As the Bridges Authority hires investment bankers to advise them on financing the $4.1 Billion ORBP, local citizens are beginning to organize opposition to tolling Louisville's bridges.
There are two new groups on Facebook (here and here) and reports of a new website coming online in the near future. Check them out and become a fan if you don't support tolling.
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"won't consider placing tolls on the Second Street bridge.
But the Louisville-Southern Indiana Bridges Authority will evaluate electronic tolls, in some combination, on the region's two planned interstate bridges and the existing Kennedy and Sherman Minton spans."
That sounds like good news for the 20,000 people who use the Clark Memorial Bridge on an average work day. They won't have to pay the $1, $2 or $3 toll planned for the interstate bridges. That's good, right?
Think about it. Just imagine the traffic on the 2nd Street Bridge when it's the only way to get across the river without paying a toll. Talk about "GRIDLOCK".
Wasn't the Bridges Project supposed to improve "cross-river mobility"?
]]>Live near a freeway? Heart disease risk may be higher:
]]>"Los Angeles residents living near freeways experience a hardening of the arteries that leads to heart disease and strokes at twice the rate of those who live farther away, a study has found."
Despite the appearance of progress for the funding of the Ohio River Bridges Project, the pursuit of "two bridges, one project" is destined to fail. As it should. It's simply "too big to succeed".
]]>"the community should insist that candidates who aspire to city and state leadership fully embrace the bridges project"
If you don't agree, take a minute to let them know why they are wrong. They have been doing this for years, but their tactics are running a little thin (like the paper, come to think of it). They went on to misrepresent the project:
"It shouldn't be necessary to repeat this for mayoral candidates, but here goes: The record of decision for the project is a done deal, arrived at after years of study and discussion and agreed to by a broad consensus of the political and business leadership in two states. It calls for both bridges to be pursued at the same time, and for good reason."
According to the ORBP website, the East End Bridge is to be completed before construction on the downtown bridge even begins. They imply that both bridges must be built at the same time, but that's factually incorrect and very intentional misleading.
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You are invited to a Mayoral Debate on Downtown Issues
Sponsored by the Louisville Downtown Management District
Tuesday, February 16, Noon to 1:30pm
Conference Theatre of the Kentucky International Convention Center.
(Please enter at the northeast corner of 3rd and Jefferson)
Seating is limited to 175 persons and we anticipate a full house, so reservations are suggested by calling 583-1671 by no later than 4pm, Friday, February 12.
Renn's blog, the Urbanophile covered Louisville's Bridges issue back in June of 2009. Louisville: The case for 8664
]]>We will keep you posted if there are any plans to raze the building. Louisville clearly needs to pay more attention to preserving our built environment. Look no further than D&W Silks to see what happens when we don't actively promote historic preservation.
This from the Bridges Project's press release:
]]>"This week, we're contacting all residential property owners in Kentucky, plus the owners of some major parcels in downtown Louisville," according to Gary Valentine, project manager for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC). "We want to buy as much property as we can in the coming months."
"We've gotten a head start on right-of-way acquisition by purchasing about one-third of the East End parcels that require relocation," said Valentine. "We also made a strategic decision to buy the Baer Fabrics building when the company went out of business. Now we're moving forward with the rest of our right-of-way plans in Kentucky. For the residential owners, the next step is to have their properties appraised then we'll make offers. In the downtown area, we'll move forward on some major parcels."
Compliments of Brokensidewalk.com.
]]>A year ago, the state legislature approved $231 M to go toward the Bridges Project, but it's taken the Governor almost a year to actually approve less than half the bonds. They indicate that it is for land acquisition, so we'll track the $s and see where they are headed.
CJ: Bridges Lawsuit Headed to Kentucky Court
Clearly River Fields would have objected to this move if they believed it didn't benefit them. We know what kind of influence they've had on local elected leaders, now we will see how their special interest agenda works in the judicial system.
]]>]]>"I know there are a lot of people out there that are anti-highway. But a lot of the arguments around it relate to local land use and development patterns and ignores freight. Clearly, rail freight and intermodal transport are growing at a rapid clip and need investment. But trucking is always going to be a very important part of our national economy and keeping freight moving on a national and regional level is critical. For a big rig, every hour of delay costs about $67 - that adds up quickly."
[8664 note: Not to mention the air pollution.]
"I support transit development but also believe we need highway investment. With almost every Midwest city and state saying distribution and logistics are going to be a big part of its economy, highway investment is even more critical. If your region has big time congestion and roads with obsolete dimensions, that's dramatically going to hurt your business climate for transport intensive industries. The cities that figure out how to make this investment are going to distinguish themselves.
One of the things I said I was going to do when I started this blog was call them like I see them, and for this I know I part ways with many. We absolutely need major highway investment in our cities. Do we need transit investment as well? Absolutely. I believe they are actually complementary, not substitutes. Transit works well were highways don't and vice versa. We need to complement urbanized cores with transit appropriate development patterns with strong regional and national highway networks. It's a matter of AND not OR."
Read it here (see A Tsunami of Freight). We think the Urbanophile is right and that 8664 is best way to balance the needs of our region. Currently an average of 32,000 trucks drive through Spaghetti Junction every day. The East End Bridge will spread that freight and improve our logistics competitiveness. And removing I-64 from the waterfront will create the type of vibrancy and density that will benefit most by an investment in public transit.
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