MyWHaT

EDITOR’S NOTE: Apologies to subscribers who received a blank post with the same title earlier today. It went poof! I was able to reconstruct most of it…

___

Yesterday’s Record Eagle coverage of the W. Boardman Lake Ave./Old Towne Bypass is worth a read. It shows how limited and narrow the discussion of the BLA/OTBypass can be framed. It left me a few questions they might want to consider for future coverage.

• Where’s the proof that the proposed road will “ease heavy traffic in the Old Town and Central neighborhoods.” And, how does it “create a quicker north-south route for drivers headed in and out of downtown.” The shortcut, “officials believe” doesn’t cut it? Who are the officials?
• Where’s the context? If, the above assumptions are correct, we still have concerns over major impacts on 8th St., 14th St. and community wide. This decision will impact the community for 50 years. It’s not just about one-street or neighborhood.
• Where’s the nuance? There are many who believe that this was the solution 40 years ago, but now the professional thinking about motorized traffic in cities has changed. New roads seldom relieve traffic concerns, because they often induce more traffic.
• What are the options? Politically it might be difficult, but there are options. First and foremost, asking the City to first reconstruct and maintain the streets we already have and to do so with designs that we have asked for for 30-years. There are many of us thinking, studying and discussing these options. There are even some who live in Old Town with serious questions about the proposed road.

The BLA/OTBypass isn’t a simple issue no matter how hard supporters try to make it out to be. The Record Eagle’s coverage yesterday is an ill-fated approach that all but treats it as an inevitable solution by ignoring the wider context, options and perspectives.

Unfortunate.

___

Hey, Happy Lunar New Year. Help me celebrate the year of the Golden Bunny!

___

____