That's not a neat concept, but I digress. The important question: Is the Silvercrest plan being minted a good one?
New Albany to review 'aging-in-place' project, by Grace Schneider (C-J).
Nearly six months ago, the New Albany City Council threw its support behind developer Matt Chalfant's proposal to transform the 40-acre former Silvercrest property into a large residential development.
The city Plan Commission is expected to hold a brief public hearing tonight on a related request from Chalfant to subdivide the redevelopment area -- known as a planned unit development district -- into three tracts and to take action.
22 comments:
Gosh, you mean different types of housing and facilities for different stages of life, all arranged near each other and other amenities to facilitate walking and community interaction?
If we don't stop them now, the next thing you know those radicals will be proposing some sort of shared transit system.
Bluegill, I think you've already been told once by Daniel that other people don't want to live in that fantasy world of yours. You know, thriving downtown, public transport, walkable city...
Hey, if people don't want to adopt fiscally conservative policies, I can't make them.
I just wish they'd stop posing as fiscal conservatives is all. It wastes a lot of everyone's time and energy.
I have to disagree on Chick-fil-A. Waffle fries are the best fries ever.
And, if it's run by the folks who run the Clarksville one, you basically get your food before you order.
Mmm ... pressure-cooked chicken, Homer says.
Shared transit as fiscally conservative...now that is the joke of the century.
Daniel,
Please explain.
I have to agree with Shea, Chick-fil-a is an alright place. I know it is a chain but show me a local owned place that I can get a grilled chicken sandwich in 1 minute. And waffle fries. And is open most of the time.
Sí,
I mostly agree with Roger on the chain situation. I try to eat locally when eating out.
But, I also love, say, BW3 ... it's the only place I can get Asian zing (insert massage parlor joke here) with buffalo chips and cheese. I'm also a Taco Bueno fan, especially now that I'm officed in Jeff.
And, bless Skyline Chili, even though they taste much better consumed at a Reds game while rooting for the Astros.
... and sweet tea or lemonade. Hands down the best No. 1 combo out there! I've also read about Chik-fil-A also being an excellent employer, especially for a fast food chain. They train and they pay. But nobody tell Roger about them closing on Sundays due to religious reasons.
sounds like a good development, I only hope that all the drainage and environmental issues have been considered, that area is already beyond current drainage capacity and if mr chalfant has not addressed those issues it should be voted down until such time that those issues have been mitigated
Indeed, While I like the general design concept, and suppose the reuse of an historic structure, will Mr. Chalfant also be a progressive developer of the environmental potential of that site. For starters, the minute they start taking down any of the old forest up there, real erosion and drainage problems will appear at Schribner and beyond in their drain field. Also, having spent some time over the years walking up there, the wind on that hill is very good as it's funneled down from the northwest. I often marvel at the steady strong wind up there. One big windmill could generate some of their electrical needs I'm thinking. All in all though I hope the development succeeds.
Sorry, dudes. I don't do chain envy.
Roger,
How many "links" to make a chain?
Mark, I don't view the subsidizing of shared or mass transit as fiscally conservative or responsible. I am not against it totally, but the business model sucks. Go back in the archives, we have this little spat about every other week.
Daniel,
Oh, I remember our discussions. It's just that you don't ever explain.
It's okay for me to pay for your road that I may never use, to subsidize your church, etc. Remember that?
It's okay if it benefits you directly. You never see the indirect benefits. It's why I find modern conservativism to be mainly SELFISH.
I believe we pay for roads with the user tax on fuel. At what point in time do you say enough of this? I am all for TARC or trains or subways. The problem is that they should be self supporting or very near it. The US post office has done it for decades till now. Why is that so selfish?
Subsidies for mass transit, home utilities,home rents, crops, child care, ethanol, wetlands. Arrgh.
Check out these FACTS on federal transit subsidies:
Passenger Rail
• The net federal subsidy to passenger railroads was the third largest, except for the
years 1998-2000 (Figure 1), when it was second. The Taxpayer Relief Act of
1997 provided Amtrak with a tax credit in the amount of $2.18 billion in current
dollars that caused the net federal subsidy to increase dramatically in 1998 and
1999.
• Passenger rail received the largest subsidy per thousand passenger-miles,
averaging $186.35 per thousand passenger-miles during 1990-2002 (Figure 2).
Transit
• Between 1990 and 2002, transit received the largest amount of net federal
subsidy, increasing from $5.09 billion to $7.31 billion (Figure 1), an increase of
3% per year. Next to passenger rail, transit received the next highest net federal
subsidy per thousand passenger-miles for the period, averaging $118.26 in year
2000 chained dollars (Figure 2).
http://www.bts.gov/programs/federal_subsidies_to_passenger_transportation/pdf/entire.pdf
Passenger rail received the largest subsidy of all...$187 dollars per 1000 passenger miles. That is astounding.
Is the user tax on fuel adequate to make the roads self-supporting?
Maybe not, but it is a lot closer than Amtrack or Tarc. I don't understand why it has to be one way or the other? We are Americans that are blessed with ingenuity...let's develop transit that works, not beurocratic bogs of waste. It can be done, wouldn't you agree?
Is the user tax on fuel adequate to make the roads self-supporting?
No.
And then there's the small matter of operational costs. The rail and transit figures presented include the actual moving of people from one place to another. The highway costs listed do not.
Triple A (AAA) figures vehicle operational costs for a medium sedan at 62.4 cents a mile. At a thousand miles, that's $624 plus the $1.91 federal tax subsidy for a total of $625.91.
That figure, of course, does not include the costs of extra police activity for accidents, increased health issues, increased land use, etc, nor does it include parking costs once a destination is reached.
A survey of commuter rail fares from around the country shows ridership costs of about 15 cents per mile. That's $150 per thousand miles. Add the $186.35 federal subsidy for a total of $336.35.
Individual cost of 1,000 commuter miles:
By car: $625.91
By rail: $336.35
Difference: $289.56
That savings does not not include reduced parking, reduced police and safety services, reduced land use, and reduced health issues.
According to the feds, the average commute is 30 miles round trip. With 250 working days per year, that's 7,500 miles so multiply the savings by 7.5.
The average commuter would save $2,171.70 each year using rail. There are over 100 million daily commuters in the US.
Sorry, but all **** broke loose at work for a bit. I see that bluegill and Roger pitched in.
Daniel,
You are the one who said that you did not want to pay for something that you do not use. All I'm trying to get you to do is realize that slogans don't begin to capture the complicated matters before us.
Daniel wrote: I don't understand why it has to be one way or the other?
Now that is a statement that begins to acknowledge the complications.
Mark
I'm starting to learn how silly it is that we don't have ultra high-speed rail servicing Minneapolis-Milwaukee-Chicago-Indy-Louisville-Nashiville-Atlanta-Jax-Miami. Business travellers alone would fill that up. Flying from Louisville to Chicago or Atlanta is just plain dumb, and the car ride is inconvenient.
From the Obama campaign trail:
"One of the things I have been talking bout for awhile is high speed rail connecting all of these Midwest cities -- Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, St. Louis." Speaking of Amtrak, Obama is a big supporter. He was a backer of the Lautenberg-Lott Amtrak bill in 2007, which would provide about $11.6 billion to Amtrak over the next six years.
In a true geek reveal, I've been having trouble sleeping at night wondering who Obama was going to name as Transportation Secretary.
It looks like Ray LaHood, a soon to be former Republican House member from Peoria. LaHood doesn't have a long track record on transportation issues but broke with the R's to support Amtrak and mass transit measures.
If the announcement is made Friday as expected, he'll be the moderate whispering to the other moderate Republicans. I wish him outstanding luck. We need it.
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