tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post1405799326357445716..comments2024-03-25T17:49:41.408-07:00Comments on Salem Breakfast on Bikes: New Regional Transit Plan at Cherriots Board ThursdaySalem Breakfast on Bikeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618055627843335993noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-76914927847974977322016-02-26T19:28:14.165-08:002016-02-26T19:28:14.165-08:00"I can't make the leap from SRC's omi..."I can't make the leap from SRC's omission in the plan to any kind of support for the crossing. An explicit repudiation of the SRC in this document seems out of scope. And if you are going to start down that road, what other pie-in-the-sky projects should Cherriots include that they don't want?"<br /><br />Perfect response. Cherriots has nothing to gain from opposing the SRC. They are already a marginal organization in this town. Opposing the SRC would only isolate them even more.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-43009287172713780242016-02-26T09:36:36.181-08:002016-02-26T09:36:36.181-08:00Certainly not a pro-SRC voice here. My point is wh...Certainly not a pro-SRC voice here. My point is why even give the monster power by acknowledging that it might exist, when you don't need to here?<br /><br />I can't make the leap from SRC's omission in the plan to any kind of support for the crossing. An explicit repudiation of the SRC in this document seems out of scope. And if you are going to start down that road, what other pie-in-the-sky projects should Cherriots include that they don't want?<br /><br />Just because a plan that covers both sides of the river happens to exist in the same window of time that there is some political discussion of the SRC doesn't mean it should be all about that.<br /><br />My takeaway from this plan is that there is a pretty skeletal level of transit service in the region. Some tweaks will help a bit, but we really just need more resources. Sounds a lot like the story inside of the UGB.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-16579599587674570742016-02-25T12:20:26.914-08:002016-02-25T12:20:26.914-08:00Well, the West Salem Business District Action plan...Well, the West Salem Business District Action plan thought it was reasonable not just to "mention some potential project that has not been funded," but to plan around the best available footprint of the Salem River Crossing's current Preferred Alternative. So this is not some strange, out-of-the-blue move in local planning.<br /><br />But this preference does come down to priors, probably. In our Comprehensive Plan there is high-level policy language:<br /><br />"<i>Local governments within the Salem Urban Area shall develop multimodal plans, services, and programs that decrease reliance on the SOV [single-occupant vehicle]...The implementation of transportation system and demand management measures, enhance transit service, and provision for bicycle and pedestrian facilities shall be pursued as a first choice for accomodating travel demand and relieving congestion in a travel corridor, before widening projects are constructed.</i>"<br /><br />Here we seek a maximalist interpretation and enactment of this. Embrace it with gusto, act like it really matters!<br /><br />In the way Cherriots has supported the Salem River Crossing, they have seemed to adopt a minimalist interpretation of that.<br /><br />There's not a single objectively right answer here on the Regional Transit Plan. It is clear that the planning horizons for the Plan are much nearer-term than the horizon for the Salem River Crossing. Just in rejiggering routes for the next year or two, the prospect of the Salem River Crossing is not likely very relevant.<br /><br />It is, as you suggest, very defensible to ignore it for those short-term recommendations.<br /><br />But omitting a larger discussion of it is a move unworthy of a first-class transit agency dedicated to reducing drive-alone trips, and inconsistent with a strong interpretation of our policy goals in the Comprehensive Plan.<br /><br />Even if the SRC makes no effective difference in the short-term recommendations, it is factor that deserves much fuller consideration for the medium- and longer-term outlook.<br /><br />This is opinion, not fact, of course, and it may not be possible to persuade you, especially if you are not already convinced of the harm of the SRC.Salem Breakfast on Bikeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15618055627843335993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-72492261899531730942016-02-25T11:03:05.021-08:002016-02-25T11:03:05.021-08:00"It's just depressing and frustrating to ..."It's just depressing and frustrating to see our transit agency so in thrall to autoism and the Salem River Crossing."<br /><br />I don't get where this is the case? Why would this study even mention some potential project that has not been funded? Even if the bridge were built, it would not change how the Polk county routes run, as they go to downtown Salem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com