It's Summer in long Beach--slow down when you are driving your car!

We all know that Long Beach is a beautiful place to live.  We wouldn’t live here if it wasn’t.   We pay taxes for Long Beach's "excellent" public schools, we frequent Long Beach businesses, and we faithfully attend Long Beach houses of worship.  We have nothing to be ashamed of.  However,  I have to admit that I do occasionally get upset about how we are viewed by people who live outside our community, especially in relation to our refusal to obey our own local traffic laws.  I don’t want to rain on our parade, or be a party-pooper, but when people from Staten Island, Brooklyn, or Westchester come down here to enjoy our beautiful beach, marvel at our "super block," frequent our 782 bars, or visit the wonderful “Art in the Plaza” event where retired town employees display their fine watercolor paintings, these visitors to our community often complain afterwards about  how we ignore Stop signs and red lights, speed down one-way streets while children play on them, or get into fist fights over who has the right to double or triple park in front of the liquor store.  I have to admit, I feel embarrassed by this.  What makes matters worse is that these “outsiders” use our behavior on the roads to justify other negative stereotypes about us, calling us insular, self-centered, ignorant, or self-destructive alcoholics.  It just isn’t fair that the behavior of some of us—thirty or forty percent at the most, seriously—should spoil the “long beach image” for the rest of us.  Okay, maybe fifty percent, tops.  All we need to do to improve the situation is to slow down a little, use the brakes when kids jump in front of the car, and try and be thoughtful of our community.  We need to remind ourselves that when we are driving around town, our need to get supplies for a beer pong tournament does not trump the safety of our fellow citizens.  It’s okay that we all dress like we’re on our way home from a Jimmy Buffet concert, we don’t need to drive like it as well.  Okay, sixty percent, but seriously, no higher than that.