Recently in Bridges Coalition Category

This afternoon the Transportation Committee of Metro Council gave the Tolling Authority resolution the rubber stamp. Despite articulate pleas by Councilwoman Ward-Pugh and Councilman Owen for public involvement, the four other present transportation committee members abdicated their responsibility to govern and passed the resolution.

If you read today's Letter to the Editor, you learned that James Welch, Jr., the past President of River Fields (the organization who has fought construction of the East End Bridge) and current Chairman of the Downtown Development Corporation says he now supports the "entire" bridges project. 

In River Fields' 1994 Press Release to push for the Downtown Bridge, Mr. Welch was adamently opposed to the East End Bridge:

"Improving access to a small portion of the community [by building an East End Bridge] while access across the overall region continues to suffer is absurd and hurts more citizens than it helps."

Note: According to the Environmental Impact Statement, the East End Bridge provides better access across the overall region. 

As Chairman of the Build the Bridges Coalition finance committee, Mr. Welch has been an advocate for using tolls to pay for the "entire" Bridges Project.

In unrelated news, River Fields appears pleased that tolls might be used to build the Bridges Project. Their attorney had this to say:

"We look forward to participating in the review that will be necessary to comply with environmental laws if tolls are chosen as part of this financial plan."

It's a good day for Louisville

If you don't think we should toll all of Louisville's bridges to fund the massive expansion of a 23 lane Spaghetti Junction (15 years of construction, $2.6 Billion), then today is a good day. The Bridges Coalition which Mayor Abramson pulled together to push for tolls and the construction of the Downtown Bridge (i.e. Not the East End Bridge) didn't get it done this session. We'll keep you posted.

Maybe now we can have an honest conversation about the high benefit/cost ratio and overwhelming citizen support for the East End Bridge.

3/30 Update: In today's letter to the editor, The Bridges Coalition Chairman Ed Glasscock laments the failed legislation and the project's job creation potential. In our opinion, hiring people to build outdated and grossly over-built transportation infrastructure will only hurt the region's long-term economic prospects. Instead, we should be investing in transit and green space to make Louisville a more attractive, livable and sustainable city.

The Build the Bridges Coalition recently released a couple videos intended to promote the Ohio River Bridges Project and a tolling authority to fund its $4.1 Billion price tag.

It's worth checking out the New Downtown Bridge Fly-over video. Stop the video at 0:17 and you'll see that their rendering actually shows I-64 dropping to grade across the waterfront. Great idea! Clearly this wasn't intended.

So what portion of the rendering did they intentionally leave out? We'll give you a hint, it represents more than half the cost of the Bridges Project but it's not a bridge. You guessed it, the 23 lane Spaghetti Junction.

Response to the "8664" Study

On December 16^th the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet released an  "8664" Traffic study. Two days later, a Courier-Journal editorial celebrated our defeat. For those who oppose the East End Bridge, it made for great reading. Now we would like to respond with the facts.

The "8664" Study

Simply put, KYTC didn't study our alternative. We don't widen I-64 through Cherokee Park or terminate current day I-64 at Clay Street. There are other inaccuracies, but these two modeling "mistakes" serve to simultaneously increase traffic flow into downtown and restrict it once it gets there. On January 5^th, Transportation Secretary Prather acknowledged these mistakes.

Join us for this FREE event:

8664 Forum
Muhammad Ali Center, 144 North 6th Street
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
5:30 Reception
6 - 8 pm Presentation and Q&A

Featured speakers include:

 Please RSVP TODAY!

We'd like to recognize our growing list of FORUM SPONSORS:

On April 4th, Jim Welch, Jr. the past president of River Fields and current Chairman of Downtown Development Corporation ("DDC") and board member of the Build the Bridges Coalition responded to our letter to the editor.

Mr. Welch accused us of "creating conspiracy theories and other diversionary tactics." Presumably, he is referring to our assertion that Mayor Abramson is promoting the Downtown Bridge and 23-lane Spaghetti Junction because he personally does not support an East End Bridge. For the record, we are not the only conspiracy theorists. Last November, in reference to "two bridges, one project," Indiana's Governor Mitch Daniels told the Tribune that "The 'one project' idea - I think for some people - it was a tactic to delay the whole project."

Rather than making accusations of us, it would be more productive for Mr. Welch to address our assertion. Why is someone who has opposed the East End Bridge for decades serving on the Build the Bridges Coalition? Why do the current and past Chairs of DDC have ties to River Fields? Why would our Mayor say 8664 was already studied when it wasn't? If 8664 is "flawed", why won't the Mayor allow us to pay for KIPDA to run the traffic model?

We respect Mr. Welch and his commitment to this community, but we believe the strategy of pushing for a Downtown Bridge and 23-lane Spaghetti Junction to delay the East End Bridge is dishonest and destructive.

It is unfortunate that accusations are flying, but so be it. We need to get this right.

JC Stites

Tyler Allen