It’s now or never for the Archer Braid Trail! If you want a safe, public bike/pedestrian path that connects Haile Plantation to Gainesville and the University of Florida, please act NOW!

1. WHAT IS HAPPENING?

On Tuesday September 25, 2012 the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners will meet to vote on the routing of the Archer Braid Trail (ABT), a public bike/pedestrian path that will directly link the town of Archer in southwest Alachua County to the University of Florida. The proposed design has the trail approaching Gainesville along Archer Road SW, then connecting to the Haile Village Center at 91st Street and 46th Blvd, before continuing to Tower Rd (75th Street SW), and north to Kanapaha Park and then east toward UF. This route will be the only safe, public bike/pedestrian path connecting the Haile Village Center to Archer Rd and Tower Rd, and ultimately to UF.

But while many residents of Haile Plantation have vocally supported the proposed route, a small number of individuals on the Haile homeowner association boards have fought to keep the ABT out of Haile Plantation. On Tuesday the County Commission will decide whether to proceed with the design route through Haile Plantation, or to keep the trail OUT of Haile Plantation by routing it along Archer Road and 75th Street (Tower Road) SW.  If you want the ABT to connect Haile to the rest of the county, the County Commission needs your input BEFORE Tuesday!

The Haile homeowner association boards have spent more than six months and THOUSANDS of homeowner dollars fighting the ABT. They have come close to killing the Haile route (ABT/Haile), and this is their last chance. The ABT/Haile needs your help right now!


2. HOW YOU CAN HELP

If you are a resident of Alachua County:
If you live in Haile Plantation:
 
3. QUICK FACTS 

There is currently no public bike/pedestrian route connecting Haile Plantation to Archer Rd SW and Tower Rd (75th Street SW). 46th Blvd and 91St Street SW have no shoulders and no sidewalks. Existing Haile trails are private property, are not visible from the road, and are poorly maintained.

Alachua County public works staff have strongly recommended building the Haile portion of the ABT, for safety reasons.  County staff have said that even if the ABT/Haile is not built, they will continue to request that the BoCC act to resolve the bike/pedestrian safety hazard on 91st/46th Blvd in Haile Plantation.

There is currently no public bike path or sidewalk that allows children to ride or walk the 1.2 mile distance between the Haile Village Center and Kanapaha Middle School or Kimball Wiles Elementary School.   The existing Haile trail route is hidden from street view and is private property.  The ABT/Haile will fix this problem.

The ABT/Haile is entirely public property – All 2.2 miles of the ABT/Haile route are in the public right of way on county roads. It does not cross any private property.

The trail will be a public amenity that benefits all citizens of Alachua County, in addition to all residents of Haile and the surrounding neighborhoods.

The ABT/Haile will be built and maintained by Alachua County. Haile homeowner dues will not be used.

Public comments received at the County’s community ABT public workshop (July 24, 2012) were overwhelmingly in favor of constructing the ABT through Haile, by a margin of 27:13.

The formal name of the meeting agenda item that the BoCC will consider is “Archer Braid Trail Phase 2: 30 percent Design Plans”.  See agenda at LINKS below.

No Alachua County taxpayer dollars are needed to build the Haile Plantation route – The Haile plantation route is entirely funded by a use-it-or-lose-it federal transportation grant. The federal grant cannot be spent on other local projects such as filling potholes, paving streets, or hiring teachers or police officers: If the ABT is not built, the money must be returned to its source.

The 30% design plan (preliminary design) for this segment of the ABT is a path in two segments: One segment travels from Archer Rd SW up 91st St to the Haile Village Center. It then turns east onto 46th Blvd and travels to Tower Rd (75th St). There it meets the second segment, which runs on Tower Rd between Archer Road (Tower Square Publix) and Kanapaha Park. See the LINK to ABT Overview below.

The homeowner boards have proposed an “alternative route” for the ABT that bypasses Haile Plantation by running E/NE along Archer Rd and then turning north onto Tower Road at the Tower Square Publix. However virtually all of that route is already paved and bike-accessible. This “alternative” route amounts to paving just the last ¼ mile, on GRU property near the Tower/Archer corner. Therefore this "alternative" route adds little or no bike/pedestrian capacity to the region, and it does not solve the bike safety and connectivity problems of Haile Plantation.

After fighting to kill the ABT for most of this year, the Haile Plantation homeowner association boards mailed a “trail ballot” to homeowners on 9/13/2012, to determine whether residents prefer the ABT/Haile or the boards’ “alternate route”.  Many Haile residents have complained that the trail ballot is confusing and misleading, as it gives no background information on the ABT, and it presents the “alternate route” as route 1 and the Haile/ABT as route 2.  

The Haile homeowner association trail balloting is restricted to property owners only.  Each property owner receives one vote for each Haile property owned, regardless of how many people live or work in those properties and how they feel about the ABT/Haile.  Some Haile landlords own multiple properties and will vote multiple times, while Haile’s residential and commercial tenants will receive no vote at all.  

The association trail ballots were conceived, designed, printed, distributed, collected, verified, and counted by the same Haile board members and management who have consistently opposed the ABT/Haile.  It was not a secret ballot and there is no neutral oversight.  Supporters of the trail were given no input into the trail ballot process.


4. LINKS TO FURTHER INFORMATION

Board of County Commissioners – Individual names and email addresses
http://www.alachuacounty.us/depts/bocc/Pages/BOCC.aspx

Full agenda for the 9/25/2012 meeting of the Board of County Commissioners
http://tinyurl.com/8vndjqd

Archer Braid Trail - Agenda item for the 9/25/2012 meeting of the Board of County Commissioners
http://tinyurl.com/9nojdzr

Overview of the Archer Braid Trail - Alachua County Government / Growth Management
Includes map and historical information.
http://growth-management.alachuacounty.us/transportation_planning/significant_projects/

Archer Braid Trail – 30% Design (preliminary design PDF document) from Alachua County Growth Management
http://tinyurl.com/8p8whvc

Materials from the 9/4/2012 ABT meeting of the Board of County Commissioners
Includes staff presentation, public comments from the 7/24/2012 public workshop
http://tinyurl.com/d3aohw2

Facebook page for Archer Braid Trail
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archer-Braid-Trail/402942396427393

Thank you for all you have done, and thank you for your support!

Mary Alford, PE
Haile Resident, Business Owner and Alachua County Citizen