Richard Hall May 20, 2013 at 12:26 pm
Actually, just like SMART, the plan is more likely to increase congestion and CO2 emissions by…Read More diverting money away from highways into transit. Attempts so far in the Bay Area to subsidize transit have had this effect (they have failed):
1982 - 530m transit trips
2011 - 461m
Looking at transit %share of trips this also declined:
1980 - 11.6% used transit
2010 - 10.6% used transit
This despite the area's population growing.
The cost of congestion according to the Texas Transportation Institute consequently increased eight-fold between 1982 and 2007 - with the congestion causing untold CO2 emissions as cars are stuck in traffic (not to say inconvenience).
This essentially boils down to:
- Jimmy says we should all take transit, but he himself is driven in luxury cars to events that he attends
- Planners say we should all take transit, and make disproportionate investments in transit (that have been proven not to work)
Just like Jimmy many planners live in this Utopian ideal, pushing for transit use when people are time-focused and many trips aren't practical using transit so like Jimmy they end up using cars. Hence the title of this blog "planning for reality".
We are an innovative area that needs to recognize these realities instead of dwelling on sustainability dogma. To be truly sustainable we need to acknowledge these realities, only then can we build a truly effective plan.
Jimmy Fishbob Geraghty May 17, 2013 at 05:04 pm
Agenda 21 and Randal O'Tooles hogwash about chaining cars together, which is then just mass transit…Read More on a conveyer belt, which again is way more expensive than real mass transit like BART.
Richard, you have still not explained away the impact of your "No Plan". All the data shows increased congestion, increased GHG and continued sprawl. Just what the Birchers, Tea Party and Cato institute are calling for, and why... they can sell more oil... they don't want sustainable communities, mass transit and walkable communities.
I'm all ears, how will "No Plan" screw up the Bay Area?
Tina McMillan May 13, 2013 at 05:07 pm
No Jimmy. While southern Marin has Basic Aid Districts, Novato is a Low Wealth District. Our taxes…Read More don't begin to cover our education costs and never have. In the meantime with 34% of our students being socioeconomically disadvantaged we have test score in the elementary schools showing that we are not making sufficient progress specifically in English Language Arts. These schools and the district are in Program Improvement. The Title I funds that are being received through the Federal government have some schools getting five times the funding but still not raising test scores enough to satisfy NCLB requirements. In a few years NCLB will expire and the attention to the struggles of poor students in schools will no longer be on the front page. That doesn't mean that anything will be resolved or made different. Your cries of NIMBY are bigotry at its worst because you don't even know the specific issues of each community.
Having lived in Novato for 30+ years I can tell you that as a community Novato has given every possible advantage to affordable housing developers including 100% of the tax increment generated by the Redevelopment Agencies. This strategy has created a structural deficit as Novato has not been able to maintain a secure property tax base or a secure sales tax base. Our RHNA was reduced when our city council asked ABAG and backed their request with numbers to show what had been done.
Jimmy Fishbob Geraghty May 13, 2013 at 04:37 pm
Tina, it is hard to reply to every thing you mention, but let's look at water and over consumption…Read More of resources in Marin. I agree with you we need to deal with water conservation and stop thinking we can just turn on the facet and let it run, we are dealing with finite resources and we pretend we have a never-ending supply. So, I'll work with you on curbing excess water waste, which means behavioral changes in how we live.
As far as schools, the schools being looked at are Basic Aid Districts which means they have more money from property taxes than the state would give them. That is a good thing, they are better off than other districts that get funding from the state.
I think there are a few things we agree on and can work to imporve.
Eleanor Sluis May 13, 2013 at 04:21 pm
Increasing the number of cars is the reality, which the Sierra Club, Green Alliance, Economic…Read More Organizations, and business groups do not address in their fervor to build tacky, tall, 4-5 stories, segregated units on the highway, near the railroads, and at small shopping malls.
Smart Train voters said no the first time and yes to the propaganda the second time, which left out the connection to high density and more traffic leading to more not less green house gases.
Thanks, Tina and others who are adept at explaining the issues with the master plan for the Bay Area. Thanks to Pat Eklund, who is making a stand to limit traffic in Novato.
There is a need for new jobs to create better cars using lower gas emissions. Federal and state funds used for educating students in science and technology, engineering and biosciences help in solving the CO2 emissions.
Creating a university for these efforts is a better plan for the future than segregating minority populations. Integrating the minority within the towns with their cars for service use means that a balance is achieved.
The point is that each town decides what their budget may handle, and each town decides how to educate its population.
Boards
All Boards » Kevin Moore May 11, 2013 at 04:20 pm
It would be nice if the comments section had "Thumbs up / Thumbs down" like the Press…Read More Democrat.
John Wyek February 26, 2013 at 04:10 pm
We have been to Pet Emergency a few times with various animals over the years, and they are…Read More absolutely FANTASTIC! Top quality medical care, and a very caring and compassionate staff. I can't say that I look forward to going there (sick pets are always difficult), but I am sure glad they are here for us when we need them!
Kelley Thieme February 26, 2013 at 03:14 pm
Nice too see the fee they charge for being in the room when they put your family pet down is going…Read More to good use :(
DUI Checkpoint, Patrols Planned this Weekend
A Novato checkpoint will be held in memory of 9-year-old Novato resident Melody Osheroff who was killed by a drunk driver in May 2009.
Comment Recommend Jessica Mullins (Editor)