” but something that may be pursued.
Craig Minor, who chairs the ordinance panel, said he’s looking forward to seeing what the city can do to help.
The last time the Ordinance Committee tackled the problem, it got the attention of area grocers, with representatives of most of the major stores promising to try harder to keep their carts from becoming eyesores.
At the time, store owners said they routinely pay private contractors to drive around retrieving carts that customers took off the premises.
Clift said the chamber’s idea is to have carts collected and stored on public works property for a set period of time. There would be fines required before they could be retrieved.
Clift initially suggested $50 fines if carts are reclaimed within 30 days. After that, the carts could be scrapped.
City Councilor Kevin McCauley said there should be a central number for residents to call in with tips about the location of shopping carts.
Clift said only carts on public property could be picked up. He said he doesn’t think personnel should enter private property to retrieve them.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why not make the stores responsible - like aldi's does.

Anonymous said...

It's about time something is done about these horrible carts. I nearly ran into one the other day on Main Street. These stupid people leave them in the road. They couldn't care less about anybody but themselves. That goes for the grocery store owners, too. Do you see carts all over other towns that are half-decent? Of course not. you Only see them in places like Waterbury and Hartford.

We need to crack down on the store owners and force them to put locks on the wheels of their carts or put up those cement pilons they used to have in front of DFO that used to be the Finast years ago. You can buy one of those hand carriages for $15. I was checking them out of the other day. It's a small price to pay to make this city look half way decent again.

Anonymous said...

They are doing a terrible job. I saw 3 carts on the road in back of Shaw's and they sat there for 5 days !!! The police should stop those who take them off the property. I see people pushing them all around town. A cart cost something like $200 each.

How far do you think I would get if I went into a store and stole $200 of steak and lobster?? EXACTLY!!!, I be stopped at the front door and arrested. It is stealing !! Do something about it. And then what irks me even moe is when I see other stores using the stolen carts. NAPA has a couple inside. And the Discount Food Outlet has some too..as does Ocean State. It's sloppy and Unethical, so I guess its no surpise to Bristol. Matches us pretty well these days. Aldi's has the right idea and the right system. They should be applauded for their shopping cart system.

Anonymous said...

If you have a gripe about the pickup, go talk to the Chamber. They are involved with it. Speak to Mr. Leone and tell him how you feel so he knows how disgusted we all are. Also, call your councilman and complain. Let him know about it. That way the city finds out just exactly how disgusted and angry we are about the whole thing and that we need a permanent solution to the problem. Fine the stores if they won't comply. They certainly comply in the ritzier cities. Why don't they comply here? Do they feel we're not good enough to bother picking up their own carts? Well, I have news for them. There's a lot of pride in this town and it's a small group of folks who go around trashing it with the carts. Prosecute the offenders who take the carts and fine the store owners who don't pick up their carts. You'll see them straighten up real fast!

Anonymous said...

Looks like it is taking a long time to implement this ordinance.

Wasn't this a topic two years ago?

Anonymous said...

the problem is that the stores won't prosecute their customers for theft and due to large turnover with store managers, they don't manage to maintain a good pick-up policy. This new way is much better and force the stores to respond and pay.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it about time for McCauley to ask the citizens to shovel out hydrants again?

Why not require it by ordinance?

Anonymous said...

Great!
It is getting Bristol on the 6:00 O'Clock TV news.

Anonymous said...

Alright artie ..... way to go .....In the past it was necessary to expend vast amounts of money to drive businesses out of Bristol , but , now here is a way to make their lives miserable and MAKE money too ..... gotta love those democrats ....

Anonymous said...

...Ya, that darn Artie...First he wants to get rid of the mall and fix up our downtown, then he wants us to cut our grass, get rid of our junked cars and clean up our blighted property...now he wants to take away our shopping carts too!!!! Dang...He's just gone too far this time...what's he trying to do? Make Bristol a decent place to live again?...darn democrats...

Anonymous said...

Make Bristol a decent place to live again?...darn democrats...

January 17, 2008 11:38 AM

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Bristol could be a decent place to live if it's citizens weren't constantly being harrassed by over zealous officials trying to create issues to secure their jobs .

Anonymous said...

...Sorry J, but sadly Bristol's past "under zealous" officials let our city languish for far too long. The absentee landlords and slobs who trash our roadways, parks and rivers don't seem to respond to "please." It's time for someone to step up to the plate and take Bristol back. It can be a decent place again...

Anonymous said...

How about if we just pick up all of the carts that are junk and dispose of them, and the ones without names can be held for a shirt period of time and then sold for the collection fee. There everywhere in the city, lets get started and lets stop talking.