GCC,
For your information, please see my recent email to the Alachua County Board of Commissioners below.
-------- Original Message --------
Good Morning Commissioners,
First, thank you all for hearing public comments on the proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendment until almost 11pm last night. I have teased out a few statements from citizens at the end of the email to highlight for you that the majority opinion of these engaged citizens was to NOT amend the Comp Plan as requested by staff.
I also want to reiterate my comments. County Staff asked for and with some modification received your blessing to jump the first hurdle in removing the assurance that Bike Lanes will be added whenever major rework of an existing county road facility occurs. Thank you Commissioners Byerly and Cornell for taking leadership in at least containing staff's opportunities to ignore cycling infrastructure needs.
I am still most in shock by three points:
- The lack of systems thinking around transportation, externalizing the benefits to safety, cycling tourist economy, and general quality of life
- The manner in which information in the spreadsheet was presented and in fact the current presentation was withheld until the item came up for your discussion
- Staff's disregard for a 13 member advisory board (BPAB) that is tasked with making recommendations on this very sort of issue.
- Your legal council seemed to think the board had no standing or role in advising you.
- Mr. Harriott would not even weigh in on why he Failed to ask an advisory board whose name starts with "Bicycle" about Bike Lanes
- Based on all of the staff comments regarding lack of funding for bicycle priorities, why does the County Manager not end the BPAB and save the county $5,100 per year based on VI of the 2002 Interlocal Agreement, "...If funds to finance this agreement become unavailable, the County may terminate the agreement with no less than twenty-four hours notice in writing to the City. The County will be the final authority as to the availability of funds"
- If you will not end this farce of greater citizen input, what checks will you put in place to ensure this does not happen again? And that when these items do go before BPAB that they have one meeting to review and a month to research before taking a vote at the next meeting. Possibly as we saw last night, with a new presentation be provided as the item comes before them.
Please skim my recent editorial to the Gainesville Sun and thank staff for exemplifying my assertion that BPAB is a "mere formality for the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization and other governmental organizations." Or in this case it seems that it would have been an optional formality?
Here are a few of the comments from last night:
Chandler Otis- “ I almost think you should just table this for tonight”
Bob Stevens - “ you are always going to be fiscally constrained”
Ally Gill - “I do not appreciate having bike lanes left out of these projects”
Kristen Young - “I ask that you reject the comp plan change”
Joseph Floyd - “…take Commissioner Byerly’s motion, or better yet reject them all and keep what we have"
I ride a bike made abroad and appreciate that we need roads for the conveyance of goods and services. What staff is recommending though goes far beyond that priority. Perhaps instead of spending $5,100 per year on BPAB you could spend that money to buy the Manager, Assistant Managers, and Attorney all bikes to ride our county streets on. Or with our financial constraints maybe save a little and just buy them Bike Share Memberships instead.
In fact, I would challenge the Commission to do just that and have staff join in on a Ride with the County Commission before this month ends. I know my challenge to pursue Bike Friendly Community status was too lofty as staff seeks to eliminate the mandate for bike lanes. However a simple bike ride with the citizens of our community seems a much lower bar. Please let me know if you all would like help in planning such a ride and have a great week.