BIKE: Mostly Well-Done AusChron Article on SCB (Bury the Hatchet)

[Stuart Werbner]

I thought the article in the 1/14/05 Chronicle on SCB was very positive and 
very well done, except for the last part of the article. Daniel Mottola put 
together a pretty accurate summary on the 5+ year SCB process.

A couple of points the article missed:
1) There were fruitless efforts by the SCB residents to have traffic calming 
installed YEARS before the SCB issue came to a head in mid 2000. This was 
another factor in the frustration felt by the residents -- namely that the 
city appeared to care more about cyclists passing through the neighborhood 
than the residents living along and nearby SCB, putting up with increased 
traffic and speeding/passing from Mopac bypassers.

In the late spring (or early summer) of 2000, the city notified residents 
that SCB was going to be restriped and that bicycle lanes would be redrawn 
that would prohibit on-street parking.

2) The last sentence in the article seems to imply that the OUTCOME of the 
process may become a model for future roadway projects. This is incorrect -- 
it's actually the PROCESS itself that is now becoming the model, i.e., the 
process of involving stakeholders and city staff in a non-confrontational 
and collaborative manner to develop a consensus solution. This will be one 
of the many positive legacies of Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Goodman.

Unless someone can find more >=40' wide neighborhood roadways with 
relatively little-used but ferociously guarded on-street parking, I don't 
believe the particular solution arrived at for SCB will be repeated. Try as 
some might.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-01-14/pols_feature.html

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Stuart Werbner
Annuit Coeptis

"Bragging about his big, burly man date while demagogically opposing gay 
marriage."