Just getting on a roll, about 40 people here to support the mobility moratorium sunset.
President of the Grater Arlington Civic Council is speaking, he is presenting his opinion that everyone is hurting and that we can't be the city we should be without investing in ourselves.
Mike Fields also spoke in favor of ending the moratorium. A local doctor downtown is speaking to the transportation plan and his support in ending the moratorium.
The current state of the city is unfriendly
Our infrastructure is in a shambles...
Next another speaker in support of sunset.
3 more coming up to bat.
Mr. Learch is speaking, talking about funds being diverted and that the moratorium is hurting our city infrastructure. I am against the moratorium on the mobility fee.
Mr. Henry, Speaking to the lack of bike lanes downtown, and the way to grow the downtown is to get us to want to come downtown.
Next speaker, STOP spending money and get the plan in effect so we can support ourselves without spending tax money. The mobility fee does that.
Dan Carr, We are hearing that 2012 has already been voted on, we allowed a company to come from WISCONSIN, we've paid them and now it's coming out of our own pockets.
Gloria speaking for preservation of Springfield, we agree that ending the moratorium will enhance our neighborhood.
Do we know how many pro-moratorium speakers are there?
Doug did a quick count and came up with 40.
Now we're hearing about debit reduction, and how irresponsible the council has been because they fell for the Sheriff's comments.
Just read a card, again in support of ending the moratorium.
Next guy is talking about yard waste and Advance Disposal being such a great citizen for our city. There is a right and a wrong way to assist a corporate relocation, and this move is anti-citizen.
4 more had their cards read as being against the moratorium.
RAP is now stating their support for the sunset of the moratorium.
Next up a tiny girl who says she has to walk to school without sidewalks and SHE wants it ended.
The mother now speaking about the unsafe condition of the walks in their neighborhood.
ENNIS DAVIS, just spoke saying he represents MJ and TRANSFORM JAX, and THEY support ending the moratorium.
Speaking about the mobility fee, another woman is speaking, saying that last year after the moratorium was passed several council members came down and shook hands with developers.
We were promised it was just for one year, well, that year is over. Shouldn't we give the mobility plan to do its job? Lets collect some revenue from the developers.
Andrew Dickson, up to bat, he is the pedestrian safety-traffic chair of San Marco. JACKSONVILLE is the 3rd most dangerous city in America for bikes and pedestrians, and the mobility fee allows us to build that infrastructure we need.
Redesigning infrastructure isn't good, we should do it right the first time, if we want high quality things, we need to know what will work. The mobility plan will work, sunset the moratorium.
Woman veteran deployed in Iraq, says the bike safety is worse then the battle zones. She has been hit twicej on my bike, and both times the Sheriff deputies told her 'maybe you should think about where you live.
Next up, woman is stating that our mobility fee's will beef up our mass transit and allow us to create jobs. A study called Transportation in the new generation says young people prefer mass transit.
Debbiie Thompson, her card stated she supports the sunset.
So what happened? I was running late and just got up to City Hall and the meeting was already over.
There was no bill introduced. There was a good turnout. Many of us turned in cards but did not speak.
Quote from: fsujax on October 09, 2012, 07:15:27 PM
There was no bill introduced. There was a good turnout. Many of us turned in cards but did not speak.
I turned in a card but didn't speak once i heard Bishops statement.
Great showing tonight by the Mobility Plan advocates.
This is far from over. We need to be prepared for the eventual filing of another moratorium bill. With any luck, the message we have been sending these past few weeks (punctuated by tonight) will make it clear the support for the Mobility Plan and the Mobility Fee.
And many people with more great points to make did not speak, saving their comments for if/when a bill is filed.
Writing this reminds of the man we need to thank for even having a Mobility Plan to defend in the first place, Mr. Bill Killingsworth. Thanks for your vision, Bill.
Great job everyone I couldn't make it tonight but in light of past communications with council members I know there is still some support for selling out to a few stucco developers. We will have to continue to support this great plan. Again kudos to those of you who showed up and the organizations who stood up thanks.
Sounds like a very successful CC meeting. Repeats of this forever and ever, please. All citizens on the side of right, speaking up.
Doug thanks for rallying the troops. Together we can make a difference.
Quote from: dougskiles on October 09, 2012, 07:38:34 PM
Great showing tonight by the Mobility Plan advocates.
This is far from over. We need to be prepared for the eventual filing of another moratorium bill. With any luck, the message we have been sending these past few weeks (punctuated by tonight) will make it clear the support for the Mobility Plan and the Mobility Fee.
And many people with more great points to make did not speak, saving their comments for if/when a bill is filed.
Writing this reminds of the man we need to thank for even having a Mobility Plan to defend in the first place, Mr. Bill Killingsworth. Thanks for your vision, Bill.
(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/billkillingsworth.jpg)
Indeed!
Tonight I fell in love with my city all over again.
Thank you to everyone that came out in support.
^Like
Well it all ended pretty quickly, there was nothing introduced that would extend the moratorium. I didn't get a chance to close out this live-blog properly as I have to commute about 40 miles (future commuter rail customer) to get back to the ranch.
We must all watch the agenda's in the upcoming council meetings and be as ready as the minutemen to again show our solidarity on this important issue.
I truly believe that this plan, if enacted, would be the start of a whole new Jacksonville boom, and if the moratorium continues, it will be the end of the city as a contender in 2Nd tier cities.
My favorite moment was when all those present to support the ending of the moratorium were asked to stand up and 90% of the people in the chamber did. I think I heard all of the members of the Council gasp in surprise.
At this point any Council member who votes to extend the moratorium can kiss reelection goodbye.
Sorry, Tony.
Quote from: stephendare on October 09, 2012, 11:06:20 PM
Special credit really has to go to Doug Skiles and Mike Field and all of the advocacy work that they did behind the scenes and the presentations and brilliant job that Doug did in making the case to the community.
Seriously...these two are superhuman. I'm pretty sure Mike Field has at least two clones, maybe three. Doug got to work studying the Mobility Fee, costs of sprawl, etc last year after the moratorium and hasn't let up. Lets not forget Ennis's work here on MJ about the mobility fee either.
Hats off to everyone who helped the above, sent in emails, and went to speak last night. Not out of the woods yet, but the first round goes to the good guys.
So what happened to the pro moratorium crowd? Could this have been a false alarm, or did the strong showing prevent the introduction of a new bill? What happens if a similar bill gets introduced in committee?
Quote from: stephendare on October 09, 2012, 11:06:20 PM
Tonight was a real win for the good guys.
RAP, SMarco preservation, SPAR, all of the CPACs, BikeJax, Transform Jax, San Marco By Design, the Sierra Club, and many concerned citizens from metrojacksonville all showed up and the council had to recognize the will of the public.
Special credit really has to go to Doug Skiles and Mike Field and all of the advocacy work that they did behind the scenes and the presentations and brilliant job that Doug did in making the case to the community.
This evening we couldnt have been prouder than to have the amazing people who were all on the same side, working for the right cause.
It was quiet, decisive, and for the greater good.
So privileged to be associated with this group----which itself was comprised of many groups.
Thanks to everyone for demonstrating what a little good faith will do.
yes!
Quote from: Tacachale on October 10, 2012, 08:45:39 AM
So what happened to the pro moratorium crowd? Could this have been a false alarm, or did the strong showing prevent the introduction of a new bill? What happens if a similar bill gets introduced in committee?
It is coming. Trust me. There is too much money on the line for them not to fight for this. Their message will be about JOBS JOBS JOBS. They have an advantage of a certain emotional appeal in that argument, however, it is also a simple one to refute. None of the statistics point to the moratorium as creating a net of new jobs.
Some points to make in this regard:
1. Just as many jobs, if not more, are created when an aging shopping center is redeveloped. Why? Because bringing life back to an area of blight creates more business opportunity for the entire neighborhood. If you want to get Councilman Warren Jones fired up, talk about redevelopment opportunities in District 9. Councilman Jones is one of the heroes on City Council. I can't say enough about my respect for him and his leadership. We should start naming streets after the man.
2. Specific jobs incentives similar to what Paul Crawford is doing with the Lime Manufacturing plant are much more effective, and fair, methods of incentivizing job creation locally. When they do these programs, they are careful not to steal jobs from existing companies (which is exactly what a fee moratorium does in retail business - no net new created by retail) AND the job creation is measurable AND the performance is guaranteed (or no tax abatement).
3. Just as many construction jobs are created by the construction companies building the rail lines, bike lanes, road widenings and sidewalks from the Mobility projects as are created by the development. The difference is that at the end of the infrastructure project, the community owns the product and gets the value, while at the end of the private project, the private owner gets the value. Going deeper, the infrastructure sets up the construction of more private development, giving them more options. It still is surpising to me that they are fighting this.
Spot on Doug, in communicating the pitfalls of the moratorium to the council I have tried to point out that QOL investments are one of the ways you can directly influence development. The nice thing about the QOL approach is it influences things on a broad basis waving a fee for a developer only gets you one deal. Having good schools, good transportation or good river access incentivises every deal now and going forward.
I just hope there is not backroom deals going... although I'm sure there is.
None the less, great job Doug. I really appreciate it.
Doug, item 3, has me stumped too. Given the choice of a quarter acre of land at the corner of Broad and Monroe in Jacksonville, or a similar sized parcel at 1St and Pacific in Long Beach, California, who in their right mind would choose Jacksonville? It's not because one city is better then the other, it's because of INFRASTRUCTURE.
In Long Beach: QuoteLong Beach is working hard to become more bike friendly. We have separated lanes in the downtown area. We have green sharrows on 2nd Street. We have a great bike boulevard on Vista…and are in the process of designing three more Bike Boulevards.
QuoteRetro Row has always been an area that has attracted bicyclists.
QuoteOne of the most vibrant and interesting shopping and dining areas in Long Beach is RetroRow on 4th Street. Centered between Junipero and Cherry on 4th, it is populated by unique stores offering “retro†clothing and other goods, a great book store, awesome coffee shops including the well known Portfolio, the great Art Theater, which has hosted several of our bike film festivals and two new parklets, one in front of Lola’s Mexican Restaurant and the other in front of Number Nine restaurant.
Retro Row has always been an area that has attracted bicyclists.
Coffee shops such as Portfolio, owned by Kerstin Kansteiner, has for years been a mecca for bicyclists looking for a great place to hang out. And it is now the place were the monthly Cyclone Coasters ride begins, a rider that attracts over 100 bicyclists each month for leisurely ride through Long Beach on vintage bikes.
Because this area was bike friendly and had a number of business owners who were interested in making their shopping area even more bike friendly…Retro Row was chosen to participate in the Long Beach’s first Bicycle Friendly Business Districts program.
But along the popularity of bicycling in the area came issues with bicyclists on sidewalks. And the merchants said…we love the bicyclists coming into our shops and restaurants…but what can you do to help us get the bicyclists off of the sidewalk?
The city looked at the option of putting in bike lanes…but without removing the center lane â€" or removing lots of parking there just wasn’t enough room for bike lanes.
The use of sharrows on the street was suggested to the business owners and the residents…and the overwhelming response was…lets try it.
So two months ago our City Street Crew installed the sharrows on a 14 block stretch of the street. At about the same time as part of our Share our Streets campaign we installed pole banners with safety message for both motorists and bicyclists ..and walk your bike on the sidewalk messages. We also began a program with our police department to do a combined education and enforcement campaign centered around walking your bike on the sidewalk.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/BIKES%20Trails%20Walkers/ScreenShot2012-10-10at95606AM.png)
If you have not been to 4th Street and the Retro Row area recently…grab your bike…and come down to check out the sharrows and of course the great shops and restaurants located all along the street.
And ask the merchants about the Bike Saturday program…and about how they are making use of the 4th Street Cargo Bike
Dine on the parklets in front of Lola’s or Number Nineâ€" two of the great restaurants along Retro Row.
We want to say thanks to everyone who has been such a big part of not only making Long Beach more bike friendly â€" but making great areas like Retro Row wonderful places to Dine, Shop and Bike…
SEE:
http://www.bikelongbeach.org
http://www.bikelongbeach.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Bike-Strategy-2011-v2.0-council-Presentation-Part-II-infrastructure.pdf
Meanwhile in Jacksonville: QuoteFriends save bicyclist in Jacksonville hit-and-run; concerned when he hadn't returned
Posted: August 15, 2012 - 5:15am
A Jacksonville bicyclist was left to die in a ditch Tuesday night after being hit by a vehicle that then fled the scene.
Lorin L. Leuthold, 48, was riding his bike in the bicycle lane of Philips Highway just south of Bayard about 8:20 p.m. when he was hit, authorities said.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-08-15/story/friends-save-bicyclist-jacksonville-hit-and-run-concerned-when-he-hadnt#ixzz28u2lTe7S
QuoteBicyclist in critical condition after struck by truck
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 68-year-old woman is in critical condition after she was hit by a truck Thursday evening.
The accident happened on Merrill Road near Red Oak Drive. Right now, traffic is still blocked along Merrill Road.
JSO told First Coast News the cyclist was riding in the center turn lane when she was struck.
An officer at the scene said no specific charges have been filed yet against the driver, but there are charges pending.
The officer also said bikers do have rights while they are not riding in bike lane.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/269008/483/Bicyclist-in-critical-condition-after-struck-by-truck
QuoteBicyclist badly injured in crash at Edward Waters College
Posted: August 25, 2012 - 5:24pm
JIM SCHOETTLER/The Times-Union
A bicyclist suffered life-threatening injuries when struck by a vehicle on Kings Road in the heart of the Edward Waters College campus Saturday afternoon.
An unidentified bicyclist suffered life-threatening injuries Saturday after being struck by a vehicle near Edward Waters College in Northwest Jacksonville.
The wreck occurred about 4 p.m., on Kings Road near Grunthal Street. Police are unsure what led the bicyclist to cross into the path of the vehicle. The victim, a man in his 50s, was taken to Shands Jacksonville hospital. No other injuries were reported.
Police closed Kings Road in the area of the crash for several hours.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-08-25/story/bicyclist-badly-injured-crash-edward-waters-college#ixzz28u4GIGJM
The difference is staggering. Long Beach emphasizes bicycle 'education - infrastructure - safety', while Jacksonville talks about extending a moratorium that is preventing us from having even a semblance of what other places would consider normal urban necessities.
The fight is on folks, and last night 'WE THE PEOPLE' spoke loud and clear.
Quote from: dougskiles on October 10, 2012, 08:58:44 AM
Quote from: Tacachale on October 10, 2012, 08:45:39 AM
So what happened to the pro moratorium crowd? Could this have been a false alarm, or did the strong showing prevent the introduction of a new bill? What happens if a similar bill gets introduced in committee?
3. Just as many construction jobs are created by the construction companies building the rail lines, bike lanes, road widenings and sidewalks from the Mobility projects as are created by the development. The difference is that at the end of the infrastructure project, the community owns the product and gets the value, while at the end of the private project, the private owner gets the value. Going deeper, the infrastructure sets up the construction of more private development, giving them more options. It still is surpising to me that they are fighting this.
I really wish there was an estimate of the amount of new development, jobs created, property tax increases, reduction in infrastructure costs, and tourism increases (commuter rail to St. Auggie) that the Mobility Fee would stimulate into our local economy. As well as the intangible benefits like reduction in parking issues (Riverside/Avondale/Downtown), reduced traffic, reduction in carbon footprint, increased freedom to bike, walk, and ride transit, and so on. If you put a detailed study of the above benefits up against the benefits of continuing the moratorium, it would be a landslide in favor of the moratorium. Ultimately, the burden should be on the anti-Mobility Fee crowd to come up with the hard facts to prove their point (which they can't). They are trying to remove something that was implemented democratically...with input from the public, studies, hours upon hours of work from city staff and consultants, and public hearings.
Trying to sneakily get legislation passed behind closed doors, with no input from the public, and no detailed studies is frankly repulsive to me. Thankfully some great citizens have stepped up to the plate to fight this with their eye on the greater good of Jacksonville and not a few extra bucks in their pockets.
As has been said, we need to be vigilant. This will come up again, perhaps with little notice. We need to be prepared to show up at again at a moment's notice. We need to keep up the emails. It could come up as an "emergency" again very soon as the moratorium is set to expire in about a week. It would not surprise me to see an "emergency" short term extension. How long "short term" is could be up for definition. A month? Three? 12 more?
Some developers don't know how/want to do anything different than they have always done. Time they learned. They don't redevelop things. They don't know how to change to something else. Is there anyone here who can't point out a Sleiman strip mall simply by the design and color? They have all looked alike for 20+ years. And not that much different than every other strip mall in Jax, except his have peach stucco added.
We can be stuck in the last century, where people drove muscle cars and gas was $.25 a gallon, or move forward into this one like our peer cities have already done. We are being left behind.
When will the next CC meeting be on this issue? I'd love to go and join all of you, but I rely on JTA; And we know how reliable they are. The buses stop running before the meetings are over. I live off of McDuff just a few blocks south of I 10. Would it be possible for someone going that way to give me a lift home? I can get there, but I'd have to walk back. It would take just over an hour, and at that time of night I wouldn't want to.
Jones is my rep, I wish he wasn't term limitted.
When the bill is filed, we will come up with a plan for more public speaking. They may try for an emergency, however, that takes 2/3 majority and I have yet to speak with a single council member who wants to see this done without public input.
The best opportunities initially we be at the committee meetings. They are held during the day.
The stronger the public support, the more we are testing the resolve of the moratorium seekers. I am guessing there is a tipping point where they aren't going to want the public black eye that will come from being on the other side of an issue that has so far gained strong support from every group that has been engaged.
Of course the group that really matters in this is the City Council... And they have a rather spotty track record. Let's hope they respect the wishes and desires of the people of our great city and sunset this moratorium.
Thank you. Doug, for clarifying. I didn't think that through the process, did I?