Gainesville Cycling Club

Re: Moving Forward with the Archer Braid

Dear Commissioners,

I write in response to a letter by the Haile Associations urging you to cease implementation of the Archer Braid plan. To do so would be improper and unnecessary. My letter requests no action on your part, as the Braid has already been democratically discussed and approved.

The Braid is currently ready for implementation, has gone through public discussion, is placed on publicly owned easements and rights of way, was designed by certified professionals, and was approved by the Commission through a democratic process. Barring any radical new information or developments--such as a palpable danger to Haile residents--there is no reason to undo this process. There is no data to suggest the Braid will bring in criminal elements or danger. Instead, it will increase healthy, active, and environmentally responsible foot and bicycle traffic in the area.

The resident and business Associations claim to live in a “private community” with “private amenities.” We respect a neighborhood’s right to enhance services for its own residents, but this does not convey the right to interrupt or countermand a democratic process. Haile was not zoned or designated as a “gated” community. It cannot impede upon an expansion of connectivity on public lands.

Like its neighbors, Haile relies on County services or County-contracted services (police, fire, water, sewage, and energy). Public rights of way and public streets run through their community. Haile itself exists only by approval of zoning under a public governing body which retained its rights to easements and other thoroughfares. The path in question will reside on this public land.

Contrary to the tenets of the Associations’ letter, the Archer Braid is not designed solely for the economic enhancement or use of Haile residents, although they will benefit from it. When completed it will largely be inside the City of Gainesville, and will connect Haile and its neighboring communities to the University of Florida. In the opinion of many, this will be one of the greatest inter-connectivity achievements in this portion of the County, and in South and Southwest Gainesville.

The Braid is not just for Haile, it is also a way to pass through it on one’s way to work, school, church, or recreation. It is a portion of the larger mission of the comprehensive multi-modal transportation mitigation program the Commission passed unanimously last year. The Association addresses the minor, alleged, and remediable effects to the Associations ($10,000 in claimed but unclarified costs) that can be addressed through existing democratic and enforcement processes. This cost is a Haile enhancement, not required by law, that could be easily distributed over its thousands of residents.

In their current state, neither the North-South or East-West roadways of the Braid are bike or pedestrian friendly. Neither Tower nor Archer road easements are safe or affordable enough to re-route the trail. The Association’s proclaimed “thirty years experience” with maintaining a small private path is admirable, but inapplicable to this major multi-modal connector. Since Celebration Point has agreed to build the continuation of the Haile portion through to Gainesville, the Assocations' proposed derailment of the plan would have greater implications for the Braid design than the Haile portion alone.

The Associations are basically asking you, the County Commission, to allow them to practice eminent domain over the public lands inside their “private” community, which sits in and is governed by Alachua County. To discontinue the project under the Association’s logic would radically and fundamentally alter the relationship between the public (Alachua County Residents) and its governing body (the County Commission), with grave effects for our entire multi-modal future.

Thank you for letting this good decision--the Archer Braid--stand in place and continue to move forward. Please do not allow this radical derailment of our multi-modal future.

Regards,

James Thompson
Advocacy Director
Gainesville Cycling Club
Co-Founder
BikeGainesville.org