Strive Not To Drive – Day Four – A Multimodal Future

(This post is a sort of transcript from the speech I gave tonight at The Wedge.  It was the first of four public events there.  We served up 98 black bean burgers and had a great time.  The next one is June 11th)

I’m running for Asheville City Council because I want to help make Asheville more affordable and more sustainable.  By working together, we can create a city that works for more of us.  Focusing on our common goals will move us a lot further than focusing on those things that divide us.

When I was volunteering in Belfast, Northern Ireland doing community reconciliation work with Protestant and Catholic teens, we didn’t dwell on the argument that kept their conflict going for hundreds of years.  Instead, we built small businesses, created theater and art, and gave people the space to understand each other in new ways.

I’m a collaborator, problem solver, and change maker.  My work as a counselor with children and families has taught me that people can grow and change and that they can rise to any challenge that confronts them – if they are willing to change and make hard decisions.

The decision I want to talk about today is committing to multimodal transportation as a defining characteristic of a sustainable Asheville.

Economy:

-    Multimodal transportation gives people the choice to save money by bus, bike, or walking
-    Gas prices are rising
-    I will protect public transit funding
-    We must increase the number of bike lanes on our roads
-    I will vote to require sidewalks for new developments
-    I will fight to ensure that a future I-26 connects West AVL to downtown
-    I will work to implement our Greenways Master Plan

Environment:

-    Multimodal transportation Reduce air pollution
-    It reduces traffic
-    It reduces the need for more parking garages
-    It provides Long-term environmental benefits for generations to come

Community:

-    Multimodal transporation means that people interact more, creating better/stronger relationships
-    It means healthier people across our city.

Though our budget deficit is going to make it hard to expand these initiatives in the short term, it’s only by advocating for multimodal transportation infrastructure that we’ll ever achieve our aspirations.

The Downtown Master Plan, a laborious process focused on consensus building, offers an excellent roadmap forward regarding ways to integrate downtown multi-modal transportation with the rest of the city.  I will advocate for action steps including bike lockers, bike lanes, sidewalks in front of any new developments, and I will not vote for any decrease in funding for public transit.

If this issue is important to you, then please support this campaign.  I need your time and your money to ensure that multi modal transportation is a top priority of Asheville City Government.