The Transportation Planning Rule Every City Should Reform

[thelakelander]

^I think the better action would be marketing against developers getting free money at the expense of the public, which is exactly what an impact fee moratorium does.  That's an argument that will rile up most, regardless of what side of the political fence they fall on.

[JeffreyS]

That has been the assumption I have based my campaign against the moratorium on.

[dougskiles]

^I think the better action would be marketing against developers getting free money at the expense of the public, which is exactly what an impact fee moratorium does.  That's an argument that will rile up most, regardless of what side of the political fence they fall on.

So you agree that a public information campaign would be helpful?

[Tacachale]

I'd say it could help, but we don't want the mayor to spend all his political capital, which is still pretty limited, on something so limited right yet. Another thing the BHP had was that Delaney was considered very popular and credible and used those assets to promote the project. Peyton did not have that, nor does Brown yet, though hopefully he will with time.

[thelakelander]

I'd say it could help, but we don't want the mayor to spend all his political capital, which is still pretty limited, on something so limited right yet.

Yes, this is basically what I was trying to say.  No need to extend limited resources campaigning for a small piece of maze of funding issues impacting Jax.  If the effort is made on a public campaign, it needs to address more far reaching issues.  Delaney's BJP and Oklahoma City's MAPS are great examples.

[dougskiles]

Why does it have to come from the mayor?

[thelakelander]

It doesn't.  Oklahoma City's original MAPS efforts came from their chamber and then their mayor's administration jumped on board and the rest is history.

[Ocklawaha]

Here's an angle.

Since we (MJ) have friends in the local print media, lets extend an offer/idea to them to jointly introduce the mobility plan (no complex details, just the simple, easy to grasp facts) and release a month by month spotlight on each council member, the mayor, and anyone else we'd like to paint a target on.

"The Mobility Plan Meets Bill Bishop"
"Understanding Mobility with Lori Boyer"
"Not Understanding Mobility with Don Redman"

A feature series that ramps up the pressure to slap down this moratorium 365 days to the minute that it was enacted.

Placed in a glaring floodlight of a pro transit media series, we could create a situation where the officials of the city ignore the plan or mass transit at their peril.

We also need to explain that the mobility plan doesn't need a $50 million dollar savings account before we start a mobility project, the mobility plan is the curency that all manner of financing deals could be built upon.

Of course saddling up the troops behind a couple of campaigns like Ennis Davis, and/or Stephen Dare for Council might pay big dividends.  (As for me personally, I've always wanted to be Bürgermeister of Cleveland)

OCKLAWAHA

[dougskiles]

Ocklawaha - I like your idea.  Very simple and a good start.  At the least, it would get the conversation going to a wider group.

How does our Chamber feel about the plan?  I know some of those involved with the Chamber are supporters, but don't know about the group as a whole.  Same with ULI and NAIOP.

[JeffreyS]

The only fact we really need to convey is how the Council wants to let their insider developer friends skate on the taxes designed to mitigate their impact on the county and plant that tax burden directly their constituents.  Simple and easy to explain.  Somebody pays for the new sprawl roads, schools, plumbing and electric ect. and our sellout city government wants to make sure it is not the few profiting from the projects but rather have the people whose home values are being driven down pay for it.

[Tacachale]

There's a difference between getting the word out and educating people, and dedicated advocacy of the issue. The problem with the latter is that it might turn as many people who don't care about transit or the old city (eg, some folks in Mandarin, Southside, etc) off as it attracts to the cause.

[JeffreyS]

I want transit but that is a secondary point.  The point is the cost of clearing land and making it into a livable neighborhood should be on the developer. That includes the impact the new development has on transportation around the city.  If the people of Jax want to buy that development fine as long as development pays it's own way.

We are saturated with sprawl homes and strip malls to build more just devalues those that are already in place (with current demand levels).  So why ask everyone to subsidize what is hurting them.

We need more getting the word out because as interesting as the subject is to me others not so much.  Just let them know how the local government wants the people in Mandarin to pay to have a developer near the town center hurt their market value.

[dougskiles]

We need more getting the word out because as interesting as the subject is to me others not so much.

It has to be presented in a way that makes sense to them - and draw upon an emotional appeal.

Letting people know that the Mobility Plan is about:

1. Choices.  Not everyone wants to drive their car all the time.  Paying less for gas, going to one-car family, etc would be a big appeal.

2. Public Safety.  How many more articles do we have to read about kids being killed by hit & run drivers because they can't safely ride a bike to school?  How many more elderly couples have to die crossing the road because they get can't get across 6 lanes of traffic in less than 1 minute?

3. Better uses for the taxpayer's money.  Can we keep our libraries open, our police and fire depts paid, our parks clean if we aren't having to continually pay for the maintenance of expanding suburban sprawl.

These are just a few points that would resonate with most voters - and wouldn't be pointing the angry finger at the developers.

[JeffreyS]

Maybe we can work on it for from both sides.  I will continue to chastise our local government for giving our tax money to people who profit from projects detrimental to us. The rest of you can try to sell the smarter development to the masses.