Sunday, June 05, 2016

Kansas City: "First they build up to the sidewalk, then they smash the entire automotive industry."


This laughable piece requires little introduction, although it's easy to imagine Team Gahan pausing the Disney flick on the VCR long enough to pop an ice cold Bud Light Mango and deploy the highlighter.

KC Conspiracy Theorists: Walkable Development Will “Devastate” Auto Giants, by Angie Schmitt (Streetsblog)

Now that Kansas City has its streetcar up and running, the city is taking the logical step of updating its zoning code to allow for walkable development along the transit route. And according to some local Agenda 21 believers, anyone who works for the automotive industry should be very afraid.

Up for a vote this Thursday at the City Council is a transit-oriented development policy that, in very general terms, calls for compact, mixed-use growth and better walking and biking conditions. It’s not a detailed zoning plan, more like a statement of principles to encourage development that pairs well with the streetcar, instead of the low-slung buildings, surface parking, and drive-throughs that predominate now. Only areas near the stations would be affected.

You might call it a common sense step to get more out of the city’s new transit line.

Or you could call it a “dangerous” law that will destroy “our freedoms.” At least, that’s the tack that a local group calling itself “Citizens for Responsible Government” has taken. A vocal opponent of the streetcar, CRG posted a paranoid screed on its Facebook page ...

Amid the screeching, a pinnacle is scaled.

We know in January of 2014, the CIty endorsed the UN’s Agenda 21. This ordinance is another step in that direction. One thing I saw missing was the crematorium where they will send those of us over 70 who can no longer get to the streetcar or walk or bike everywhere.

Hard to rebut that one, eh? I really hope the New Albany 18-wheeler lobby doesn't get wind of this powerful argument. It could put an end to the walkability reforms that won't happen, anyway.

1 comment:

w&la said...

Well, we should consider the facts regarding older drivers:

"Drivers 65 and older are 16 percent likelier than adult drivers (those 25–64 years old) to cause an accident… older drivers are highly vulnerable to fatal injury in a crash."

"Per mile traveled, fatal crash rates increase noticeably starting at ages 70‒74 and are highest among drivers age 85 and older. This is largely due to increased susceptibility to injury and medical complications among older drivers rather than an increased tendency to get into crashes."

"Age-related declines in vision and cognitive functioning (ability to reason and remember), as well as physical changes, may affect some older adults' driving abilities."

http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/older_adult_drivers/

http://seniordriving.aaa.com/resources-family-friends/conversations-about-driving/facts-research