Downtown block-off: All-or-nothing

As of July 8 the Greenville Police Department has prohibited vehicles from driving through downtown Greenville in an attempt to increase public safety.

Every Wednesday through Saturday, barricades are placed from Fifth to Cotanche Streets, stretching to Fourth and Reade Streets between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.

This action was inspired by a drive-by shooting that resulted in the deaths of an ECU student and the manager of Michelangelo's Pizza, which took place early morning on June 30.

At first glance, the block-off seems like a great idea. It appears as if the community has noticed a problem and is implementing a solution.

However, the reality of the blockade is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to an isolated incident. Yes, there was a shooting, but downtown Greenville does not have a history of drive-by shootings.

Blocking off these streets is neither efficient nor practical. It seems to be a nothing more than a superficial quick fix to give the illusion of a safer environment.

When you think about it, the men who were killed were slain at approximately 2 a.m. on a Tuesday. The current blockade system would not have prevented their untimely deaths.

If a blockade is a solution (and it's not) it needs to be in place throughout the week.

Most bars are open Sunday through Sunday, so people who frequent the downtown area are still at risk every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Truly, this blockade does nothing to prohibit crime. Citizens can still carry firearms and other weapons secretly into downtown.

Blocking off the streets does nothing but create one big all-around headache by prohibiting traffic only on certain nights of the week.

There has to be a better way to prevent violent acts from occurring downtown.

Perhaps an increase in the number of police present would be a better plan.

And in fact, increasing the police presence has been discussed. The plan is to increase the number of officers by six on Sunday through Tuesday and by eight on Wednesday through Saturday.

However, this still seems to be flawed. It makes no sense to have less police protection downtown on the nights without the blockade.

The number of present officers and the nights of the week that the blockade is set up is determined by the average number of people downtown on each night of the week. And yes, there are less people downtown on Sunday through Tuesday, but whether there is one person or 1,000 people, don't they all deserve the same level of protection?

It all seems like a safety charade and as things are currently, having a blockade in place for part of the week is not cutting it. If someone was determined to commit a crime and use a vehicle as their method of escape, he would certainly plan his attack around the block-off.

What is the point inconveniencing the citizens of Greenville for only partial protection?

You guessed it - there is no point.

It's an issue of all-or-nothing.

So students, be aware (or possibly beware) you are not fully protected.