I agree that money is relevant and needs to be considered in the work we do, but it would be a mistake to refrain from setting goals until we have dedicated funds to accomplish them. We absolutely can and must decide what we want our transportation system to look like before assigning dollars. The job of city staff and committees is then to inform what are options are to accomplish those goals and identify the costs associated with those options. Then ultimately, yes, it's our mayor and council that will need to decide which work gets funded. Refraining from establishing goals will only ensure that we don't make progress.
And I also disagree that money itself is the major obstacle. I think that reinforces my earlier point that we too often try and buy/build or way to better bike infrastructure. Accommodating bikes on our existing bike infrastructure is much more about smart design and prioritizing modes than it is about increasing the costs of projects. Some improvements will require additional funding to be sure, but there is SO MUCH that we could do on the cheap. Grant On Fri, Aug 7, 2015 at 11:08 AM, William Hauda <[email protected]> wrote: > Arthur is right on target. You can't plan bicycle infrastructure > without taking into consideration all of the things he points out. In the > final analysis, it all comes down to money and whose dollars can be tapped > to pay desired projects. > > > On 8/7/2015 10:54 AM, Ross, Arthur wrote: > > I am going to stick my neck out. I am not opposed to plans having set > goals and expectations. BUT, if you are going to set goals, you also have > to include what the costs of achieving those goals are and then work to > make sure that the budgets of the agencies responsible for carrying out the > goals are increased accordingly. These costs are varied. It can be added > staff for planning and design. It can be capital construction costs. Any > capital construction costs have to also recognize and account for ongoing > maintenance costs. Improved maintenance is a priority in and of itself > without adding anything new. There will be needs for more equipment (paint > trucks, plows, etc.) as well as for crews / personnel to operate them. > What does an effective education program look like? How much does it cost > to implement? Who should implement it? If you want an effective program > it will take a lot more resources than one person at the city. Etc. Etc. > Not including resource needs in the Platinum Plan was a major failure of > that plan, in my opinion. Now go ahead and chop my head off. > > > > Arthur Ross, Pedestrian-Bicycle Coordinator > > City of Madison Traffic Engineering Division > > 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Suite 100 > > PO Box 2986 > > Madison, WI 53701-2986 > > 608/266-6225 > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing > [email protected]http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > >
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