MyWHaT

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…When hope dies, action begins.” -Derrick Jensen, Beyond Hope

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A group of 30-40 walkers and bike riders met along 8th Street to parade to the study session.

Last night’s city commission study session on the 2010 Eighth Street kerfuffle went for 3 hours, was packed with over 150 people, with over 30 making public comment and NO positive resolution in sight.

Three options were given by City Manager R. Ben Bifoss:

1. As is. Proceed with contract and current design.
2. Re-apply: Start the funding process over and re-apply. Likely to lose money, incur costs & one contractor likely to suffer huge loss.
3. Retrofit: Proceed, with a retrofit built into the process for after the project is complete & funds secured from MDOT/Feds. Drawbacks, likely forgotten, expensive and will have limited design options.

None of them that appealing for citizens that are lacking trust that their best interests are represented. Many people left the meeting confused as to whether anything was achieved or where the direction of the project is headed. The city will be discussing and voting on this at next week’s commission meeting. We need some bodies there as well.

Is there hope? Screw hope!

This is community work that needs bodies with ideas, energy and an inability to make excuses for inaction. The fact that we can get 150+/- people out to a meeting about a 2 block section of a street means something. The public comments last night were a sign that 1) the time is now; and, 2) the human resources in this city are above average–we’re well-educated, well-traveled and well intended. We need to continue to insert ourselves into city affairs as invaluable resources of support, information, experience, energy…

We need to support the commissioners and staff that support an immediate change of priority throughout the city to support its own master plan, Grand Vision and the call from the neighborhoods for street calming city-wide. MDOT streets are another issue, but our own city maintained streets are the line-in-the-sand.

It is no longer acceptable for the neighborhoods to accept a “it takes time“, “its complicated” and “we’re trying” mentality.

Those of us who want to see bike lanes on Eighth Street need to continue to hold those in power accountable. There are plenty of resources and connections that the city hasn’t tapped. Give them a day and then tomorrow call or write to ask,”So, what did you do regarding 8th Street today?” If they say nothing, let’s call them out on it.

It’s not good enough to say you “really, really want bike lanes” or remain silent on the subject, and then do nothing but make excuses.

This is a priority shift that begins at their feet. I’m asking my readers to call up a city commissioner or city staffer and offer to take them for a walk or bike ride. It’s obvious after last night that most serving the city have an inadequate appreciation for what it is even like on a city street without  help from a motorized human-transport mobile.

Adopt a commissioner and stay on them.

Offer support. Offer them coffee. Offer to take them to a park.

That brings me to the commissioners. They are in a tough situation. They all have realized (once again) how much lack of control they really have and I trust that they will be trying to assert themselves this morning. While we assert ourselves, we need to help them.

There wasn’t a vote last night, so we can only go from what they said or didn’t say. My interpretation, from memory & without review,  is as follows:

• Mayor Chris Bzdok: Is trying to represent the majority who have overwhelmingly asked for street calming for 20-30 years. His commitment is solid and he has a year and half left in his term to see some change. Needs support.
• Cmmn. Jody Bergman: Typically silent, she did feel compelled to speak last night. Unfortunately, it was with great deference to the city engineer, although she did express frustration with the flow of information from the department. She needs people to adopt her and take her for an educational tour. Needs adoption.
• Cmmn. Barbara Budros: Similar to Cmmn. Bergman, Budros’ priority is that a “contract is a contract”, deference to staff and no sense of urgency. Needs adoption.
• Cmmn. Jim Carruthers: Showed some of the spunk that got him elected and was pressing some difficult questions. Good to see. Still, needs people to continue to entice him out of his safety zone and get back out on the street. Needs support
• Cmmn. Ralph Soffredine: A walking conundrum. Man of the people who emphatically says he wants bike lanes and has a top priority of safety. Yet, safety for whom? His main concern remains the safety of those driving around in 2-ton machines. His insistence that he can’t support any changes to the center turn-lane between Rose and Garfield are a real block that will sway other commissioners. He has earned his dues, and people listen to him. The problem is, his priorities are wrong. By calming the street instead of providing for faster speeds and convenience for vehicles, you make the street safe for all users! Soffredine needs adopting by people who can drive this point home. Needs adoption.
• Cmmn. Michael Gillman: Gillman is on the city commission with one priority only: the budget. Anything that involves potentially losing money or needing more money and he is going to be as immovable as the Grandview Parkway Expressway. Yes, needs adoption. Good luck.
• Cmmn. Mary Ann Moore: She enjoyed the meeting last night and loves the energy of the ‘younger’ generation. She has clearly stated her support for a redesign of city streets to include traffic calming and providing for bike lanes. Her frustration with engineering is clear. She is prudent, strong and has told me, “I’ll talk the talk all day, but I can’t get on the bike.” I think she would gladly go for a walk and needs to know there is support. Needs support. Someone buy her lunch!

I could be way off on these quick perspectives. Please, let me know if I am.

We enjoy an amazing quality of life in Traverse City, but we have a lot of work ahead of us to maintain and improve it for the coming decades. I’ll be posting links to the news coverage and the video of the meeting later today. Perhaps I may have cooled down a little by then, but I hope not.

What was your take?

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To adopt or support a commissioner, please call or email:

• City Manager R. Ben Bifoss Traverse (231) • 922-4440 • bbifoss@traversecitymi.gov
• Mayor Chris Bzdok • 932-0319 • chris@envlaw.com
• Cmmn. Jody Bergman • 929-3438 • jbergman@ci.traverse-city.mi.us
• Cmmn. Barbara Budros • 929-3438 • bbudros2@ci.traverse-city.mi.us
• Cmmn. Jim Carruthers • 922-7768 • jccarruthers@gmail.com
• Cmmn. Ralph Soffredine • 946-0344 • rsoffred@ci.traverse-city.mi.us
• Cmmn. Michael Gillman • 941-1277 • mgillman@conklinbenham.com
• Cmmn. Mary Ann Moore • 947-3527 • maryannmoore@charter.net

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