Greenway offers fresh transportation approach
Years ago, a diverse group of community leaders identified strong arguments for constructing a greenway loop around downtown Greensboro. Their vision’s validity is clear today as progress and partnerships on the project mount and Greensboro’s need for it becomes more compelling with each passing month.
At its core, the proposed Downtown Greenway is a transportation project that will offer an affordable, healthy, environmentally friendly alternative for getting around the Central Business District, surrounding neighborhoods and campuses.
Transportation alternatives are needed now more than ever before in our history, with gasoline exceeding $4 a gallon.
Your narrow-minded perspective (editorial, “Greensboro taxpayers face costly decisions,” June 22) that “transportation” means using a car and that “transportation” bonds should be stripped of all but conventional street projects catering to cars, is rapidly being replaced with the enlightened realization that transportation alternatives warrant funding priority.
In today’s competitive environment, cities that do not innovate will stagnate, and the Downtown Greenway presents Greensboro with the opportunity to innovate and distinguish itself through investment in a project that is green, progressive and unique.
We need our elected leaders to transcend provincial self-interest and embrace greenway funding as a component of the transportation bond because the greenway will be a distinguishing feature and economic generator for all of Greensboro.
Marsh Prause
Greensboro
Comments (3)
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Oh, please, Marsh. The lameness of arguing that this is a "transportation" solution merely makes your support of it suspect.
It is plain as day that a "solution" that takes walkers and bike-riders miles out of their way to get from Southside to Fisher Park or from A&T to UNCG is no solution at all. Come up with a better reason for wanting to spend tens of millions of tax payer dollars for this project because the notion of it providing some useful transportation alternative is pathetically transparent as untrue.
Posted on June 28, 2008 12:00 PM
From the writer's point of view, the greenway only helps those who live in it's immediate proximity.
There are probably more who live in the sprawl of Greensboro who avoid the downtown and surrounds on a regular basis than those who do.
In that regard, the greenway is a pork project for a small geographic and heavily urbanized section of a large and sprawling city.
Posted on June 28, 2008 12:30 PM
This is not the first time we've heard this project's cheerleaders framing this as a "transportation" issue.
Call it whatever you want, but the fact that the Downtown Greenway is a recreation issue first and foremost cannot be denied.
And, once again, still no sign of any cost/benefit/usage analysis on this (not so) little project.
I suspect there's a good reason for the invisibility of such an analysis.
Posted on June 28, 2008 10:30 PM