by Bike Courier | Jul 13, 2016 | Advocacy
Louisville Harmony is asking Metro to bring into alignment local policies and practices so community resiliency, climate change, urban heat, public transit, urban forestry, flooding, air quality and compassion are truly addressed. We ask that Metro begin by taking on a major nexus of all of these issues, the surface parking lot. We ask Metro to begin taking immediate actions leading to the phase-out of privately and publicly owned surface parking lots. Louisville Harmony and Louisville Harmony supporters stand ready to assist Metro in the expeditious meeting of this...
by Bike Courier | Apr 30, 2016 | Advocacy
“Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer is calling on residents to work within their own neighborhoods to help combat the city’s rising temperatures in urban areas. The city has one of the fastest-growing urban heat islands in the nation… During a news conference, he stressed the ways the study’s data can help inform individuals and neighborhood groups about what they can do in various areas of town…. the onus will be on people to make changes on a micro-level…. Fischer said “And the government can only do so much with trees. Most trees are obviously on private land, so we need all of our private citizens to step up.” His administration rolled out an online database where residents can search for their neighborhoods, identify their primary heat island challenges and pinpoint the exact number of cooler roofs or additional trees that will help measurably lower summer temperatures. Fischer is calling the initiative “Cool502,” and is encouraging residents to share their cooling efforts on social media using the hashtag: #cool502.” From – http://wfpl.org/fischer-launches-cool502-initiative-encourage-residents-combat-urban-heat/ ??? “the government can only do so much with trees” ??? Metro can stop clear cutting forests by investors in remote real estate invest. Metro can reduce urban speeds that result in cars taking out trees. Metro can re-purpose surface parking lots as housing, retail, offices, parks, community gardens, solar farms or parking garages. Mayor Fischer is all about big data documenting the obvious, and shifting the burden to the backs of citizens rather than having the city lead by example....
by Bike Courier | Apr 30, 2016 | Advocacy
Under the mayor’s direction, Louisville launched a Sustainability Plan, Trees Louisville, Move Louisville, Cool502, renewed the city’s commitment to the Climate Protection Agreement and signed Climate Compact of Mayors. Examination of these acts as a unit quickly reveals fundamental and self defeating contradictions and weaknesses (the word ‘acts’ was intentionally chosen). The weaknesses begin with the Sustainability Plan. The Sustainability Plan was immediately upon release declared unambitious in scope and timing. Trees Louisville, a non-profit raising money to plant trees, cannot compete with the destruction wrought on forests by ‘developers’. Nor can Trees Louisville compete with the destruction wrought on urban trees by cars and trucks. Cool502, the Climate Protection Agreement and the Climate Compact of Mayors all three contradict Move Louisville, the city’s transportation (and land use) plan. This is no surprise as Move Louisville contradicts itself with its new Urton Lane and Oxmoor Farms projects bumping up against Move Louisville’s ‘Fix it First’ priority. Move Louisville’s Urton Lane and Oxmoor Farms projects will result in clear cutting forests and paving fields while draining resources that create a more population-dense, walkable and cooler Louisville. Move Louisville also commits nothing significant to public transit. Several proposals should be adopted and aggressively pursued if the city’s sustainability acts are to move beyond mere play acting. The city should purge the Urton Lane and Oxmoor Farms projects and shift funding from those projects to public transit, concentrating additional TARC service (strategically and temporarily) within the Watterson. For the sake of neighborhoods, pedestrians and trees, the city should reduce and enforce urban speed limits to a safe speed. And the city should lead the community by beginning to re-purpose the city owned surface parking lots as housing, retail,offices, parks, community gardens, solar farms or parking garages. http://www.courier-journal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2016/04/25/mayor-fischer-launches-cool502-effort/83301648/...
by Bike Courier | Apr 30, 2016 | Advocacy
Listen to these kids!! https://youtu.be/rKvufzoaC9I Then please sign this petition asking the city to begin redeveloping city owned surface parking lots for housing, retail, offices, parks, community gardens, solar farms or parking garages. http://www.ipetitions.com/…/louisville-metro-government-re-…. The image is of one of the city-owned parking lots. Not the largest, this lot is for city employees only. It is on the south side of Market St, between 6th & 7th...
by Bike Courier | Apr 30, 2016 | Advocacy
22 April 2016 DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx US Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave SE Washington DC 20590 202 366 4000 anthony.foxx@dot.gov Re: MoveLouisville Dear DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx: We wrote to you 9 February 2016, in opposition to Louisville’s Smart Cities Challenge application. We are grateful that Louisville, Kentucky was not chosen as a finalist. Thank you. On 14 April 2016 Louisville released the new transportation for the city, two years late, five years in the making. https://louisvilleky.gov/sites/default/files/advanced_planning/movelouisville_april2016draft.pdf At MoveLouisville’s release Mayor Fischer said we will not pursue light rail because Louisville lacks population density. He said nothing about combating the remote commercial and residential investment which serves only to reduce our population density further. From MoveL’s home page … “Projects like completing the planned extension of Urton Lane from Middletown to Taylorsville Road …will make it easier for people to get around the city and will improve the quality of life in Louisville neighborhoods.” That sentence is a perfect example of how widely MoveLouisville misses the mark. Urton Lane only opens up forests and fields to remote investment, decreasing population density. Remote investment works against achieving the second priority stated by the mayor/MoveLouisville. That stated priority is to reduce the miles driven by Louisville citizens. That priority is achieved by increasing density, investing in public transit and creating walkable communities. Increasing density, investing in public transit and creating walkable communities are inseparable basics in creating a sustainable city. MoveLouisville failed to grasp those basics. MoveLouisville refers to infill and un-locking Oxmoor farms and Urton Lane. The terms clear-cut and pave-over are more appropriate. The city needs...
by Bike Courier | Apr 22, 2016 | Advocacy
The image is of one of the largest city-owned lots. It occupies the entire block between Jefferson and Liberty, 8th and 9th Streets. The lot helps isolate the west end from the rest of the city. Louisville won the distinction of being the nation’s city with the worst infestation of surface parking lots, http://brokensidewalk.com/2016/parking-crater/ ….so we began a campaign asking the city to re-purpose, re-develop city-owned surface parking lots. Four images taken from the top level of a garage on Jefferson, between 7th and 8th, can be seen on De-Surfaced facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1544867725731584/ . The images are of: #1 – one of the largest city owned lots, located between 8th and 9th, Jefferson and Liberty, city employee lot, not public #2 – image taken from same location of image #1, after turning around #3 – another of the largest city owned lots, located behind City Hall, between 6th and 7th, Market and Congress Alley, also city employee lot, not public #4 – image taken from same location of image #3, after turning around Images #2 and #4 illustrate opportunity for usages of greater value than parking cars on top levels of a garage. Plans for media release and event are taking shape. Fnal touches to a video of kids answering questions regarding surface parking lots are in process. An online petition is complete, to be launched simultaneously with the video. Conversations paving the way for positive collaboration with PARC and mayor’s office have begun. The list of Supportive Partners includes: 350 Louisville, Bicycling for Louisville (B4L), Bike Couriers Bike Shops, Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods – University of Louisville, Coalition for the Advancement of Regional Transportation (CART), Louisville Grows, Neighborhood...
by Bike Courier | Apr 22, 2016 | Advocacy
WFPL report on Move Louisville: http://wfpl.org/louisvilles-new-transit-plan-draws-criticism-from-advocates/ Metro’s Move Louisville home page: https://louisvilleky.gov/government/advanced-planning/move-louisville Jackie Green’s response to Move Louisville: At MoveLouisville’s release Mayor Fischer said we will not pursue light rail because Louisville lacks population density. He said nothing about combating the remote commercial and residential investment which serves only to reduce our population density further. From MoveL’s home page … “Projects like completing the planned extension of Urton Lane from Middletown to Taylorsville Road …will make it easier for people to get around the city and will improve the quality of life in Louisville neighborhoods.” That sentence is a perfect example of how widely MoveLouisville misses the mark. Urton Lane only opens up forests and fields to remote investment, decreasing population density. Remote investment works against achieving the second priority stated by the mayor/MoveLouisville. That stated priority is to reduce the miles driven by Louisville citizens. That priority is achieved by increasing density, investing in public transit and creating walkable communities. Increasing density, investing in public transit and creating walkable communities are inseparable basics in creating a sustainable city. MoveLouisville failed to grasp those basics. MoveLouisville refers to infill and un-locking Oxmoor farms and Urton Lane. The terms clear-cut and pave-over are more appropriate. The city needs trees. The city needs greenspace. The city is doing an inventory of trees. Yet, the city enables clear cutting and paving over our remaining fields. The reason given for “unlocking Oxmoor Farm” is “to relieve congestion on Shelbyville Road”. The way to relieve congestion is to service the corridor with excellent public transit with dedicated lanes. This kind of poor planning and...
by Bike Courier | Feb 15, 2016 | Advocacy
http://insiderlouisville.com/metro/communities/activists-bemoan-lack-public-transit-smart-cities-app/
by Bike Courier | Feb 15, 2016 | Advocacy
9 February 2016 DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx US Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave SE Washington DC 20590 202 366 4000 anthony.foxx@dot.gov smartcitychallenge@dot.gov Re: Smart City Challenge Dear DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx: Louisville, Kentucky could be a great city if we correct the local land use and transportation mistakes of the past 65 years. Unfortunately, Louisville’s Smart Cities Challenge application and plans will only postpone the day we take remedial action crucial to our sustainable future. The Smart Cities Challenge application submitted by Louisville is itself being challenged by local citizens and organizations that find the application to be unrealistic, undemocratic and unambitious. Undemocratic because the application has had no broad public input. Local transportation voices of dissent (voices which advocate more transportation equity, greater public transit, greater CBD and transit corridor density, fewer one way streets, slower traffic, fewer surface parking lots, and a protected tree canopy) have been excluded from the process. Undemocratic because Louisville’s transportation plan, Move Louisville, is years behind in it’s unveiling. It remains a secret kept from the public, though it is cited as a driving force behind Louisville’s Smart Cities proposal. Unrealistic because Louisville, under the excessively lauded leadership of Mayor Fischer, has recently violated the most simple principles in creating a transportation system worthy of a “Smart City”. Though promoting Louisville as “moving forward”, this administration has repeatedly undermined the community by encouraging new exurban development, at the expense of Louisville’s urban core. This includes: · allowing WalMart to steamroll over our land use guidelines in a neighborhood having the lowest number of drivers per capita. At an intersection where...
