Hello! My name is Matt Kenna, your new Mr. Action Line. I’m a 33-year resident of Durango/La Plata County and an almost-retired lawyer who used to take other people’s problems and make them my own, and now I – well, I guess this is the same thing, but the problems aren’t quite as big and I get paid accordingly. Bring on the questions!
Dear Action Line: I can’t help but notice when I go to City Market north there are no longer any small pushcarts. They have baskets you can carry by hand and the large carts that are hard to navigate when the aisles are packed. Is there any way you can find out what’s happened to the smaller, user-friendly carts for those of us not purchasing a giant amount of things? Also, I have a theory that the grocery store parking lots in Durango are particularly difficult to drive in with a vehicle so the city can promote bicycle use. Any investigating that can be done on that end, too? – Carty B.
Dear Carty: This was the first question I opened and I was so glad to see it because I have often wondered the same thing! So I made a field trip up to north City Market and talked to Michael, a manager up there, who was happy to help.
After I alleged that the lack of small carts was a conspiracy to get us all to buy 57-packs of Charmin, he assured me that was not the case (no pun intended), and that they are fervently trying to get more small carts, and parts for broken ones.
He pointed me to the “cart graveyard” south of the store, where broken carts go to await repair or disposal.
Sure enough, there are tons of small carts there. Seems like a feedback loop, where the lack of small carts means each one is used more often and gets broken faster, with the supply chain unable to keep up.
As for the hand baskets, I saw none in the entrance but did find a few in use throughout the store. Michael informed me that like the small carts – more are always on backorder – apparently, people constantly take them. And you can’t blame it on the unhoused, you will notice no baskets containing belongings around local parks. Rather, people take them home for – what? Their own version of a plastic Watts Tower? No one knows. But we all know where these scofflaws may eventually be going in said hand baskets.
As for your parking lot theory, I contacted the Agenda 21 folks at the United Nations, who confirmed that they control the corporate boards of the major grocery store chains and are compelling them to make the parking lots hard for cars to navigate, so that bicycles will instead be used.
And if you believe that, can I interest you in a $499 tour of the movie lot where they staged the moon landings?
Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. Today’s fun fact: When shopping carts were first introduced in 1937, many people hated them, viewing them as unmanly for men and a reminder of a baby carriage for women.
