Get Ready for Traffic Congestion NW Gainesville…
I sit on the North Central Florida Planning Council, we met last night. There are three proposals for massive mixed use developments to go into the area where NW 39th Ave intersects I-75. We were looking at the impact of only one of these developments last night. The Council’s traffic analyst said that in order to handle the traffic from this one development 39th would need to be 6 lanes from 13th Street all the way to the other side of I-75. The road in front of Santa Fe College (83rd ST) would need to be four lanes. And I-75 would need to be 8 lanes. They calculated that it would cost over $100 million to make these improvements.
Our city and county don’t have this money and they let us know last night they have NO intention of expanding ANY roads (with the exception of adding a lane dedicated just to buses). They are going to instead add “Bus Rapid Transit” to the area to see if that offsets the increase in traffic. The entire council looked at them like they were crazy. One councilmen even said if you think that Bus Rapid Transit will solve the problem you are “smoking stuff”. The Gainesville Commissioners insisted they were sure it was a viable solution and that it is what the people of Gainesville have wanted for the last 20 years.
Let me be clear that I am not against growth. I am against this reckless methodology that our City and County use when it comes to growth. Our City Commissioners let us know last night, they feel like they are doing the city a favor. They think this because they keep getting re-elected, so they logically conclude it must be the will of the people. Is this your will?
-Robert Krames
Gainesville Resident
Ken Mears
August 27th, 2010 at 5:13 pm #
WOW…..but before I begin, I must say thank you to Robert for your candid take on this particular bit of info.
I have only lived in Gainesville for 8 months, and I do not rely on the current transit system. I am aware that, especially with the size and growth of the University and its affiliates, the necessity for public transit is and should be important.
However, since moving here, I would be hard-pressed to find another city in more dire need of service and repairs to its roadways. Living and working in the area around Newberry road and I-75, I have had to learn to become adept at dodging massive chunks of missing roadway and moon-crater sized pot-holes. Another piece of highway maintenance madness I have had to learn to navigate are the on-ramps to I-75. The Archer Rd on-ramp to I-75 NB is particularly a potential disaster in waiting. One has very little time to make sure that the inside lane is clear, negotiate a safe merge, all the while gaining speed before the pathetic excuse of a merge-lane runs out. An extension to this particular on-ramp is needed ASAP!
Even though I had a hard time following exactly who was talking with all the “theys” mentioned in the post, having a mentality of “we’re still here so we must be right” is absurd. Public officials need to be able to evolve and adapt, willing to tackle hard issues as opposed to just settling on the easiest option. Public office demands thought-provoking leadership, not complacency. Shame on them…
Regards,
Ken Mears
Gainesville Resident
Robert Krames
August 27th, 2010 at 5:27 pm #
Ken, thank you for your opinion and the editorial criticism. I took out some of the “theys” as you suggested. I guess I got a little carried away. Thank you for adding your story to this post, it is very valid.