Carr Mill gives the finger to Weaver Street patrons

They're not gone forever. Here's what WSM said in their weekly email today:
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Carr Mill will be temporarily removing the signs on the lawn in front of the Carrboro store today to correct the wording. The signs were put up at the end of last week to state Carr Mill's Policy regarding the use of the lawn. The signs mistakenly used an older version of Carr Mill's Open Space Policy that didn't reflect changes that resulted from negotiations last fall between Carr Mill, Weaver Street, and Carrboro Alderman Dan Coleman. The error resulted when the wrong file was sent to the sign maker. When the error was discovered, Carr Mill immediately arranged to take down the signs and have the wording changed. In addition to updating the wording of the Policy, the new signs will start with "Welcome to Carr Mill" to reflect the spirit of the negotiations last fall.

Carr Mill has also agreed to consider changing the location of the signs when they are put up again. It was Weaver Street Market's understanding that the signs would be put up on the edge of the lawn, not in the middle, and we have requested that Carr Mill make that change. We expect that the signs will be put up again next week, and we hope that the location will be changed to the edge of the lawn.
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They also gave this link to the new wording:
http://www.weaverstreetmarket.coop/article/display.php?id=1489

Ok--so it's not the substance it's the form you find objectionable.

if carrmill mallis willing to have the signs changed they need to be willing to put buttons on the doors to help people with mobility needs and parents get into the doors too everytime i go down there i get so mad because im in a wheelchair and need a button on the door i know of at least 6-8 people in wheelchairs that go to carr mill mall and need help opening the door .

As if 7 rules weren't enough, we now get the revised 11-rule sign. Thanks, WSM. Won't this sign have to be even more obnoxiously large to accomodate 4 more rules? Who's gonna enforce all these rules?
Why can't the mall be grateful to WSM and its patrons for anchoring their property all these years?

This is all so sad for the former People's Republic of Carrboro....

gabriel

But we could use some more publicly accessible flier kiosks!

Community ownership of the lawn would of course be a good solution, but it's a big thing to accomplish and it could take a long time. Maybe we could start with something like a Weaver Street Lawn Association that would take over the maintenance of the entire lawn, saving the owner money and helping form the organization that could eventually buy the land?

Maybe someone can help me to understand this latest controversy.

Is the uproar simply about the size or placement of the signs, or is it about the mall management's attempts to actually enforce a set of rules the community agreed to in the first place?

While sitting on the bench in front of the shopping cart area of WSM the other day, I was able to enjoy watching Bruce dancing with several children beside the "sign." It was a lovely day, and I still wondered how this form of expression was ever considered a performance.

Carr Mill management needs to stop worrying about someone stting and strumming a guitar and get to work dealing with the increasingly prevalent issue of aggressive panhandling taking place around the Carr Mill property. This is becoming a bigger problem all the time.

So...which of the seven posted rules do y'all object to? Or is it merely that the sign is ugly and mis-placed? Because--in all honesty--they seem like pretty standard rules for private retail property.

The phrase "choosing to take offence" comes to mind...

It is truly a shame so much energy has been expended on such a small issue. It speaks volumes.

The signs put up on the WSM lawn are symbolic of a much larger set of issues. What's being discussed in this thread is but one of those issues. For context and hopefully clarity check out the following category called Footloose. It contains a lot of posts.

The original post about the changes at Carr Mill Mall is called Dancing May Return to Carr Mill Mall. A post called Live on the Lawn also contains a lot of info. The post Dancing Ban Update contains even more info and context.

Here is a video about the dancing ban from the people directly involved called Let Bruce Dance.

These long posts and discussion threads spawned many more topics of discussion in areas like What is Public Space?

Understanding some of the intense emotions people have by reading the above can help explain why two signs set people off.