The latest finance reports filed at the end of October provide us with some shocking numbers to add to our previous reporting. Clark Rinehart received HUGE additional spending support from the development community.
An independent analysis of this data suggests that Raleigh and Wake County may lack the long-term water supply necessary to sustain their current rate of population and economic growth. Slowing growth should be seriously considered because it is doubtful that conservation measures alone can provide the water needed if growth and water demand continue on their current trajectory.
Raleigh has legitimate transportation needs, and I support responsible investment in roads, sidewalks, and safety. But the City should first provide a transparent accounting of the 2017 bond, demonstrate better project-cost and schedule management, and explain the expected benefits of the proposed spending. I’m not against transportation improvements. I am against approving another $101.5 million before the City has made a sufficiently convincing case for how it will spend the money and deliver the promised results.
The Planners Pledge is a serious document, including a formal apology for the role planners played in creating the most inhospitable elements of our cites, including car dependent sprawl and its host of toxic environmental and health maladies. For those who resisted the legions of planning professionals and their transportation cohorts, the newly-discovered wisdom of designing cities for people and not cars has come much too late and has been replaced by a new and equally pernicious monetization of our lives.
Unfortunately, the planning profession’s old mantra of suburban mobility planning under the influence of the automobile industry has been replaced with a new mantra of density everywhere, under the influence of corporate real estate financialization.
What if Raleigh had an opportunity to become a national leader in accessibility, safety, and inclusion by adopting Universal Design as a citywide policy? The goal is not simply to meet the minimum requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is to create a city where accessibility, safety, and inclusion are considered from the very beginning of every project rather than after problems have already occurred.
Highlights from the October 20 work session and afternoon council meeting