Central Square?

[cvramen]

So, I took a look at http://nh.craigslist.org/hhh/ from the "Finding Rentals in Keene" sticky-thread.
It seems that some of the cheapest places for rent are in Central Square. Is there a reason for that, or is it probably just coincidence? Is there something a potential renter might want to know about Central Square?

[FTL_Ian]

Parking sucks - it's the heart of downtown.

[cvramen]

Any other "bad" parts of town- as far as parking goes?

[Dalebert]

There's also the siren...

[mackler]

OMG, the siren.  That would be a deal-breaker for me.

[Pat K]

What siren?

[mackler]

What siren?

I don't live there so I don't know the details, but apparently every morning at 3:30 am, an air-raid siren goes off at full volume.

There is much local lore about the origin and purpose of the nocturnal noise.  Some older residents say that it was installed during WW-II, and due to a bureaucratic snafu, it was not removed at the end of the war.  Conspiracy theorists suggest that it is a mind-control project by the Department of Fatherland Security to accustom the peaceful residents of Keene to the oncoming NWO police state, while taking a subtle psychological toll on the sanity of residents by impairing their ability to get a full-night's sleep.

I've even heard it claimed that the siren is nothing more than a fire-department thing.  Instead of putting a siren on each fire engine, they just have one central fire-engine-siren downtown.  Of course that's ridiculous, since everyone knows that the siren's not going to help you know where the fire-truck is unless it's actually on the firetruck.

One thing's for sure: Locals all say that the mysterious siren has been around for as long as anyone can remember.  Suggestions of disabling or attenuating the siren are met with almost superstitious fear and scorn by the city elders.  It's loud, it's disturbing, it's not going to stop, and they like it that way.

[Dalebert]

That was a great campfire story, but basically the fire dept is right off Central Sq and the siren goes off whenever they have to go anywhere (which is oddly frequent, and often in the middle of the night).  Then the lights in the circle* all turn red so the fire truck can drive the wrong way around the Sq while traffic is stopped. 

*It's called a square when it's a circle.  It's very confusing but it's actually a bastardized deformed traffic circle with a bunch of lights when the WHOLE POINT of a traffic circle is to not have lights so traffic can flow fairly continuously.  Instead, it's one of the most confusing traffic-control contraptions ever invented by a statist organization.  I'm surprised there aren't more accidents.  I think it's a case of people being SO confused that they drive extra specially carefully.  *sigh*

[Steaknale]

I lived on Central Square from 2006-2007, in the units right over Mirandas Veranda.  I have to say that of the 6 places I've lived in Cheshire County, it was my favorite.

On the Plus side: It's a walk to anywhere.  I could spend all night bar-hopping and come home and crawl into bed, no problem.  I met a lot of people, and made many friends. People tend to hang out of their 2nd and 3rd floor windows on Main Street at night and its kind of fun.   During Pumpkin Fest, my apartmnet became Party Central for people needing a bathroom, to rest, or to get a drink or some refreshments without paying three arms and a leg.

On the downside:  Many Pet restrictions.  Parking can be a pain, but you learn the 'routine.'  If you drive 'away' to work in the morning, its not  a big deal: you can pork overnight in the big lots behind Main Street for free.  The only pain was Saturday during the day, but once Citizen Bank closes at noon (or 1 pm, I forget), their lot becomes free parking for the rest of the day. 

Sirens never bothered me.  What DID bother me was the damned street cleaners that would start as early as 3:30 am under my bedroom window - they were more obnoxious than any siren.

[Pat K]

Fracking Mackler  I got about 4 sentences in before I realized
I was hearing a sea story.

Thank you Dale.

Steaknale who is porking overnight in the big lots behind main street?

[Praetgeist!]

People may mean "near" Central Square if it's cheap.

[cvramen]

who is porking overnight in the big lots behind main street?

Pics or it didn't happen.
 

[holy_canole]

It's called a square when it's a circle.  It's very confusing but it's actually a bastardized deformed traffic circle with a bunch of lights when the WHOLE POINT of a traffic circle is to not have lights so traffic can flow fairly continuously.  Instead, it's one of the most confusing traffic-control contraptions ever invented by a statist organization.

Central Square was actually built back in the 1800's, mostly by private land owners, and the design is due to the vastly different modes of transportation used back then.
You should do some research before being so quick to point fingers...especially if you're going to condemn something that so many people love about this town.
http://keenepubliclibrary.org/library/central-square

[Praetgeist!]

It's called a square when it's a circle.  It's very confusing but it's actually a bastardized deformed traffic circle with a bunch of lights when the WHOLE POINT of a traffic circle is to not have lights so traffic can flow fairly continuously.  Instead, it's one of the most confusing traffic-control contraptions ever invented by a statist organization.

Central Square was actually built back in the 1800's, mostly by private land owners, and the design is due to the vastly different modes of transportation used back then.
You should do some research before being so quick to point fingers...especially if you're going to condemn something that so many people love about this town.
http://keenepubliclibrary.org/library/central-square

can you point to what he said that was specifically condemning and not just expressing a preference for things to function? 

And people say the voluntaryists are pie-in-the-sky...at least they want things to work.

[MaineShark]

It's called a square when it's a circle.  It's very confusing but it's actually a bastardized deformed traffic circle with a bunch of lights when the WHOLE POINT of a traffic circle is to not have lights so traffic can flow fairly continuously.  Instead, it's one of the most confusing traffic-control contraptions ever invented by a statist organization.

Central Square was actually built back in the 1800's, mostly by private land owners, and the design is due to the vastly different modes of transportation used back then.
You should do some research before being so quick to point fingers...especially if you're going to condemn something that so many people love about this town.
http://keenepubliclibrary.org/library/central-square

Oddly enough, they probably didn't have traffic lights there when they built it.

It's almost like the government came in, took something that was working fine, and screwed it up royally...

Joe