Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Money, political comatose ends the STOP campaign

Another article in the Wilmington News Journal today confirms that the STOP (Save The Orphanage Property) campaign has officially ended in defeat. While most would expect it was the outcome of a price bidding war between government and developer interests, that was anything but the case. Multiple examples of dishonesty, and/or a gross lack of political will are to blame, and will go down as having ended the Ogletown-S. Newark's last hope for a regional park --- forever.

Instead, they have ensured us thousands more car trips per day on an already failed LOS (level of service) Route 4 corridor, and all kinds of havoc on multiple quality of life issues that have been thoroughly documented on this website. These include loss in real estate values, destruction of endangered wildlife habitat, paving over vast swaths of already flood-prone land, etc.

The following was gleaned directly from the WNJ article. It more than substantiates STOP's claim of dishonesty and political comatose, by those who we elected to represent our best interests. We italicized comments that are either suspect or conflicting:

  • [Mark Schafale, Felician Sisters of North America] expects his organization on Friday to finalize an agreement to sell 172 acres to a housing developer. That agreement ends a two-year push for government to derail the development by purchasing the land for a park.
  • "It is hard to put blame on one, two or three people," said Angela Connolly, one of the founding members of the Save the Orphanage Property Facebook group. "There are so many players in this nasty tragedy comedy."
  • "It isn't fair to say the sisters are trying to profit from this," Schafale said.
  • "I just don't think the county ever understood or chose to look at it from our perspective," Schafale said.
  • Meyer’s first publicly disclosed offer for the property came in July. The offer was rejected, prompting state Sens. Bryan Townsend and Ed Osienski, both D-Newark, to criticize Meyer for offering too little and suggesting the executive didn’t really want to get a deal done.
  • Meyer has criticized Townsend, saying the state legislator had said he could secure the entire $6 million purchase through the state. Ultimately, the Legislature committed $1.25 million in a bill that also made it easier for the Sisters to build the apartments without the entire development. Schafale said that was a boost to the park effort.
  • Townsend said that money was approved with the understanding he'd be seeking more to cover the state's half of the cost. He denies that he ever represented the state would pay the entire purchase price.
  • On Thursday, Townsend said the land being sold is "deeply disappointing" and the county had not acted with the urgency necessary to close a deal.
  • "Oddly, it was like pulling teeth to try to get the urgency from them on behalf of the public," Townsend said.
  • Meyer brushed off that criticism saying he had made four offers for the property without receiving a single written counter.
  • "If you make four written offers to buy a property ... and you never receive a single counteroffer in writing, who is being insincere?" Meyer said.
  • Schafale said Meyer's first two offers were "non-starters" because there was no acceptable path to executing the apartment development without the houses. He added his organization was in regular communication with the county about what was necessary for them to reach a deal.
  • "Our representatives laid out in very precise terms what we needed, and there was significant movement on that in August but it wasn't everything and wasn't enough," Schafale said.

We have nothing else to say at this point, except that with this level of government dysfunction, we cannot be called a "democracy". No wonder so few citizens attend civic meetings and legislator coffees -- why bother when you don't have a voice? Shame on all of our elected that we are going to lose this magnificent (and only remaining) parkland opportunity for the Ogletown-S. Newark region. 

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

NTSB Report: The 85th Percentile rule is killing us

Advocates have been asking DelDOT for years to lower the speed limit on Route 4 in Ogletown, from 50 mph to 40, or at least 45 for a start. Despite several traffic studies showing speeds as high as 57 mph even in front of area schools including the Delaware School for the Deaf, they insist that the rule is well justified.

From Streetsblog -- Traffic deaths in the U.S. are mounting, reaching more than 40,000 last year, and, according to a recent draft report by the National Transportation Safety Board, speed is the overlooked factor.

The NTSB reported that speeding accounts for about 10,000 deaths a year -- as many as drunk driving. One of the agency’s key recommendation was to change the way streets are designed by reforming the “85th percentile rule,” a laissez faire approach that seeks to accommodate motorist behavior instead of engineering streets for safety.

It’s an argument that Randy LoBasso at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has been making for a long time. Now that the NTSB report is vindicating advocates’ critique of the 85th percentile rule, he writes:

"The 85th Percentile idea, based on the 1964 “Solomon Curve” says speed limits should be set at what 85 percent of drivers think is healthy. It was created back when the highway system was still young, cars didn’t approach speeds as quickly as they do today, and we didn’t have the sort of statistics and research on traffic dangers we do today. [More . . . ]

Despite numerous residential, school, and retail zones that are rich with bike-ped activity, the speed limit on Route 4 in Ogletown/S. Newark remains posted at 50 mph. The 85th Percentile basically assumes that 85% of people are good drivers, and with that, sets it to their average speed. It's complete nonsense, because far less than 85% are truly good drivers. But more significantly, it fails to consider the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Newark's Main Street Rehabilitation Workshop set for 8/15 at 7pm

Project Overview:
The scope of work for this project includes the replacement of the existing bituminous concrete pavement, pcc curb, sidewalk, drainage improvements, signal upgrades, curb extensions, pavement markings and signage.
Visit the workshop page HERE for location and further details.

What a disappointment that advocates aren't pushing for this. We discussed the possibility with DelDOT's Mark Luszcz, Chief P.E. in Dec. 2016, and found that it basically requires the City getting on board with it, at least with a proposal.

An attractive and livable downtown for Newark will stay an impossible dream until traffic is sharply reduced (one lane, with serious bike lanes and sidewalks) or eliminated from Main Street. The congestion, noise, fumes, etc is oppressive, to say the least. This project won't change that. The City needs to reconfigure its traffic pattern to allow Main Street -- or at least a good stretch of it (i.e. Tyre to Academy) -- to close to motor traffic. It could become one of a growing number of Pedestrian Malls in the U.S.

Since everyone knows that this level of change -- one that would actually reduce motor vehicles on Main Street -- is too progressive for Newark, everything else must be considered. Treatments like a green sharrow lane will at least help bicycle (and indirectly, pedestrian) safety, and wonderfully compliment other traffic calming measures.

Most of the cars in downtown Newark are University of Delaware students that live nearby (within easy walking/biking distance) and out of town cruisers checking out the "scenery". What a waste. So many other cities are transforming their Main Streets now (Charlottesville VA, Cumberland MD to name a few) in favor of non-motorized traffic. Sad that Newark can't take lessons from them.

Friday, August 11, 2017

Matthew Meyer, Felician Sisters Quash STOP Campaign

Clearing the property will start in the coming days or weeks
Save The Orphanage Property (STOP) officially ends campaign in defeat. Region's pedestrians, joggers, bicyclists, youngsters, etc come up empty. Glasgow, Pike Creek will remain nearest recreational park.

As of August 8, continued talks between New Castle County Executive Matthew Meyer and the Felician Sisters of North America broke down for the last time after failing to negotiate a few minor contractual terms. With a vote from the Sister's board of directors, a developer is now lined up to buy the land at barely over the appraised value ($5.9M) that was originally offered by Mr Meyer. They they will now go forward with the apartments, high density townhomes in the field space, and upscale houses replacing a large portion of woods and wetlands. Since the project plans are now fully completed, construction could begin at any moment.

As we look back on this tragic loss and gross injustice, a win for the disenfranchised residents of Ogletown-S. Newark just wasn’t in the cards. STOP advocates left no stone unturned, looking for any opportunity that would save this beautiful land and bring them a regional park. It was an exemplary citizen advocacy campaign that stuck to the facts, maintained decorum, and promoted full respect for our elected officials and the Nuns. Their core group included Donald Sharpe, who along with Dorothy Miller, helped save the White Clay Creek State Park. Also included was a NCC Tax Ditch Manager, an experienced environmental scientist and grant writer (who tirelessly sought other public and private funding sources), and a few other hard working citizen advocates who lived in the area. More than enough government funds were identified, including $1.25M in the State's Bond Bill, and even more in NCC's Parks budget. Significant private donor funds, totaling $1M or more, were also identified, with more under discussion. Further, the Felician Sisters offered to allow payments over 5+ years. You just couldn't have found a better offer, which amounted to a half price bargain for NCC. Ten organizations and multitudes of residents supported the STOP campaign, including almost a thousand following on multi-media alone. STOP yard signs dotted the neighborhoods.

Save The Orphanage Property's last act as an organization will be a final press release, with the facts as we know them. We will try to explain what has happened, why it happened, and who the few are (or the one) that allowed this to happen. One thing we do know for certain; after a long two years of advocacy and many sleepless nights, STOP ended in a total collapse of government representation of its citizens. It is something that the people will never, ever forgive their elected officials (and much of the Catholic Church) for. The Chestnut Hill "Preserve" will forever serve as a daily reminder of government incompetence, indifference, lack of empathy, and profiteering en-mass. Like a huge monument it will forever stay, always there to remind us that ordinary and working class folks mean little or nothing to them. We are no longer part of a democracy that represents the majority, but rather, a tiny minority of wealthy elite.