I don’t why I’m even writing about the Schultz Park, a.k.a.
bump out, rock pile, and other pejoratives.
I’m pretty sure the vote this Tuesday night will be another 4 to 1 vote
to spend the $3 million to more or less finish the Schultz Park and appliances
(340 foot dock, potable water, fueling and electrical power outlets) for the
transient boaters. All 698 of them.
Not that any commissioners are listening, but we could spend
the proposed $240,000 finishing the park area which is O.K. since there is
already a lot of Paducah dollars sunk in it.
I know the Schultz Park only spending would benefit the most Paducahans
by skipping some $2.75 million that would go to the vanishingly small number of
boaters who will actually use the dock and its appliances.
The dock, water, electrical and fueling could be
deferred. The 12 black steel pipes could
stay and when money allows, then build out the aforementioned dockage and
appliances.
I know, that the landside area between the new Holiday Inn
Hotel and the Schultz Park will have to be addressed. I know it cannot stay as
a blasted out debris field. I know the spending on Schultz Park is not about
the landside park. I know the money not spent doing the dock and all its
appliances in Schultz Park could be a partial payment on the landside park
area. My guess is that savings would
cover about 30% of the total park build out or nearly 50% of a more basic park.
As Pat Ranval said in a letter to the editor in the Sunday Paducah Sun,” It is time to reimagine
the strategy.”
The thing is, we can’t have everything that glitters, we
just can’t.
Well, here’s to the third and final 4 to 1 vote unless you
all can persuade two other “yes” commissioners to vote “no” with me.
Interestingly, the rock pile has become very much my
shadow. I’ll miss my shadow. Well, not really.
Thank you, Allan.
ReplyDeleteA voice of common sense. Pity there are not more!
ReplyDeleteI sincerely believe Commissioner Rhodes is making the right call on this issue.
ReplyDeleteI'm inclined to agree with "Anonymous"...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Commissioner Rhodes. Just seems a shame that 'common sense and practicality' are no longer a consideration in issues such as this.
ReplyDeleteOn another subject, why is the city pursueing making Jefferson and Broadway two way. Clearly it is safer for pedestrians the way it is and there were good reasons for making it the way it is now in the first place.
ReplyDeleteBob,
DeleteFirst I apologize for my tardiness. Before my commissioner life I read Jeff Speck"s book "A Walkable City" and really like his thoughts, especially the possibility of making the two streets two way with bike lanes. The two way will give a fresh look to downtown. Traffic will slow down and enjoy the ride. Studies show that by putting the road on a "diet" so to speak that safety actually goes up. Sounds counterintuitive but it really works. We will hopefully eliminate stoplights at 7th, 6th , 5th, on both Broadway and Jefferson, replacing them with four way stops improving traffic flow.
Two way traffic should help the traffic lights at 3rd and 4th change a bit faster. With bike lanes we can connect the Greenway Trail to both Broadway and Jefferson out to 28th Street and on through the park to the Greenway Trail and make a good circuit. Hopefully as we do this change we will use the "sharro" share the road signs on other known bike routes to alert drivers that this is a bike friendly community. I am more excited about this plan than about anything that we have undertaken as a city, hope you can get excited also.
Allan
Allan - is there a concise document, press release, resolutions, something somewhere that spells out what the heck this expenditure is for now??? Admittedly, it's been kicked around for so long, I have no idea what "the Riverfront Project" is these days. Are the boat numbers you quote our current traffic per day/week/month? What is the projected traffic? What's the plan for the bombed out Big E site? Does the dock include any fueling or retail or is just a gazllion dollars for a passive boat dock?? I would love have a fresh review of what this project means, today. Thank you. Kristin
ReplyDeleteI think one needs to be careful about using the results of studies to generalize across all situations. For example, is there a large population living close to the walkable city? If not, is there enough close parking to get to it? Does the design of the bike routes connect population to the desired areas. Changing the conditions will affect the outcome. This is actually a complex issue. Developing downtown needs to address the parking issue since it is a precondition for re development of downtown. What is appropriate later will be affected by what is done.
ReplyDelete