A review of Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP) history, then, along with the support of 8664 by many Hoosiers, lead us to Kerry Stemler’s published claims.
His first claim is that 8664 doesn’t address congestion from the west in New Albany. A review of both the 8664 and ORBP plans, however, does not support that conclusion.
Anyone who regularly travels I-64 and I-265 in the New Albany area knows that the intersection of the two is a congestion-inducing bottleneck during heavy traffic times. Accordingly, the much less expensive 8664 plan budgets $52 million to augment that merge point, including the construction of additional lanes. In contrast, the ORBP for which Stemler advocates, even with its nearly doubled price tag of $4.1 billion, budgets no money for that area. The already crowded interchange is, in fact, not addressed by the ORBP plan at all.
Further, neither Stemler’s remarks nor the ORBP reflect concerns about the flow of human traffic between West Louisville and New Albany.
As much faith as I have in the West Louisville residents I know and the work they’re doing to revitalize the area, a portion of New Albany’s criminal activity has traditionally been attributed by citizens and police alike to our proximity to its sometimes struggling neighborhoods. The veracity of that attribution notwithstanding, it’s clear that New Albany has a vested interest in the betterment of our southern neighbors.
Like the I-64/I-265 interchange, the ORBP again fails to address the issue with its massive expenditure. 8664, on the other hand, stands to improve West Louisville substantially, thus improving New Albany by association. Aside from reestablishing an attractive waterfront from downtown to approximately 22nd Street, 8664 would remove the massive 9th Street ramp to I-64 that has for decades served as a physical and psychological barrier between West Louisville and the downtown business district. Doing so would help foster confidence in the area and spur much needed investment.
Additionally, an 8664 review of impact in other cities that have restored waterfront areas shows that not only is the directly reclaimed property positively affected, but a secondary zone, usually within ¼ or ½ mile of the reclamation area, also shows increased value and investment. In Louisville that amounts to 60 - 120 city blocks, much of it to the west of the downtown business district, nearer New Albany.
As we move toward reopening the K&I Railroad Bridge to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, more closely connecting Louisville’s riverfront with our own, what’s on the other end of it will play a considerable role in determining how attractive an amenity it will be in and of itself and, ultimately, how accessible other amenities on the opposite shore will be. A rejuvenated West Louisville is the best possible scenario for allowing New Albany to market a pedestrian bridge connecting the two as an asset and to encourage those enjoying Louisville’s waterfront to extend their walk or ride to include our shops, eateries, and cultural institutions.
Though already partially addressed, Stemler’s second claim is that since Hoosiers have not had a voice in visioning the 8664 plan, it would damage our side of the river.
Momentarily setting aside the regular communication that occurs between Hoosiers and 8664, the group’s consistent requests to communicate with Indiana officials and business leaders, and the fact that Indiana businesses help sponsor the group’s events, two points immediately come to mind: 1) As 8664 representative Joe Burgan rightly pointed out in the article, his group, unlike Stemler’s, is currently the only one standing up to East Louisville political forces, fighting to prioritize the East End Bridge that Hoosiers have favored for decades and 2) prioritizing the East End Bridge stands to create an economic boon in Indiana, as shown by the federal environmental impact study conducted for the ORBP.
The study claims that the East End Bridge will create approximately 10,000 jobs in Indiana that may otherwise go to Kentucky, a number used not only by Kentucky-based bridge opponents to argue against it but also by local chamber of commerce One Southern Indiana to support it. As recently as a 2008 article published in The Lane Report’s Market Review of Greater Louisville and Southern Indiana, 1SI again touted the job creation numbers and District 71 State Representative Steve Stemler characterized the East End Bridge as “really the missing, critical link” in our region.
While 1SI and ORBP representatives did acknowledge the East End Bridge as part of the larger ORBP scheme later in the article, job increases induced by completing the I-265 loop were mentioned repeatedly while no similar claims were ascribed to the proposed third downtown bridge. Odd then, that Kerry Stemler, Past-Chair of 1SI, would refer to a plan that prioritizes East End Bridge construction as “detrimental” to our state.
Beyond his initial illogic, however, Stemler and the Bridges Coalition’s more recent advocacy betrays his concern for keeping Hoosier voices prominent in the decision making process.
Perhaps the most significant financial occurrence in the bridges saga since the formation of the Build the Bridges Coalition has been Kentucky's passage of a transportation budget in 2008 that included much less than the amount deemed necessary to maintain the ORBP schedule. It showed not only the difficulty inherent in financing such a megaproject but also revealed important preferences as Kentucky officials chose to delay East End Bridge construction by two more years, instead prioritizing available funds on the redesign of Spaghetti Junction in preparation for a new Downtown Bridge.
Given Indiana’s long favoring of the East End Bridge and the benefits touted by his own economic development organization, one would think that Stemler would have rushed to the defense of his fellow Hoosiers, decrying the decision and pushing for the Bridges Coalition to pressure Kentucky’s government to return the East End Bridge to its rightful place in the funding hierarchy. Instead, he and the Coalition chose a far different course of action: the pursuit of tolls.
We'll examine the potential impact of those tolls on Hoosiers in the next installment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
All commuters including those in Indiana will benefit from a plan such as 8664. 8664 is also the only plan that actually encourages private investment dollars to begin to flow into west Louisville. Visit 8664.org now, sign up and tell your elected officials we need to build the east end bridge now and without tolls.
Post a Comment