Meadowcreek Parkway vote this evening

We urge you not to take a vote tonight on tying the Interchange Project to the overall approval of the Meadowcreek Parkway…. There was a great deal of public discussion on the original letter outlining the criteria for City Council to support the Parkway, but there has been NO public debate of this fundamental change in policy.

…I serve on the Transportation Funding Task Force that is looking into finding ways of paying for road projects and I have to tell you that there is little hope that we will find a source of funds that will pay for the interchange and the many other road projects in our area in the short term. Yes, we may be able to find $25 million to pay for the interchange, but by the time we raise that much money, the cost of the parkway will have doubled and the Interchange will cost $50 million.

…First, it is irrational to think that the overall transportation system in our area will be hurt by building more roads. While the Bypass may be negatively impacted, Park Street and other failed intersections (Rio/29, Bypass/29, etc.) will be significantly improved. We have MANY intersections in our area that are rated ‘F’
now and if that is such a bad thing then we should be building 10 new roads instead of one. The fact is, we have not built a significant commuter road in our area since the Bypass was built in the 60’s. If the Bypass suffers
from the addition of the Parkway, we should blame ourselves for failing to look ahead and build more roads in the past 50 years.

If the desire of City Council is to KILL the parkway, please just pass such a motion so that then we can all move on. We’re sure you are aware that recent surveys indicate that a majority of City residents want the Parkway built, so we would hope that Council does not want to kill the Parkway. Whatever happens, we hope that you will not practice secretive politics and avoid the sunlight of public participation.

Interesting article in the DP (no longer available) today about the Meadowcreek
Parkway fiasco.
?We would like to move forward, but if
we move forward, we?d like to do it with some sense of direction,?
(Mayor
Brown) said.
Please. The City has been delaying any
action for so many years, the situation is almost comical.

Dave Phillips, CEO of CAAR sent an
excellent letter to the City Council this morning, quoted in its entirety
here.
To: Members of City
Council

We
urge you not to take a vote tonight on tying the Interchange Project to the
overall approval of the Meadowcreek Parkway. Such a vote will essentially
kill the parkway or at least delay it for 20+ years. There was a great
deal of public discussion on the original letter outlining the criteria for City
Council to support the Parkway, but there has been NO public debate of this
fundamental change in policy. To vote on this measure without allowing
extensive public debate would be irresponsible leadership.


While
everyone WANTS to have an interchange, the reality is that there is no money for
this very expensive project. I serve on the Transportation Funding Task
Force that is looking into finding ways of paying for road projects and I have
to tell you that there is little hope that we will find a source of funds that
will pay for the interchange and the many other road projects in our area in the
short term. Yes, we may be able to find $25 million to pay for the
interchange, but by the time we raise that much money, the cost of the parkway
will have doubled and the Interchange will cost $50 million.


We
find little credibility in the argument that the intersection fails if the
parkway is built. First, it is irrational to think that the overall
transportation system in our area will be hurt by building more roads.
While the Bypass may be negatively impacted, Park Street and other failed
intersections (Rio/29, Bypass/29, etc.) will be significantly improved. We have
MANY intersections in our area that are rated ?F? now and if that is
such a bad thing then we should be building 10 new roads instead of one.
The fact is, we have not built a significant commuter road in our area
since the Bypass was built in the 60?s. If the Bypass suffers from
the addition of the Parkway, we should blame ourselves for failing to look ahead
and build more roads in the past 50
years.

If
the desire of City Council is to KILL the parkway, please just pass such a
motion so that then we can all move on. We?re sure you are aware
that recent surveys indicate that a majority of City residents want the Parkway
built, so we would hope that Council does not want to kill the Parkway.
Whatever happens, we hope that you will not practice secretive politics
and avoid the sunlight of public
participation.

Thank
you for your consideration.