BIKE: The downtown Trolley vs. "Other" Election

[Robert M Farr]

Intresting analysis. I'm sure there's something there, though I must 
admit I wasn't even aware there was a Trolley idea in the mix.

At first I thought that Kim and Clarke were equally friendly to water 
quality and planned development, but after receiving some hateful 
mailpieces designed to trash Clarke from friends of Kim, I decided that 
Kim was running with the wrong crowd.

I'm inclined to believe that the "Anybody but Margot Clarke" morning 
rants by those quaint bubba blowhards "Sam & Bob" on KVET in the morning 
may have swung the balance more than you think. (I'm a captive listener 
at my place of employ and believe me, there are many, many folks in the 
area that love those idiots.)

It's mind boggling that those guys can endorse political candidates on 
the public airwaves with such ernest without offering the opportunity 
for counterpoint. I guess as long as they're endorsing current 
sweethearts of the right wing they don't need to worry about offering 
equal access.
--
Robert "sour grapes" Farr
Austin, TX
bobfarr

Patrick Goetz wrote:
> On Saturday morning I scolded the Jennifer Kim campaign staff for not 
> bothering to fill out the BicycleAustin survey, explaining that this 
> could have cost them 500 votes in a close election.  This had the effect 
> of making me look like a complete moron later in the evening when Kim 
> won the election by a huge margin.
> 
> I like Margot Clarke a lot, and -- although I think Jennifer Kim would 
> and will make a better city councilwoman  -- I would have been happy to 
> see Clarke win.  Greg Knaupe was the tool of RECA and the Chamber and 
> Mandy Dealy just scares me, but the choice between Clarke and Kim was 
> truly a toss-up.
> 
> Anyone who has been following this race knows that there is absolutely 
> no difference between Clarke and Kim on almost every issue. The only 
> differences between them were that Clarke showed more sympathy for 
> traditional neighborhood groups (i.e. anti-density NIMBYists) and Clarke 
> was a vocal supporter of a downtown trolley system while Kim had the 
> support of the Austin Monorail Project.
> 
> I think the neighborhood NIMBY issue is still too abstract for most 
> voters; generally only developers have to deal with this.  And while 
> some vocal right wing extremists jumped on the Kim campaign late in the 
> game, I think the anti-toll road issue must have split the right wing 
> vote between the two relatively evenly, perhaps even giving the edge to 
> Clarke.
> 
> One can only conclude that this election came down to a trolley vs. 
> "Other" referendum, and the voters have spoken pretty clearly:  business 
> as usual is not going to cut the mustard.
> 
> Try as I might, I don't see what a downtown trolley could do that the 
> Dillo can't.  Moreover, trolley tracks can't be moved when there is 
> construction or an accident.  Trolley tracks can't be moved when there 
> is a public event in the street or a demonstration, parade, or event. 
> Further, a hybrid or electric Dillo would be just as clean and 
> considerably quieter than a trolley.  Note that I'm not anti-trolley; I 
> think a trolley from Zilker Park to Palmer Auditorium would be a 
> splendid idea.
> 
> However, the ONLY thing that is going to activate Austin's downtown and 
> turn the road building machine around is a fast, safe, scalable, and 
> high volume transit system which can get people from all over Austin to 
> downtown and across town quickly and conveniently.  The recent AMD move 
> is a poster child for such a system, since, if we had it, the only 
> logical place for AMD to move to would be downtown.  Only such a system 
> can dramatically increase density and diversity of use along a long 
> corridor through Austin's urban core, reducing the demand for urban 
> sprawl and consequently the need for new (toll) roads.
> 
> We are a society in crisis and people's guts are telling them that the 
> time for quaint anachronisms has come and gone.  Only bold moves can 
> change the status quo, and anyone who continues to suggest time and 
> energy wasting transportation proposals that don't really do much to fix 
> our problems is going to get smacked upside the head by an electorate 
> growing ever more frustrated with the lack of leadership and vision in 
> our government.
> 
> I thought Clarke was going to win.  Apparently her support for a trolley 
> and Kim's Austin Monorail Project endorsement was the wedge issue 
> voter's needed in order to figure out who would be better in a 
> leadership position.
> 
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