At Monday evening's city council meeting, there was a brief chat involving councilpersons Diane Benedetti and Greg Phipps. It came during my public comment offering, as I denounced the new era of Truck Through City.
Someone mentioned that the traffic study being conducted by Jeff Speck would address these and other issues, and CM Phipps said that it depended on whether we chose to follow the recommendations coming to us from Speck.
CM Benedetti then mentioned that according to what she has heard, City Hall is promising complete compliance with Speck's findings. I thought to myself: Funny; it sounds exactly like a banana republic unable to reform its own economy, vowing to the International Monetary Fund that all austerity dictates will be followed.
All of which points to certain bizarre truths -- and bizarre usually is the best we can hope for insofar as "truth" is concerned here in New Albany. For one, the conduit of public information as it pertains to Speck's ongoing work is being shielded by City Hall with the same degree of guarded apprehension as most of its bigger ticket endeavors. This is not an administration that places a high value on public discourse or participation, unless the latter can be controlled, as in the case of volunteerism.
If it did, the mayor might revisit the council chamber more often than once or twice a year, and CM Benedetti might not be forced to rely on what's she's heard lately. She'd know, and so would the rest of us.
More ominously, how will City Hall react to the Luddite backlash (see below) when Speck's study finally gets a public vetting?
Having spent neither time nor political capital in building public support for street grid reforms designed to facilitate walkability, and to the extent that it is sincere in making changes, the administration likely will implement reform only as a top-down decree (see Center, Aquatic). Inevitably, it will delay the more "threatening" of the changes (read "Two Way Spring and Elm Streets") until after next year's election.
In the current time of Jeffersonville pedestrian bridge envy, the best hope for reinventing New Albany is not the K & I magically being wrested from the cold, dead hands of Norfolk Southern. It isn't all the parks being built in a vacuum, reachable only by car, connected to nothing. Rather, it is performing immediate, shock angioplasty on the city's street grid by clearing it for use for walkers, bikers and other humans. In such a fashion, the entire city can be a pedestrian-friendly park, not merely one solitary bridge.
The entire city can be a pedestrian zone, which serves as a metaphorical bridge by virtue of connectivity. Jeff's bridge, while important and welcomed, cannot itself assist the life quality of life in a neighborhood, apart from the immediate vicinity.
But eliminating an arterial street can. Reordering the street grid can. Regarding the city organically, as an entity benefiting from walkability, can.
We need to begin the process now, and not wait for Speck's presumed political cover. It might require political courage. Do we have any?
It quite possibly is the dumbest question I've ever asked here.
Jeff Speck walkability study recommendations (Walkable West Palm Beach)
The dust is still settling from Jeff Speck’s monumental study on walkability. Not only did Jeff address downtown, his original scope, but also the northwest neighborhood and South Dixie. Very exciting times. Included are specific ways to make our streets safer, more comfortable for all users, more attractive and desirable, and ultimately lead to a higher tax base and more retail sales. Most of these ideas are very low cost and just require paint to restripe lanes and make better use of our existing infrastructure.
You have to expect resistance whenever change is proposed. On the City’s Facebook posting, a number of people have objected, although the overall sentiment is very positive for the changes. As these things go, usually the opponents come out in droves in social media and meetings, but the supporters have much less to say. We need to flip that if we want to see these changes carried out.
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