Thanks guys, I've received three emails since I sent out the support letter with my email asking if we, as a Bike Board, are able to support the VFW property. None of of the replies gave me a sense that we should fully or even could support that project. I appreciate those of you who read the letter and provided valuable feedback laced with your wisdom based on your many years of experience with local government.
In my excitement thinking about the possibility of 101 bikes being located downtown and used to travel to local businesses, the WVU campus, I drafted the support letter thinking it would help cycling in Morgantown. I was envisioning what it would be like to potentially see a significant increase in bicycle traffic downtown and felt it could provide momentum. Of course, I asked for the BB to let me know if we could support it.
I now understand that this project is more complex than just showing support for bike parking. Unless there is a groundswell of support from within the Bike Board realizing this opportunity and finding a way to minimize or mitigate the concerns, it doesn't look promising that we can support this.
Some folks have urged us (me in particular) to be cautious; some have stated that there is a conflict of interest; some have stated that perhaps the code doesn't support enough bike parking and doesn't create enough excitement to support the project; some folks have other concerns about the project that I definitely understand; and quite frankly I think some folks are tired of spending lots of time, energy, and resources to see improvements fall short or not be realized at all.
So, for now, I'm not going to take any action on it. Thanks for letting me know.
Have a nice day, ~Derek
On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 9:45 AM, Chip Wamsley chip@wamsleycycles.com wrote:
To all,
Since the bike board is part of the Morgantown Traffic Commission and a city entity I think it would be a conflict of interest to write a letter of recommendation for a private party appearing before another city board. I'm sure Lisa Mardis didn't approach the parking commission to get a letter of recommendation based on the number of parking spaces they propose to provide.
Chip
---- Original Message ---- From: "Frank Gmeindl" fgmeindl@gmail.com Sent: 5/8/2014 8:41:23 PM To: "Derek Springston" dspringston@gmail.com Cc: "Bike Board - Morgantown" bikeboard@bikemorgantown.com Subject: Re: [Bikeboard] VFW Support Letter - Please review and Comment ASAP.
Derek,
You are correct, Morgantown Ordinance 1349.08 PARKING AND LOADING STANDARDS. C. Bicycle Storage, http://www.conwaygreene.com/Morgantown/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-hit... One (1) indoor, secured, sheltered bicycle storage space per dwelling unit. I don't know what the BB was thinking when we wrote this but I'm guessing we were thinking a dwelling unit had 2 beds rather than 4. Anyway, providing 101 bicycle parking spaces for 368 residents doesn't excite me enough to personally make any effort to support this project.
While your write up is very thorough, I don't think the BB has standing to discuss more than the bicycling-relevant aspects of building projects. I understand that the building is 11 stories and that Morgantown Fire Department is not equipped to reach the top floor(s). There was an article in the Dominion Post recently that stated the number of square feet the building will provide and the number of residents it would house. I did a computation on a napkin and got 70 square feet/resident. I think these are problems.
If we're going to write a letter, I think it should be limited to supporting adequate secure bicycle parking. FYI, after Chip and I spent many hours working with Chris Fletcher to define recommendations for secure bicycle parking at Beechview Plaza that ended up being a key card access cage containing inverted U-racks that Chris told us the developer agreed to install now, all I see is a single wavy rack stuck in the corner of the second car parking level. Nevertheless, I personally think Beechview Plaza is an excellent project, much better thought out than what I see from the pdf you provided but yet, I'm glad my name isn't on a letter of support for Beechview Plaza.
What does the Bicycle Board think?
Frank
On May 8, 2014, at 4:11 PM, Derek Springston wrote:
Frank, Ok. Thanks for letting me know. Well, the Zoning Code states that there is to be one parking space per unit. There are 92 units, so unless I'm missing something, it looks like they're provided more than they are required. I also heard other concerns about the project, but wanted to provide the BB with the reasons why it would be supported and to gather whether the issues were serious enough to not support it. We'll see what others say. I can see both sides of the coin, and will wait to see if there is enough consensus to support as a Bike Board.
Thanks for the reply. ~Derek
On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 3:37 PM, Frank Gmeindl frank.gmeindl@comcast.netwrote:
I do not have time right now to give this sufficient review. I don't think 101 bike parking spaces for 368 residents even meets the bicycle parking code that the BB wrote and the city implemented. I understand this project has other serious issues that we should understand before supporting it.
Frank
On May 8, 2014, at 2:55 PM, Derek Springston dspringston@gmail.com wrote:
Bike Board Members,At the last meeting I was asked/volunteered to write a support letter on behalf of the BB for the potential Campus Acquisitions development that is being proposed on the VFW Property at 494 Spruce Street.
I need you to:
- Read the letter and determine if it's ok to support the project on
behalf of the Bike Board 2. Review for any content issues 3. Since we have no Chairman, who should sign it? 4. Let me know prior to 5pm, if possible.
There is a Planning Commission meeting tonight that I'd love to have it sent prior to. If there are serious concerns though, I can hold off as long as we get it there soon. There is also a May 21st meeting, and I plan to deliver a copy prior to that as well. These are being sent to Chris Fletcher, Morgantown Director of Development Services and Stacy Hollar, Executive Secretary.
I've also attached a copy of the plans for the project and the
Thanks, ~Derek
-- *Let deeds, not words, be your adorning. -'Abdu'l-Baha*
*“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” -H.G. Wells*
<VFWSupportLetter_2014_05_08.docx>
<CA_VFW_Plans.pdf>
Bikeboard mailing list Bikeboard@bikemorgantown.com http://wvcompletestreets.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard
-- *Let deeds, not words, be your adorning. -'Abdu'l-Baha*
*“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” -H.G. Wells*