Doesn't. Look. Good.
In my prediction yesterday, I forgot to account for a very important election truism. Old people vote. I dropped by the polls with my wife this afternoon. Lots of olds. I hate to sound ageist - this is probably in no way fair or politically correct. But if all those 20 and 30 somethings who signed those petitions had bothered to actually vote we'd have a different story tonight.
Not sure if that's the only factor I left out. Maybe more people are swayed by threats and lies than I thought. Apparently we're not quite ready to shift our thinking from more roads and sprawl to more density, mass transit, and protecting green space.
At any rate the Corps of Engineers still has not signed off on this road. Looks like we probably failed to kill it today at the polls. But maybe we can keep the pressure on the Corps to do the right thing and stand by their own rules: No new dirt inside the levees and no excavation allowed. That would make it awfully difficult to build an earth bench for our new highway to sit on.
Failing that, welcome to Big D's version of The Big Dig. $1.3 billion and counting for 9 miles of road in our floodway.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Election Day
Why is this vote such a big deal? Why over 20 editorials from the Dallas Morning News on this one issue? Why is everyone picking sides? (And despite all this why is there still an expected 10% turnout?)
Here's my take. This vote will tell us something about the future of this city. Will we continue to pave our way to becoming another sprawled out smog congested Texas version of LA? Or will we maybe start to lean a little more towards some place like Portland, OR? Make no mistake, we'll still have congestion and smog and gridlock and sprawl tomorrow. But what will we be saying is important to Dallas and Dallasites? Will we continue to disregard our natural resources, bird habitats and wetlands, or will we embrace a more pedestrian friendly city with more bike paths, green space, and smarter mass transit to draw the "creative class" to the city core?
Even if Vote No wins, I think the success of the grass roots campaign of TrinityVote tells us something exciting about the future of Dallas. Just go read the comments on this Frontburner post and you will feel good about this city's future. Hopefully our future leaders won't be saddled with tearing a highway out of our levees in 25 years. Vote For Prop 1.
And while you're waiting for the election returns to come in, read these two (long) columns from Sam Merton.
Vote No Starts Making Sense
Park and Tollroad Can't Coexist
Here's my take. This vote will tell us something about the future of this city. Will we continue to pave our way to becoming another sprawled out smog congested Texas version of LA? Or will we maybe start to lean a little more towards some place like Portland, OR? Make no mistake, we'll still have congestion and smog and gridlock and sprawl tomorrow. But what will we be saying is important to Dallas and Dallasites? Will we continue to disregard our natural resources, bird habitats and wetlands, or will we embrace a more pedestrian friendly city with more bike paths, green space, and smarter mass transit to draw the "creative class" to the city core?
Even if Vote No wins, I think the success of the grass roots campaign of TrinityVote tells us something exciting about the future of Dallas. Just go read the comments on this Frontburner post and you will feel good about this city's future. Hopefully our future leaders won't be saddled with tearing a highway out of our levees in 25 years. Vote For Prop 1.
And while you're waiting for the election returns to come in, read these two (long) columns from Sam Merton.
Vote No Starts Making Sense
Park and Tollroad Can't Coexist
Monday, November 5, 2007
Handicapping Prop. 1
(1) The signs in Lake Highlands are not promising for the Vote Yes side. They lean heavily in favor of Vote No. Not sure about other parts of the city. Jeff Siegel at the Advocate blog has reported that the Park Cities are also heavily in the Vote No camp – which is hilarious because they will not vote on the issue. Yard sign advantage: Vote No (at least in my 'hood).
(2) Vote Yes should be more motivated to come to the polls tomorrow, and the expected low turnout should help our side. It’s easier to get motivated to preserve our green space than it is to pave it, at least by my rationale (but as the Mad Priest sayeth, of course I could be wrong). The Vote Yes side does have more popular support as witnessed by their PAC donations - lots of small donors versus fewer big donors for Vote No. I think the PAC contributions are a good sign of motivation. Also, between 50,000 and 90,000 voters signed those petitions. If most of those people come to the polls it will be an easy victory. Advantage: TrinityVote Yes.
(3) Vote Yes has the easier to understand argument: “Do you want a tollroad in your park/floodway?” The Vote No argument usually is some version of “it’s complicated, but trust us.” Advantage: Vote Yes.
(4) The Vote No side has a huge advantage in that one of their biggest supporters is Robert Decherd, publisher of the Dallas Morning News, the paper of record in Dallas. And the paper is pulling out all the stops with their drumbeat of editorials and big splashy front page stories about why we need a road in the floodway. But the daily newspaper is not the force it once was and the alternative press and the blogosphere have been 9 to 1 against the road. Not sure how big a factor that plays here, but it’s an interesting dynamic. Advantage: Vote No.
That’s two points for Vote Yes and two points for Vote No. Matt Pulle at the Dallas Observer has predicted a small margin of victory for the road building coalition. Jeff Siegel at the Advocate predicts a healthy margin of victory for TrinityVote Yes. I’m calling for a Vote Yes victory based primarily on point 2 above. I am prepared to eat crow if incorrect, but I'm not plucking feathers just yet.
And in other news, my wife is excited about the vote tomorrow, because she believes I will be able to talk about something else after the election returns.
UPDATE: Yeah, I did previously say that I wasn't going to make a prediction, but on the eve of the election I can't help it. Makes it more interesting.
Here's some national media coverage from the NYT and the WSJ.
(2) Vote Yes should be more motivated to come to the polls tomorrow, and the expected low turnout should help our side. It’s easier to get motivated to preserve our green space than it is to pave it, at least by my rationale (but as the Mad Priest sayeth, of course I could be wrong). The Vote Yes side does have more popular support as witnessed by their PAC donations - lots of small donors versus fewer big donors for Vote No. I think the PAC contributions are a good sign of motivation. Also, between 50,000 and 90,000 voters signed those petitions. If most of those people come to the polls it will be an easy victory. Advantage: TrinityVote Yes.
(3) Vote Yes has the easier to understand argument: “Do you want a tollroad in your park/floodway?” The Vote No argument usually is some version of “it’s complicated, but trust us.” Advantage: Vote Yes.
(4) The Vote No side has a huge advantage in that one of their biggest supporters is Robert Decherd, publisher of the Dallas Morning News, the paper of record in Dallas. And the paper is pulling out all the stops with their drumbeat of editorials and big splashy front page stories about why we need a road in the floodway. But the daily newspaper is not the force it once was and the alternative press and the blogosphere have been 9 to 1 against the road. Not sure how big a factor that plays here, but it’s an interesting dynamic. Advantage: Vote No.
That’s two points for Vote Yes and two points for Vote No. Matt Pulle at the Dallas Observer has predicted a small margin of victory for the road building coalition. Jeff Siegel at the Advocate predicts a healthy margin of victory for TrinityVote Yes. I’m calling for a Vote Yes victory based primarily on point 2 above. I am prepared to eat crow if incorrect, but I'm not plucking feathers just yet.
And in other news, my wife is excited about the vote tomorrow, because she believes I will be able to talk about something else after the election returns.
UPDATE: Yeah, I did previously say that I wasn't going to make a prediction, but on the eve of the election I can't help it. Makes it more interesting.
Here's some national media coverage from the NYT and the WSJ.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Props to the DMN
...for publishing this story about Seattle's movement to scrap an inner city highway. And prominently on the front page at that. It's praise all around today on FV.
...a growing number of voices in Seattle have switched their views and now want to tear the highway down altogether.
"The replacement of the viaduct is a fantastic opportunity to begin the creation of a 21st-century transportation system," said Seattle City Council member Peter Steinbrueck. "The car can no longer rule all our decisions. There's got to be a better way."
Cheney in Big D
I'm glad there were enough people in Dallas who cared to go and protest the veep today. Even though this is friendly territory for him, there are folks who do not care for tyranny and American imperialism. Actions like these are part of democracy. Good on them.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Thank you KERA
As I got in my car yesterday afternoon I was thinking that it would be great if KERA did some stories on the Trinity River toll road. Then I turned the radio on and heard this story from Bill Zeeble, which is apparently part of a series being done this week on the subject. Zeeble's story is about the impact of the toll road on Industrial Blvd.
Today's installment from Shelley Kofler is important. I hope they play it often and lots of people hear it. This exposes a frequent Leppert fib that the Corps of Engineers has signed off on the toll road. They have not. From the story:
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Leppert often claims to be "comfortable" with something when he wants to convey a "yes" without actually saying it. It's a verbal cue that he's being evasive or misleading.
Here's Leppert getting caught in another of what we'll generously call one of his "half-truths" from a story earlier in the week:
Keep up the good work KERA. I hope lots of undecided voters hear this. Looking forward to the next insallment. Here's the site with all the stories from this week.
Today's installment from Shelley Kofler is important. I hope they play it often and lots of people hear it. This exposes a frequent Leppert fib that the Corps of Engineers has signed off on the toll road. They have not. From the story:
------------------------------------
Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, leading the toll road effort, has said the agency in charge of protecting the waterway, the US Army Corp of Engineers, has signed off on the plan.
Leppert: "The Corps has signed off on the safety issues. They signed off on the environmental issues. They feel very comfortable with it."
But the Corps' Trinity Corridor Project Manager Gene Rice says the road is yet to be approved. There's no final design.
Rice: " We've made no determination at this time on whether the project will be acceptable or not. We are still working with the transportation interests to make sure it could go in safely if it goes in. But no determination has been made or will be made for several years."
Mayor Leppert later told us he didn't mean a final sign off , but a sign off of the direction the city's going in.
-------------------------------
Leppert often claims to be "comfortable" with something when he wants to convey a "yes" without actually saying it. It's a verbal cue that he's being evasive or misleading.
Here's Leppert getting caught in another of what we'll generously call one of his "half-truths" from a story earlier in the week:
------------------------------
Can Project Pegasus (the plan for fixing the I30-I35 mixmaster) and the mixmaster be improved without the Trinity tollroad? Mayor Leppert doesn't think so.
Leppert: You haven't heard the alternative plan because there isn't one.
Texas' top road official, Texas Transportation Chairman Ric Williamson agrees there would be delays, but he says he cannot imagine a scenario where Project Pegasus would be scrapped.
Williamson: If the tollroad as invisioned now is radically changed Project Pegasus will have to be redesigned. I'm not taking a position it's just a logical conclusion. Project Pegasus is so important to the clean air plan and congestion relief for North Texas I can't imagine a circumstance where it wouldn't be redesigned and moved forward. It's just that important.
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Keep up the good work KERA. I hope lots of undecided voters hear this. Looking forward to the next insallment. Here's the site with all the stories from this week.
A Hunting Morning
Put the saddle on the mare,
For the wet winds blow;
There's winter in the air,
And autumn all below.
For the red leaves are flying
And the red bracken dying,
And the red fox lying
Where the oziers grow.
Put the bridle on the mare,
For my blood runs chill;
And my heart, it is there,
On the heather-tufted hill,
With the gray skies o'er us,
And the long-drawn chorus
Of a running pack before us
From the find to the kill.
Then lead round the mare,
For it's time that we began,
And away with thought and care,
Save to live and be a man,
While the keen air is blowing,
And the huntsman holloing,
And the black mare going
As the black mare can.
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
----------------------------
O God, the King of saints, we praise and glorify your holy Name for all your servants who have finished their course in your faith and fear: for the blessed Virgin Mary; for the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs; and for all your other righteous servants, known to us and unknown; and we pray that, encouraged by their examples, aided by their prayers, and strengthened by their fellowship, we also may be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For the wet winds blow;
There's winter in the air,
And autumn all below.
For the red leaves are flying
And the red bracken dying,
And the red fox lying
Where the oziers grow.
Put the bridle on the mare,
For my blood runs chill;
And my heart, it is there,
On the heather-tufted hill,
With the gray skies o'er us,
And the long-drawn chorus
Of a running pack before us
From the find to the kill.
Then lead round the mare,
For it's time that we began,
And away with thought and care,
Save to live and be a man,
While the keen air is blowing,
And the huntsman holloing,
And the black mare going
As the black mare can.
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
----------------------------
O God, the King of saints, we praise and glorify your holy Name for all your servants who have finished their course in your faith and fear: for the blessed Virgin Mary; for the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs; and for all your other righteous servants, known to us and unknown; and we pray that, encouraged by their examples, aided by their prayers, and strengthened by their fellowship, we also may be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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