One thing I love about being a pedestrian advocate is it is kind of hard to argue against walking and sidewalks. A friend of mine said sidewalks were a bit like kittens - everyone recognizes the good in them. That being said, I am interested in why someone would be opposed to sidewalks. What are the concerns? How can we work through these worries? I am collecting these concerns - if you have them - send them to me.
Yesterday, I received 2 emails at thesidewalkfoundation@gmail.com against sidewalks - one said it was waste of taxpayer dollars and the other had planted 11 trees as a sound buffer in the easement (city owned property where a sidewalk would be placed). I have offered to meet with these 2 citizens to hear their concerns in detail and will report when I hear more.
Everyone has the right to their opinion.
As we head into an election for the next mayor of Nashville, the stakes of the election will become clear - I hope walkability is high on the list. We have had 11 pedestrians killed in Nashville to date. That is 11 too many, in my opinion. Safety seems like a basic provision that cities should provide. We don't have that right now - but we could!
If you have opinions right now - the best place to air them is on the events page for The Mayoral Candidate Coffee on Walkability.
An interesting opinion about sidewalk development options in Nashville…
Opinion Piece 11:44 p.m. CDT September 6, 2014
Developers have been getting by on the cheap by opting not to build sidewalks.
When developers opt to pay a fee for not building sidewalks, a different system should be put in place. This fee should be based on the city's estimate to build the sidewalk, plus 50 percent, plus a fee for an engineer to estimate the cost of building the sidewalk.
This 50 percent fee is to build and repair sidewalks. The problem will straighten out the sidewalk problem in a few years. Development where a sidewalk is already in place should be charged for building a sidewalk. This should pay for repairs and replacement in the years to come.
Thomas Cannon
Nashville 37206
Link:
http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/readers/2014/09/07/developers-assessed-omit-sidewalks/15178275/
You Are Invited/Please share these links on your Facebook page or via email to all your friends & family :
https://www.facebook.com/events/359966430823457/
https://www.facebook.com/events/422357221238242/
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