Hi neighbors,
After attending the Washington High School Community Center Open House last night, I thought more about the 2004 plan.
I feel the planning study from 2004 is looking too rearward instead of forward.
And they are not looking long term enough. We need to look 50 years forward.
If you build this project car-centric, it will be car-centric.
If you build it ped/bike-centric, it will be ped/bike-centric.
Oil prices are likely going up in the near future due to decreased production due to decreased demand.
If the economy ticks up, even slightly, prices will leap due to the lag it takes to ramp up production.
That's not even considering long term "peak oil".
This project needs to be as ped/bike centric as possible with wide crosswalks, bike parking, and pedestrian paths and plazas.
If residents are worried about people parking all over the neighborhood, Look at Brooklyn and Queens,NY as examples.
DENSITY will drive parking problems ANYWAY if it grows as forecast.
There is the possibility that there will be cars parked all over the neighborhood WITHOUT the community center.
As downtown parking prices and density go up, Commuters will park on the east side just to hop on the bus to go work downtown. I see this already all along Morrison.
It will be better to push PPS for their pieces of the property or for them to build a parking structure on Morrison.
It would be a good revenue stream for them. Or the government should zone it for a CITY owned parking structure.
Perhaps the best use of a 2010 bond measure will be for acquisition of the last 2 lots from PPS. One for a parking structure on Morrison.
The revenue will easily pay for itself if cars remain the number 1 form of transportation and predicted density may fill it up also.
If you've read anything about Peak Oil, there is a possibility of higher costs for driving, meaning less cars, more bikes, on the transportation side.
And for food, it is possible food transport costs will go up, therefore more need for local food production and distribution. We must consider this and not plan this project so similar to past projects. Hence, food education would be an ideal part of this project. As well as art and music and languages.
I feel focusing on sports (ie:sports field) will be the least important aspect of this project. Art and music are always undersupported. But with the growth of asian economies and the increase in birth rates of latin american countries, language education programs (especially spanish and chinese) will be strongly needed.
Comments welcome.
Rob
Buckman resident
