Gahan AWOL as Kokomo's mayor speaks: "Public safety is also about the health and well-being of our citizens.”

Judging from the following, Kokomo's Democratic mayor sounds almost ... egad, democratic.

And in Indiana, no less. How is it even possible?

Here in New Albany, Jeff Gahan's ongoing vermin eradication crusade against New Albany's least well-off citizens has taken on such central importance that he can't even take the time to deliver a State of the City address.

Maybe a PowerPoint of photos depicting the many bright shiny objects erected during Gahan's tenure, to the detriment of the tax base? That'd bring out the crowds, wouldn't it?

How proud are you, local Democrats?

Let us know what you think.

You are thinking, aren't you?

Mayor takes aim at improving local health, by Devin Zimmerman (Kokomo Perspective)

Greg Goodnight cites personal health as chief reason for improving city infrastructure

For the City of Firsts, 2017 seems to be the year of public health.

For the bulk of Monday night’s State of the City Address, Mayor Greg Goodnight took a different take on addressing the health and safety of Kokomo’s citizenry. To combat issues such as death by heart disease, diabetes, and car crashes, the mayor aims to continue improving the city’s infrastructure to promote a safe, walkable environment.

“Most people’s first thoughts about public safety probably go to police and fire,” said Goodnight. “Some may also think about traffic signals or snow removal. These are all important pieces to the puzzle. But the reality is public safety goes well beyond the number of police officers on our streets or how many fire trucks are parked at the stations. Public safety is also about the health and well-being of our citizens.”

To this end, the mayor examines the numbers. Goodnight cited CATO Institute statistics, which indicate American citizens are 70 times more likely to die of diabetes and heart disease than they are from violent crime. Americans, he said, are also 20 times more likely to die in a traffic accident than in a fire.

In the same vein, Goodnight said CATO Institute numbers indicate that the chance of dying at the hands of a foreign terrorist are one in 46 million, but one out of every 113 Americans will die in a traffic accident. Meanwhile, one out of every 53 Americans die from diabetes, and one out of seven Americans succumb to heart disease.

But locally, said the mayor, the statistics are more concerning. Citing the 2015 America’s Health Rankings, Goodnight claimed Indiana ranks in the bottom 10 states in overall health, and Howard County ranks in the bottom half of Indiana’s 92 counties.

“These are the real risks,” said Goodnight. “Traffic accidents also are the leading cause of death among teens and young adults. So much so, that our young people are three times more likely to die in a traffic accident than they are from cancer. Now, most of us, if we could, would move mountains to prevent cancer in children. Yet, when it comes to redesigning streets to make them safer for our young people, unfortunately through misinformation and misplaced priorities, it is often fought every step of the way. It is this that gets in the way of actually improving the health, safety, and lives of our citizens.”

To this end, the mayor said 2017 will bring continual changes that promote healthy lifestyle choices. Just as in recent years pedestrian refuge islands have been installed on South Washington Street and curb extensions have been built around downtime to promote walkability, this work will continue. After all, said Goodnight, a study from Harvard University showed that walking reduced the risk of cardiovascular events by 31 percent.

“Smart streets are safer,” said Goodnight. “After hundreds of studies, the data has shown that narrowing lanes, adding medians, building curb extensions, and planting trees along the street will, together, result in fewer accidents. And the few accidents that do occur will be much less severe.”

A glance at Kokomo illustrates why it was such a mistake for New Albany to put all its eggs in one Main Street "improvement" basket.

Kokomo may be 25% larger than New Albany in terms of population, but the Indiana city north of Indianapolis is light years ahead of us when it comes to reading comprehension.

As Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight intelligently comments on various themes encapsulated by Jeff Speck's 10 steps of walkability, and his city moves aggressively to implement solutions, we're plunged into a despair borne of the sober realization that there is no historical evidence to indicate that New Albany's political class, or the DemoDixiecrat Party controlling it, has the requisite smarts or cojones to follow Kokomo's lead.

They're going to screw up Speck. We'll show how it's not done -- because that's who we are.

 Below are points 1 and 10, but don't neglect the other 8. Just be prepared to

The march to walkability: Kokomo's downtown revitalization influenced by Speck's 10-step plan, by Martin Slagter (Kokomo Tribune)

1. Put cars in their place

“The automobile is a servant that has become the master,” Speck writes in "Walkable City." “For 60 years, it has been the dominant factor in the shaping of our cities. Relegating the car to its proper role is essential to reclaiming our cities for pedestrians.”

This has been done by implementing complete streets, providing walking and bicycling trails and making the switch from one-way to two-way traffic. A complete street provides for many modes of transport - vehicular traffic, bicycles and pedestrians.

It started a few years back when the city switched its one-way streets to two-way streets for better traffic flow. This also created a safer environment for pedestrians.

“The changes weren’t so much for the people who live in Kokomo,” Goodnight said. “We all know how to navigate the city streets and get from here to there. It’s really for visitors and newcomers to our city, whether it be incoming students to Ivy Tech and IUK, or people that are moving here for business opportunities. That was one of the first steps.

“The whole idea was that you don’t want people having to time five or six lights and driving above speed limit to blow through any of your city,” he added. “The whole idea was to slow it down a little bit – not stop it – and put it on a safer scale.”

Goodnight said the response has been positive, especially among those who frequent the city’s downtown.

“We always look at each road project and look at what the traffic patterns are now,” he said. “We’ve taken out 35-plus traffic signals in the city. Most of them have been replaced with two- and four-way stops. I’ve gotten more compliments on taking out unnecessary traffic signals than almost anything.”

10. Pick your winners

While following all of these steps is essential in converting drivers into walkers, “following these steps everywhere would bankrupt most cities,” Speck writes.
That’s what makes spending the least amount of money to make the biggest difference key in creating walkability.

Kokomo’s efforts to create walkability while living within its means have caught the attention of urban affairs analyst Aaron Renn, author of the online publication The Urbanophile.

During a recent visit to Kokomo, Renn had a chance to examine some of the city’s revitalization efforts , undertaken with cost benefits in mind.

Renn said one thing that stood out about Kokomo’s progress is the attention to detail Goodnight and city leaders have displayed in completing projects that don’t carry huge price tags, but provide basic services that are beneficial to all of its citizens.

“A lot of what’s been done hasn’t been super expensive in the grand scheme of things,” he said. “Most of the focus has on the basics.

“I was very impressed with the attention to detail and the thought that has been put into the studies they’ve done,” he added. “The design standard is higher than you’ll see in a lot of other places around the Midwest. Their focus has been on spending money the right way and being good stewards of the public’s money.”