iPhone craze strikes Palo Alto Palo Alto Issues, posted by Editor, Palo Alto Online, on Jun 29, 2007 at 5:51 pm
It's a phone, an iPod and a pocket-size route to the Internet -- and the hundred-plus people camped out Friday along University Avenue, Kipling Street and Lytton Avenue crave it.
Posted by rsm, a resident of the Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood, on Jun 29, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Will the sit/lie ordinance be enforced?
9.48.025 Sitting or lying down on University Avenue public sidewalks prohibited.
(a)No person shall sit or lie down upon the public sidewalk, or upon a blanket, chair, stool, or any other object placed upon the public sidewalk adjacent to either side of University Avenue between the curbline of the eastern side of High Street and the curbline of the western side of Cowper Street during the hours between 11:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.
(b)The prohibition set forth above in this section shall not apply to:
(1)Any person sitting or lying down on the sidewalk due to a medical emergency;
(2)Any person who, as the result of a disability, utilizes a wheelchair or similar device to move about the public sidewalk;
(3)Any child accompanied by an adult who is seated in and using a stroller, or similar device, to move about the public sidewalk;
(4)Any person sitting or lying down upon a chair, bench or planter box wall located on the public sidewalk which is placed there by a public agency;
(5)Any person sitting or lying down upon a chair or bench located upon the public sidewalk which is placed there by an abutting private property owner or tenant pursuant to a commercial sidewalk encroachment permit, temporary lease, or temporary street closure permit;
(6)Any person sitting or lying down while conducting, attending, or participating in an activity or event which is authorized by a lawfully issued temporary street closure permit or
other permit issued by the city which permits use of the public sidewalk;
(c)No person shall be cited under this section unless the person engages in conduct prohibited by this section after having been notified by a law enforcement officer that he or she is in violation of the prohibition in this section.
Posted by Ed, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Jun 29, 2007 at 6:59 pm
For your info the Police were out there and they moved the line off of University onto Kipling early last night to allow pedestrian traffic. Again...more typical Palo Alto mentality...jumping to conclusions before getting the facts.
Posted by Danny, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Jun 29, 2007 at 7:24 pm
I'm always surprised people group a city into one think-tank. "Typical Palo Alto mentality." Sorry folks -- Palo Alto doesn't have a mentality. It's just a city. It has streets and shops and a sit/lie ordinance. Its the people of Palo Alto who make up its "mentality." If you don't want a city to jump to conclusions, talk to your neighbors. It isn't the city jumping, its the citizens.
Posted by Silva, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Jun 29, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Police was just observing!!! People were sitting and/or lying down on the sidewalk, and that was ok for the police. I totally agree with Steve that if that was a line of homeless or poor people, the results would be quite different. Also, they were pizza being distributed yesterday night to people they were on the line. The pizza place should feel ashamed for being distributing pizza to folks that do not need food instead of giving it to the people from Palo Alto that really needs the food - our homeless!!!
Posted by Ed, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Jun 30, 2007 at 7:59 am
If the homeless want to pay for the pizza, they should get it too. And for FYI, the ordinance only applies to University Ave, not Kipling St. Therefore, the police DID move people off University onto Kipling per the ordinance.
Posted by Bill, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Jun 30, 2007 at 10:56 am
It's amazing that people are angry over a well-behaved line and companies trying to appeal to that line. When people are lining up to spend large amounts of money in your city, that's a good thing! When companies are giving out samples to potential customers, that is marketing whereas giving food to the homeless is charity. Both are good things, but the former is more appealing to business and clealy isn't shameful.
I have to sympathise with the "Palo Alto mentality" comment. Hopefully this spoiled child mentality that is angry at people for bringing in tax dollars, overeager to see bored Palo Alto police harass people in yet another way, and angry at any group that doesn't spend all of their time helping the homeless is limited to a few vocal hypocrites in town. Hopefully others realize that lively local businesses are a good thing, and it's better to have people lining up rather than no one at all.
I like my new iPhone and like living in Palo Alto despite these perpetually unhappy people. I'm sure that the surrounding businesses like Vino Locale that I frequent also like having lots of customers on a Friday afternoon. People should hope that this sort of thing happens more often instead of finding excuses to be angry with it.
So don't people have more important things to get angry with? Shouldn't you be organizing an "Impeach Bush and Cheney" march downtown that is useless and does clog up things?
Posted by Nick, a resident of the Professorville neighborhood, on Jun 30, 2007 at 1:54 pm
I agree with Bill, sheesh this is something fun, generates revenue for the city and is in a retail sense historical. This is far more constructive then trying to change mythical Goblal warming or attacking our good president. Let's be part of the solution for our city and country this is a good thing! :)
Posted by nophone, a resident of another community, on Jun 30, 2007 at 5:08 pm
I drove by the Apple store at 4 on Saturday afternoon. No line, no crowds, all gone.
People milling around inside, as usual.
The whole line thing is a media event, it makes easy copy for page 1 and for Apple. People with too much money need ways to spend it. Apple is helping them out.
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