We already saw how the vote went when the council just barely passed authorizing interim city manager Ryan Haverlah to send a letter proposing changes to the median.
Councilmen David Morris, Dan Yancey, Kirby Lack, and Marc Payne voted to let him send the letter to the Killeen Temple Metropolitan Planning Organization. Councilmen James Pierce Jr., Jay Manning, and Charlie Youngs did not want him to send the letter at all.
Curmudgeon has been on Team Median all along. In case you haven't guessed. Below, I will share links to my previous thoughts on the whole rigamarole that this city has been through, thanks to pot stirrers and uninformed individuals who suddenly are engineers and traffic experts and whatnot.
Worse, there is a sore misunderstanding of the project funding. The funds come from FEDERAL and STATE fuel tax dollars. Texans everywhere who buy gas at the pumps pay that tax, with those funds going into a big money pot. That delectable money pot then gets doled out and organizations like KTMPO are the ones who decide how that gets spent.
Did you know, dear readers, that our median project ranked NUMBER 6 on the scoring list of more than 90 - THAT'S NINETY - projects proposed to KTMPO from area cities?? Wow!! Safety, mobility and transportation planning are high priorities and OUR project scored that well.
Anyway, why am I in favor of the median and sidewalks?
1. We need safe sidewalks in our city and this would be a great start for our main thoroughfare. There are NO continuous sidewalks or safe modes of travel along this stretch of Business 190 for its pedestrians. One would THINK that business owners would welcome safe access for pedestrians to travel. Dear readers, Copperas Cove has a LARGE population of working poor who do not have vehicles and many have the option to only walk where they need to go, whether it be to work or to shop. They exist. Don't ignore them -- because their numbers are growing. Good luck trying to get those sidewalks installed otherwise. You're in a fantasy world if you think it'll ever happen if we don't do it now. The city can't afford to install them, that's for sure!!
2. TxDOT and Co. would like to "manage access" on Business 190. These means, dear readers, that with a median it won't be a free-for-all game of "chicken" anymore. Of course, one cannot find a sufficient remedy for stupidity, and yes, accidents will occur whenever people are involved. Wouldn't you want to manage access to limit the free-for-all factor? It would make sense that fewer points of access than what we have now would exponentially decrease the odds for playing games of chicken. I can't count the near misses I've had one 190 because of that stupid center turn lane where anything goes!
3. We can't claim a "green" sustainable community without giving bicyclers a safe way to travel. Dear readers, it is the funniest thing in the world when the mayor issues proclamations about walking and biking to school. It's hypocritical. We give lip service to making safe routes and Business 190 is just one of those routes. I would say, if this does not go through, don't issue anymore proclamations encouraging citizens to bicycle and walk places if you're not going to work on safe travel.
4. Beautification. This is in the eye of the beholder. Curmudgeon gets it. The proposed xeriscaping will help. Yes, it will need maintenance. Rather than going with the squawkers who are harping about the city not maintaining things, why doesn't the council direct a plan to make that maintenance happen? Saying we don't need a median because we don't maintain what we already have is kind of dumb. Let's just not do ANYTHING else in this city because of that. Forget the park improvements, etc. All of it. That line of thinking is flawed and tragic. And while you're at it, council, figure out a way to incentivize businesses to fix up their Business 190 storefronts.
5. COPPERAS COVE CITY COUNCIL, LET'S DO THE "HONORABLE THING" - to quote Councilman Jay Heartburn Manning.Where does the phrase come from?
Let's refresh everyone's memories. When the Copperas Cove Saddle Club fiasco happened last year, Mr. Manning led the charge to continue with the property sale because to renege on the idea would be a "dishonorable thing" to do. The property was small potatoes compared to the $10 million in funding for the Business 190 phase 1. In the case of the Business 190 median, there are many more organizations in play - KTMPO, TxDOT, the city, and many, many more federal and state dollars on the table. If the Copperas Cove city council reneges on this project and walks away, it is thumbing its nose at the other cities in the region, and would be a statement to them all "Eff y'all, we're going to do what we want. Eff sidewalks, eff keeping in with the regional transportation plan. Eff having a vision beyond the inconvenience of construction and having to learn a new pattern of driving." We do not have the report from TxDOT on the May 31 public meeting. KTMPO people just came out for a public comment period for the proposed changes. So we're going to thumb our nose at all of them and not see this through a little more? What happened to negotiating and making things work?
Don't talk honor, councilman Manning, when it suits you.
It will be interesting to see what the vote does tomorrow.
Gentlemen, your job is not to satisfy the whims of citizens NOW. Citizens come and go. We won't be here forever. Think about the FUTURE PLANS for the city and take a cue and get a clue. It's more than a median and sidewalks. Construction will be a royal pain in the keester, but c'mon, we all take the side streets when we need to anyway!!
Here, dear readers, is a lineup of some of my past posts on Business 190. If you're on the fence, I hope you'll read them and, I hope, become better informed:
We're all psychic engineers, y'all!!!
https://copperascovecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2018/05/business-190-broo-ha-ha-or-copperas.html
https://copperascovecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2018/04/aint-got-no-time-to-sing-kumbaya-on.html
James Pierce Jr. was for it before he was against it! (aka, I'm running for office again!!)
https://copperascovecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2018/05/here-we-come-waffling-or-up-yours-ktmpo.html
On a side note to Mr. Pierce, Curmudgeon wonders if he will share these thoughts because Curmudgeon knows he reads this blog. However, his job is not to ignore constituents who disagree with him. He should represent all of us, not just people who are his fans and who agree with him! Just some food for thought.
Some information that people seem to want to ignore about the project
https://copperascovecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2018/06/curmudgeon-splains-few-things-or.html
How a disgruntled former councilwoman might be one of the root causes of the possible demise of the very project she championed before she quit because she was pissed off at Andrea Gardner!
https://copperascovecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2018/07/unintended-consequences-or-at-least.html
Curmudgeon out. Will I, or won't I, be at tomorrow's big meeting?
Well said Curmudgeon, well said indeed. I'll se
ReplyDeleteWell said Curmudgeon, well said indeed.
ReplyDelete