Target shopping carts breeding and multiplying on the corner of Juneberry and Del Paso Road.Seen In The Neighborhood
January 14, 2009 by 35 Comments
Target shopping carts breeding and multiplying on the corner of Juneberry and Del Paso Road.← Previous Post
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It seems to me a quick phone call to Target to report the theft and abandonment of their shopping carts would be be easier and ultimately more productive than posting a picture of it on this blog.
Oh, look! Pot calling the kettle…
Is that right up there by the low income apartments? Hmm…
I spoke to the apartment manager about the carts, and he had the gall to tell me that they were not on his property, and not his responsibility, any reasonable person would conclude that the low income tenants put them there and the property mananger should kindly deal with the matter, many were fearful that blight would happen there, and it appears that is true. Thanks for posting this picture on the blog, it is helpful and productive to see images of our community, maybe more will get involved and make our environment better instead of whining.
Another suggestion: Stop whining & pointing fingers, & if the carts are sitting on a corner in your neighborhood, then take them back to Target yourself. And then tell the manager & ask for the phone # to call to have Target come pick up the eyesores. And stop BLAMING everything you don’t like on low-income people.
Hey Anonymous,
Thanks for the political correctness BS, we’re talking about shopping carts littering the streets next to an apartment complex, many don’t like that idea, if they were next to houses, many wouldn’t like it either, why do you have to turn everything into an attack on low income people, why not discuss why it happened in the first place.
Hey, Anonymous, 1:49pm: Which Anonymous are you responding to??!!
1:12 pm post was what promted my response. What an absurd idea for a resident to take the carts back to Target, are you suggesting the apartment managers are not responsible for that mess.
Ok so who is the imbecile that says that carts don’t come from the low income?
Of course carts come from the low income, those without cars, or the gas to go to the store.
Carts are a symptom of the city council and Ray Tretheway forcing all of the inclusionary housing into Natomas.
SO Blame Fargo and Tretheway for giving developers the ability to swap low income housing units into Natomas away from their multi million dollar loft developments downtown.
The burden of carts on street corners needs to be spread around.
Oh and target needs to put those devices on their carts that prevent this.
Get on that Kieth. Get all over Target if you want to feel involved with a solution.
You North Natomas residents are such WHINERS. There have been carts all over So. Natomas also. Is this site for both No. AND So. Natomas??? Because a lot of the blogs on here are about No. Natomas. Or are us South Natomas residents too low class for y’all who’ve been disappointed by Tretheway, Fargo, et. al.???? The WHOLE city of Sacramento is a MESS right now. Sorry your No. Natomas McMansions didn’t turn out to be in a “high class” area. Get over it already. What makes you all feel so “privileged”?????? Most of your comments reflect the Great Divide between the “rich” & the “poor.” You know, like, no middle class. If you want things to change, then DO SOMETHING.
Cheers.
The “Imbecile”
When did wanting to live in a area without blight become “high class”. That is the problem when people use the class warfare argument, many of us don’t live in Mcmansions, all we want is a safe and prosperous neighborhood, and if that description is different than S Natomas, so be it. The crime and social upheaval is tremendous there, because someone is poor, that gives some excuse to litter or dump carts, maybe Willow Glen apartments can create a shed or storage area for the carts and residents can be trained to store them so they can be out of sight. Please spare us the rich and poor debate, it is about pride and respect of a community, both of which rich and poor understand.
There are a lot of elderly people who are poor too, who can’t afford to buy a cart & can no longer drive. Do you want them out of your community also? If you want to have your community be free of “blight,” then you have to BE a community & help one another. Everyone in No. Natomas is so jazzed about their new police “Resource Center.” They’re volunteering at a place where they could get their heads blown off. So why not come together as a community for something not nearly as dangerous & pull together to clean up the “blight.” Examples: Folks who volunteer to clean up tagging even though they didn’t cause the tagging or folks who volunteer to clean up the Bannon Creek Parkway even though they didn’t dump the trash there.
Anyone can call or fill out an online complaint to Code Enforcement. They do a wonderful job of handling these things. Also, you can just call the store and they usually will pick them up. As far as the low income debate, yes people do have a legitimate complaint when you buy in what you think is a nice neighborhood and then they dump project housing right down the street. The one on Zurlo is the absolute worst. I mean they didn’t even make an effort to make the apartments look decent.
Sorry… never seen an old lady dump her cart on the side of her street just because she didn’t have a car. I have seen several people pushing their kids home in them (no groceries, just kids).
The rich/poor debate is old news. If the people in South Natomas are unhappy, do something about it! Recall your representative, complain, get out and volunteer. But to call North Natomas a bunch of whiners because people want to see change… that’s just lazy.
I was going to say that I’ve seen kids going up and down in those carts also. I mean rich or poor, who wants a cart in front of their residence? It really boils down to the “it’s all about me” attitude. “I” need to get a bunch of crap at the store, but I’m going to steal a cart and leave it wherever I want! If you don’t have a car, go with a neighbor or get one of those portable carts!
I gave you a factual comment about a week ago. I told you that Raley’ s helped stop the carts being dumped in the canal. I also identified a group of young blacks walking toward the corner where the carts are located. Apparently you do edit the comments and are playing the politically correct game. My observation was true. I was simply driving down Del Paso at the time. This problem encourages more problems and is a part of urban blight. Grow up Buzz!
I think this is a very interesting discussion. Thanks for a stimulating topic, buzz! This is exactly what blogs are all about, huh?
Wow – this photo stirred up a lot of comments.
I decided to post because even though a lot of these comments are divisive… everyone seems to want the same thing- the community to be as nice as possible.
We had a problem in Creekside with carts when Safeway first opened its doors.
In fact within about 6 months we regularly had upwards of a dozen carts all over the community.
It became a top issue for the neighborhood association and we set out to resolve the problem.
We all shop at Safeway and did not want to create turmoil but wanted Safeway to take responsability for making sure their carts stayed at the store.
First we made phone calls to store management and eventually I made a visit and met Rich Lopez.
I talked to him about ways we could work together to keep the carts out of the community.
He gave me two phone numbers. One was the number to the store to report carts and the other was the number to a cart retrieval service paid for by Safeway to go around picking up the stray carts.
Creekside neighbors all recieved those phone numbers and we started calling.
This process did not really work – response times got away from the retrieval service and since the carts are on wheels – they travel. Kids play with them, neighbors move them – etc.
At this time Bel Air was opening and they had locking mechanisms on the carts from the first day they opened the store – preventing them from leaving designated areas.
Raleys had the same locking “boot” installed on all their carts.
So we went back to Safeway and asked them to meet that same standard.
At first they said no – too expensive and it is not full-proof.
We asked city code enforcement to help us, which they did.
Creekside wrote a letter to Safeway and cc’d city code and other neighboring communities and included information on locking “boots” as well as presenting the idea that since Raley’s and Bel Air both have them it is a regional standard that needs to be met.
City code sent a follow up letter to Safeway supporting the position of the community and citing the city code for carts (which makes the store responsible for the where abouts of their carts).
It was a bit of a battle but in the end we did convince Safeway to “boot” the carts and while there is still an occassional stray – it has helped tremendously.
I know its a long story but I wanted to share it because it worked for us in Creekside.
I still have those letters and am willing to help open a conversation with Target about the carts.
This is exactly the type of project the volunteers at the Resource Center can take on.
By the way, just as a side note, the Resource Center is not specific to the North area, many volunteers are from South Natomas and the focus is just Natomas – all of it.
If any of you would like to help or be a part of the effort or any effort out of the new center just drop by, send the buzz a note or send me a note.
You can always reach me at [email protected].
I will take the Target cart issue to the volunteers at the Resource Center – we can look into it a little more and see if there is some arrangment that can be worked out to keep the carts at Target and not out in our community.
Hope this helps…
Angelique
Carts are now gone from this location.
I love it! You’ve started such an interesting conversation. Not everyone plays nice on the topic but it’s a great way to get people talking about their community (good and bad). I think you’re doing a great duty by getting the word out. Because you posted this item and the discussion followed now lots of people in the community know what to do when they see this blight. Keep up the great work!
Why are shopping carts blight? Because they remind you that low income live in your neighborhood?
Seriously, explain to me how an inanimate object like a shopping cart stirs up such resentment and calls for cleaning up the neighborhood.
Surly there is better things to be doing with your time, like volunteering to mentor kids or at Loaves & Fishes.
Shopping carts are a blight because they belong in a parking lot at Target,not on streets two miles from where they belong, none of the previous posts discuss the fact that property has been stolen, everybody should follow the laws. Using the low income excuse won’t work. Why lower community standards??
People! There’s plenty of this mismanaged-civic-nightmare-we-call-home to go around. Let’s all take responsibility for our little slice, have a big group hug, and put the damn carts back!
John (formerly known as “Anonymous 11:41 am”)
Because one shopping cart leads to more carts, which leads to a pile of garbage, and then an old couch, followed by an engine block. Not only is it STEALING, it is dumping.
And by the way, to the first poster: that quick phone call to Target, not so quick. The store manager had no idea what to do in this situation…Hmmmm. That call was followed up by several emails, all made by a VOLUNTEER.
So much time and effort could be saved if those carts were left in the Target parking lot, where they belong…
Trixie
Wow, I didn’t know shopping carts could cause such a commotion. We had a shopping cart on our corner, guess what I did you’ll never believe; I called the store they picked it up the very next day (I did, gasp).
These things are expensive to replace. North, South hey all we are ALL still in NATOMAS. Remember that, if you see a cart don’t just whine do something about it. Most carts have a number on the seat.
Try taking a minute of your precious time and call. You don’t even have to touch it, really it is that easy. Geez. High class my hiney, get over yourselves really.
Maybe the community leaders could start collecting the carts and collect money to return them like the other cart retrieval service companies…wow you could create a revenue stream for the new “Resource Center.”
Or maybe the Resource Center could start having community classes for the low income on the proper use and shopping carts and how to return them. The community leaders could approach the City Council and Board of Supervisors and pall local ordinances that make it mandatory for those in subsidized housing or on public assistance attend these classes.
I suggest we have a community wide shopping cart summit, this has gotten out of hand and our communities moral is at stake!
I’ll take it that you DIDN”T read the previous post that said we did call Target and (gasp) they didn’t know what to do about it.
I will also take it that you are neither a fan or volunteer for the resource center. Thank goodness for that.
Trixie
The last two comments are pretty pathetic, this whole debate is quite interesting, the liberal do gooders seem to not care if carts are stolen and dumped far away from from their intended use and are causing blight, it doesn’t matter, these people live in low income apartments and they can pollute and do what they want. Just turn it into a socio-economic issue and blame rich people in “McMansions” as one blog suggested, because they are snobs or “high class” for wanting to live in a cleaner community. On the other side, some are not happy driving by and seeing cart in Creekside or Natomas Park. Big clusters of three story complexes dot the area and all the associated problems are starting, and if you are critical you may be offending someone. Even the management of Willow Glen is not interested in resolving the matter, which is a mistake. A red shopping cart sure can sure tell how someone can view life. As long as the apartments exist, the carts will remain a problem.
I guess you could call me a rich snob because I don’t want shopping carts in my neighborhood (or couches or tv’s or computer parts or old tires…) But I sure am thankful I live in such a proactive community that cares! The resource center is a “good thing”. So why don’t you haters get off your high horse and become proactive as well?
I totally agree with half the things you said, Anonymous.
The other half, though, was WAY off base.
Please call me to discuss.
Best,
Ray Tretheway
Shopping carts serve a purpose in our community. Just as cars carry people and goods from one place to another, so do these carts. They are also “green” in that they are human powered and server multiple purposes depending on the current need. Need to haul trash to the dumpster in your apartment complex? Grab a cart. Need to move a couch? Stick one end in cart and wheel away! Need to go shopping? Take it with you! Acts as a convenient walker to the store and brings things back when you’re done! No loading and unloading the car.
There are literally hundreds of uses for carts. They should be on every corner and readily available as a social service. I’m entitled to readily available carts and the stores are responsible for providing them!
Seriously, they are unsightly and dangerous. I can imagine a strong wind blowing all three of those carts out onto the busy rode. Imagine multiple cars swerving to miss multiple carts. They are the property of the store and should not be removed from their property. Landlords should take some responsibility to make the sidewalks and roads safe for their tenants. But, ultimately, people taking the carts should be held responsible. These aren’t vagrants carrying their worldly possessions. It’s kids and adults who don’t know how to be responsible. Fix that and the carts may disappear….
Anonymous (take it for what it’s worth!)
The fact of the matter is that the retail stores are responsible for ensuring that their property does not get stolen. Patrons are responsible for not stealing another organization’s property. The companies that the stores hire to pick up shopping carts are responsible for that. And we are to be responsible in reporting carts that have gone astray. This applies to everyone no matter what their financial situation.
I thought the point of inclusionary/low income housing was to create a seamless, mixed incoem community where people could influence each other to craete a higher standard of living, seems like we are moving in the wrong direction. Inclusionary housing is suppossed to encourage people to move up in their community, not encourage the community to move down???
Diversity / Inclusionary / Affirmative Action are keywords for non-discrimination. People have come to think all discrimination is bad. Many people responding here simply can’t understand how other can judge other people. They’ve been trained not to. Sorry, but discrimination is not bad. Discrimination can be done for the wrong reasons and unfairly, but, as a practice, we need to swing the pendulum back toward some discrimination. (Think discriminating taste, not racial discrimination.)
discriminating taste..lol maybe you should all have moved into gated communities…doooh
get your neighborhood associations together..all of you pitch in and build a fence around your stucco tract houses to keep out the riff raff