I think planning and implementing development has gone off the rails. I now avoid coming into town because of parking, the cost and having to drive around blocks looking for a spot. I also think societal civility is gone, as may be evident in the government meetings from reading your post. I love Sarasota and hope it can get a handle on how to develop in a fiscal/environmentally sound way. BTW, I think the plan of having buildings over water is crazy. After all the hurricanes, huh???
Unless we go back to an extensive trolley system or those futuristic moving sidewalks the Jetsons used, cars are here to stay and, as any fool knows, there needs to be a place to put them. My impression of the city council and the various city and county commissioners is that they're of very limited intelligence [see 'fools', above] and susceptible to flattery and perhaps even worse: outright corruption.
I have a very low opinion of just about anything having to do with planning in Sarasota County, much less intelligent responsiveness to actual community needs. So developers are given the green light to put in, let's say, a new 'development' that will bring 3,500 new housing units without any thought given to drainage, traffic, parking or underground utilities. And why should they bother: the city and/or county, perhaps even the state, will pick up those costs out of necessity, at least one hopes they will.
When I first arrived here in 2008, I was glad to see a City Auditorium, the gracious Van Wezel, an extensive boat ramp and parking facility and other structures all designed for use and convenience. But to a starry-eyed city council and their developer buddies eager to demonstrate their power, the area now known as "The Bay" was ripe for plunder. Trouble is, it never made sense to change much at all. We really don't need to be a little Miami.
Porter do you remember the hype around the Segway? How it was going to transform our communities? No more getting in your car to go to work! Hop on a Segway! Segways are now seen in Sarasota for tourist tours of downtown and the bayfront. Come to think of it, I haven't seen them in awhile.
One of the clear red flags with this plan is the potential loss of the boat ramp for boaters who do not keep their vessel at a marina. Boat ramps like this one provide a free option for boaters to get their vessels in the water. Will they lose this entry point into the bay? Will they lose it so we can build very expensive structures which will be subject to tomorrow's intense storms?
So many important questions must be asked. So far it's not happening. We need more civility, curiosity and critical thinking from City leadership.
We were still in New Hampshire back when a local guy invented the Segway, which was and stayed a curiosity and never caught on. Just as I would never ride a bike or motorcycle here in Sarasota, nor am I foolish enough to ride a Segway down here. Too many crazy or inattentive drivers, and I'd rather not get knocked 30 feet in the air like the son of a friend who died on Fruitville.
Your point about the shortage of civility, curiosity and critical thinking is right on, and applies not just to our local politicos but you can see it in the percentage of voters nationwide who idolize sexual abuser and overall crook Donald Trump. So much for critical thinking. I despair for my country.
I'm so sorry about your son's friends. I understand how you feel about what is going on. We need to keep on keeping on, keep talking sense. One thing that is certain - change. We can make change for the better.
thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts Kathleen. What do you think of underground parking? Assuming it was free or very inexpensive, would that be an option for you to come and enjoy the new park?
We would have to raise up the land, IMO. And even then, I'm not sure it works. It was suggested by someone with expertise regarding such projects. Putting new buildings on the land seems completely ridiculous, given our storms and climate considerations.
"Anywhere 2020" is a UN Agenda plan" UN Agenda 2020. Goal is to give residents an area in which they live shop and work in a redeveloped space allowing more centralized control, and less need/ability to leave the "reservation". There are dozens of examples, and more books on the subject. I've studied m any and been victim of one, in NC.
With your FL Chamber of Commerce espousing UN Agenda goals, using the verbiage, I'd be wary. Love to talk with you about this!
What you are describing is mixed use development. This is exactly how development occurred in the US before we had cars and financial leveraging for new development. Think Main Street USA. Development had to be financially solvent (it had to pay for itself) quite quickly. Buildings were clustered in walkable streets. We didn't have excessive road development. Commercial establishments were on the ground floor, and often the merchants or their employees lived in apartments above the business. It was profitable, it was efficient, it was capitalism. It was also environmentally friendly.
There has been a movement to return to this sort of fiscally conservative, economically productive and environmentally friendly development, for many reasons. One reason is the United States' auto-centric sprawl development doesn't generate enough tax revenue to pay for the services it requires. It is an economic drain.
That said, this bayfront redevelopment project is not a mixed use plan, and it doesn't fit the mold of what some say is a nefarious UN agenda. I've heard these sorts of objections before. But perhaps we can discuss sometime. Always interested in what people are thinking about how our cities and towns develop.
Cogent analysis. You have a knack of saying things that need to be said.
I agree. Where is the parking?
I think planning and implementing development has gone off the rails. I now avoid coming into town because of parking, the cost and having to drive around blocks looking for a spot. I also think societal civility is gone, as may be evident in the government meetings from reading your post. I love Sarasota and hope it can get a handle on how to develop in a fiscal/environmentally sound way. BTW, I think the plan of having buildings over water is crazy. After all the hurricanes, huh???
Unless we go back to an extensive trolley system or those futuristic moving sidewalks the Jetsons used, cars are here to stay and, as any fool knows, there needs to be a place to put them. My impression of the city council and the various city and county commissioners is that they're of very limited intelligence [see 'fools', above] and susceptible to flattery and perhaps even worse: outright corruption.
I have a very low opinion of just about anything having to do with planning in Sarasota County, much less intelligent responsiveness to actual community needs. So developers are given the green light to put in, let's say, a new 'development' that will bring 3,500 new housing units without any thought given to drainage, traffic, parking or underground utilities. And why should they bother: the city and/or county, perhaps even the state, will pick up those costs out of necessity, at least one hopes they will.
When I first arrived here in 2008, I was glad to see a City Auditorium, the gracious Van Wezel, an extensive boat ramp and parking facility and other structures all designed for use and convenience. But to a starry-eyed city council and their developer buddies eager to demonstrate their power, the area now known as "The Bay" was ripe for plunder. Trouble is, it never made sense to change much at all. We really don't need to be a little Miami.
Porter do you remember the hype around the Segway? How it was going to transform our communities? No more getting in your car to go to work! Hop on a Segway! Segways are now seen in Sarasota for tourist tours of downtown and the bayfront. Come to think of it, I haven't seen them in awhile.
One of the clear red flags with this plan is the potential loss of the boat ramp for boaters who do not keep their vessel at a marina. Boat ramps like this one provide a free option for boaters to get their vessels in the water. Will they lose this entry point into the bay? Will they lose it so we can build very expensive structures which will be subject to tomorrow's intense storms?
So many important questions must be asked. So far it's not happening. We need more civility, curiosity and critical thinking from City leadership.
We were still in New Hampshire back when a local guy invented the Segway, which was and stayed a curiosity and never caught on. Just as I would never ride a bike or motorcycle here in Sarasota, nor am I foolish enough to ride a Segway down here. Too many crazy or inattentive drivers, and I'd rather not get knocked 30 feet in the air like the son of a friend who died on Fruitville.
Your point about the shortage of civility, curiosity and critical thinking is right on, and applies not just to our local politicos but you can see it in the percentage of voters nationwide who idolize sexual abuser and overall crook Donald Trump. So much for critical thinking. I despair for my country.
I'm so sorry about your son's friends. I understand how you feel about what is going on. We need to keep on keeping on, keep talking sense. One thing that is certain - change. We can make change for the better.
thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts Kathleen. What do you think of underground parking? Assuming it was free or very inexpensive, would that be an option for you to come and enjoy the new park?
Could we even have underground parking when the water table tends to be so high? And one storm-driven flood would fill up any underground garage.
We would have to raise up the land, IMO. And even then, I'm not sure it works. It was suggested by someone with expertise regarding such projects. Putting new buildings on the land seems completely ridiculous, given our storms and climate considerations.
"Anywhere 2020" is a UN Agenda plan" UN Agenda 2020. Goal is to give residents an area in which they live shop and work in a redeveloped space allowing more centralized control, and less need/ability to leave the "reservation". There are dozens of examples, and more books on the subject. I've studied m any and been victim of one, in NC.
With your FL Chamber of Commerce espousing UN Agenda goals, using the verbiage, I'd be wary. Love to talk with you about this!
K
Thank you for reading and commenting Kat!
What you are describing is mixed use development. This is exactly how development occurred in the US before we had cars and financial leveraging for new development. Think Main Street USA. Development had to be financially solvent (it had to pay for itself) quite quickly. Buildings were clustered in walkable streets. We didn't have excessive road development. Commercial establishments were on the ground floor, and often the merchants or their employees lived in apartments above the business. It was profitable, it was efficient, it was capitalism. It was also environmentally friendly.
There has been a movement to return to this sort of fiscally conservative, economically productive and environmentally friendly development, for many reasons. One reason is the United States' auto-centric sprawl development doesn't generate enough tax revenue to pay for the services it requires. It is an economic drain.
That said, this bayfront redevelopment project is not a mixed use plan, and it doesn't fit the mold of what some say is a nefarious UN agenda. I've heard these sorts of objections before. But perhaps we can discuss sometime. Always interested in what people are thinking about how our cities and towns develop.