Delaware DOT is stealing people's basketball hoops?

[BoWanZi]

Watch was the blond woman says on the interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0ZZHGO5sXw

Delaware Department of Transportation crews escorted by state police tore down basketball hoops this morning in two neighborhoods in Claymont amid protests from residents who say the nets aren't harming anyone. (03/25/11)

It seems to me that the lady lied on camera to the owner's face.

[bluestateguy]

1. How come shit like this never goes away when there are budget cuts?

nt

[blondeatlast]

3. Because it's all about politics, not priorities. Removing basketball hoops is CRITICAL.

Saving jobs? Meh.

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. If he wasn't such a dick about it she probably would have let him.

You know, he acknowledged receiving a letter about it.
It was in violation. When they should up to make good on their promise, he gets hostile.

This enforcement was probably the idea of some rethug who wanted to make public workers look like mean assholes but this is much ado about nothing.
He's lucky he didn't get fined for it, charged for the removal and thrown in jail.

[Old Troop]

4. I think you forgot the sarcasm tag.

[Shagbark Hickory]

6. I wasn't being sarcastic.

He's shouting tea party shit.
Made to look like the government is out stealing kids basketball hoops.

[octothorpe]

8. My question is why is this even an issue anyway?

I mean, I'm trying to figure out what sort of harm they could have been causing. Was it just a "because the law/rules say so!" type of thing?

[Shagbark Hickory]

12. Yeah. Rules is rules. It may seem harmless to you but what if they need to plow there or repave plus

it's a traffic hazard and kids playing in the street is never a good idea.
And I didn't even get into aesthetics.
Here in my HOA, if you have a basketball hoop in plain view, let alone, in the street, it's a $25 per day fine plus it can be removed at the owner's expense. It's not that hard to just keep these things in your driveway and wheel them in the garage when not in use. They have wheels now for crying out loud.

[taterguy]

5. So if someone leaves shit on my property and I remove it that's theft?

The pole was in the fucking right of way.

End of story.

[LiberalFighter]

7. Several points

1) If it is the same as in other states the pole was in the right of way and property owners cannot use the right of way for that purpose. And the appropriate government agency has a duty to cause the removal of the pole whether the owner does it voluntarily or the government.

2) They could just as easily also levy costs for the removal of the pole as well as storage. In most cases the government will assess costs. From what I saw the pole wasn't one of those free standing type that can be rolled to a new location. It was in the ground.

3) I wonder how the guy thought he would get to keep the pole when they took it out of the ground? He didn't look capable of moving it back on his property if they left it on the ground when they removed it. The pole looked like it would require more than just a couple of people to move it.

4) The woman saying that he can't taunt the workers?? What??

5) What was the deal with state DOT removing the pole and state police involved? Doesn't Delaware have city or county government that has jurisdiction?

6) All property owners that had the poles were notified last fall. Probably at least 3 months ago.

7) There is nothing in Delaware Code that provided exemption of the law because an object was already located in the right of way prior to enactment of the law. Besides... the pole doesn't look like it has been there for 61 years.

[Modern_Matthew]

9. It is petty actions like this that allow small government advocates to run amok. nt

[Obamanaut]

10. The owners had several months advance notice that they were in violation.

They ignored the warnings. They lost their hoops.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110325/NEWS/110325011/DelDOT-police-remove-basketball-hoops-woman-s-protest-sends-them-away

[TheMadMonk]

11. A ROAD IS NOT A PLAYGROUND. Not even in a cul-de-sac.

Those hoops were installed right at the kerb with the hoop extending out over the tarmac.

And bullshit on THAT pole being in the ground 60 years. A pole might have stood there, but that one most certainly hasn't. From the condition of the metal where the pole was in the ground I'd estimate a few months to a couple of years at most. From the condition of the backboard, I'd guess THAT was last replaced AFTER the warning letter was received.

Just speculating, but from the condition of that pole, combined with the claim it has stood for 60 years, suggests to me that the couple, after getting their warning letter, figured (incorrectly) that if they replaced their ratty old pole with a bright shiny new one, they'd be allowed to keep it.

Yes it is true he was told he could keep the pole. And yes it was in fact taken away instead of left behind.

1) She said what it took to get this person far enough away to let them do their job safely, without the headache and paperwork assosciated with stuffing him in a panda, even if only for the duration.
2) He continued to be so beligerent that she had a change of heart and thought "Screw you charlie, now you can do it the hard way."
3) He may have made a threat off camera to the effect that the pole would be back up before the trucks were back in the depot.

[blondeatlast]

13. I've been thinking about this and I actually understand the city's pposition now.

Like so very many other things, this is a liability issue for the city. If someone gets injured (say, unlikely as it is) from being hit by a car--who is the injured going to sue?

The city first, the family (possibly) second--I write complaints for a living; I know how it works (you always go after the big guns first)..