Two objections heard most frequently from city leaders for adopting Complete Streets Policy are exposure to municipal liability and lack of funding. Municipal liability is not an issue since cities hold immunity from liability for use of a public street, and studies show (Pucher, Shoup, Gehl) the more pedestrians and cyclists using the street , the fewer accidents there are provided the city provides safe infrastructure.
Funding is available and often subsidized by state and federal grant programs. During meetings held by the Laguna Beach Complete Streets Task Force, the committee were often challenged by Council members Egly and Rollinger to find funding for complete street projects. Each time the task force responded with sources for state and federal grant funding early as April 2010, yet the city of Laguna Beach failed to apply for the grant. Below is a list of funding resources for the period the task force was active, Sept 2009 to Jan 2012.
No amount of free money is available to Laguna Beach if the city makes no effort to apply for the grant. To date, the City has not filed an application for any Complete Streets grant. Like the Lotto, if you don't play the game, you're just dreaming.
See a partial list of grant funding for Complete Streets here.
Funding is available and often subsidized by state and federal grant programs. During meetings held by the Laguna Beach Complete Streets Task Force, the committee were often challenged by Council members Egly and Rollinger to find funding for complete street projects. Each time the task force responded with sources for state and federal grant funding early as April 2010, yet the city of Laguna Beach failed to apply for the grant. Below is a list of funding resources for the period the task force was active, Sept 2009 to Jan 2012.
No amount of free money is available to Laguna Beach if the city makes no effort to apply for the grant. To date, the City has not filed an application for any Complete Streets grant. Like the Lotto, if you don't play the game, you're just dreaming.
See a partial list of grant funding for Complete Streets here.
I HOPE they can take just that little extra time to apply for the free money. It would be a shame for the city to not take advantage of it, especially since mobility is a huge part of this city's charm and culture.
ReplyDelete