Style Weekly
Advice to City: Let the Bottom Be
I read with great interest your cover story on Shockoe Bottom as a recent transplant there after 30 years spent in the Fan.
Why is there an either-or question as to what the Bottom is to be? What happened to the both-and response? Like lawyer Murray Wright, I couldn’t agree more that the Bottom should evolve organically. In addition, he is right on when he says, “The city shouldn’t be in the business of choosing winners and losers.”
I have not felt unsafe since moving to the Bottom, but I know enough from living in the Fan that a lone woman has no business being on the streets at a late hour. Some common sense is called for here. Quite frankly most of the noise pollution I experience comes from the residents of my complex after a night of hard partying.
My advice to the city: Let the Bottom work through these issues. There are enough responsible club owners and reasonable residents to make this work. The last thing we need is an inner city suburb.
Stephanie R. Turner
Richmond
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