Leslie Knope can do it all. How could any one person so confidently organize the Harvest Festival (while being under a curse), turn a horrible pit into a park, win a seat on the town council and, in Ann Perkins, foster the cutest friendship ever?
But “Parks and Recreation” isn’t just another funny sitcom. To me, it provides some incredible insight on issues that face Chapel Hill, while omitting crucial situations and challenges our town deals with.
In many episodes, Leslie is chastised by a Pawnee citizen for a mistake the Parks Department made. Usually, the claims are bogus. But citizens in Chapel Hill are hyper-informed, and willing to hold their government accountable, justifiably.
Earlier this week, the town held a meeting to review plans for a section of Estes Drive that will soon be transformed to include a mixed use path and facilities for cyclists. As best I could, I tried to balance my personal excitement as a cyclist with the professional responsibility to answer questions and network with concerned citizens as an intern for the town’s planning office.
One older man, who identified as a member of Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town, seemed particularly concerned that the bike path would not extend east of Caswell Road in the plans we presented. His points were excellent. Why doesn’t the path extend further east so children can walk and bike safely to the elementary and middle school? If the town just ends the path where this plan says, it’ll be harder to make future infrastructure east of Caswell Road connect properly. Agreeing with criticism is humbling when you’re the one being criticized.
We were taking part in democracy in a way it hasn’t functioned at the state and national level in modern memory. But what progressive towns can do and how quickly they can do it is limited by significant bureaucratic inertia at the state level. As I mentioned in my last column, the state spends only a fraction of its transportation funds on expenditures other than highway construction. Earlier this week, President Obama released a radical reimagining of American transportation — bike lanes and streetcars abound — in his latest budget. It was immediately dismissed by Congressional Republicans. I believe that if Chapel Hill had the funds, it would likely build a bike lane everywhere it was needed.
This is not to be an apologist for inaction. On the contrary, I’m trying to channel Leslie Knope as I create a virtual model of what Estes Drive east of Caswell could look like once proper funding is established. But I would be mistaken to believe that I alone have the ability to change things overnight.
I’m glad my boss isn’t reminiscent of Ron Swanson and I’m certainly not running against Bobby Newport for the next open council seat. But if Leslie Knope has taught me anything, it is to believe that Chapel Hill will take on the challenges it faces fearlessly and rationally, and that good intentions alone are ultimately negligible.
