Sometimes the NIMBY's are right...

English: The urban growth boundary edge at Bull Mountain in the Portland metropolitan area. Farmland in foreground, urban development in background. From Roy Rogers Road near Bull Mountain Road. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sometimes it is just too easy to tune out NIMBY's as people who are too caught up in their own little world who have bought a house and expect nothing to change, and that anything they don't  approve of should not be allowed anywhere near their little piece of paradise.

However, there is times that NIMBY's  have a good point and one of those times is concerning higher density development. Now I am not talking about density done right, I am talking about density done wrong. A couple of years ago I mentioned a development near where I lived. It was a complex of condominiums that offered poor transit access and were designed that it was not easily accessed by pedestrians coming off the bus. Finally, it was not located near any retail stores so even for basics you have to get behind the wheel of a car to get.

Here is another example, recently in the comments on the Portland Transport blog that developers can get density incentives even if the project does not have easy transit access which is led to high density developments in areas with no or hard transit access. What is the purpose of having higher density if it will not have the benefit of transit access?

One solution to this would be modify the program so that it is a tiered system for incentives so that if locate on a high capacity transit line you get the highest incentives, basic transit service another level and the lowest to those farthest from transit access. In a perfect world you would not have any incentives for density outside transit corridors but you also have to face the political reality that you need to have the cooperation of all parties to get things done and the developers and other political elements would probably bulk a more restrict policy.

Another example of bad development is part of the problem above and that is high density developments in areas that should not have them. An example of this is here in Portland were several high density developments have been built in areas that are not designed for them such as out at the far end of the Urban Growth Boundary.

Spokane County is another example of areas that have allowed these kinds of developments. There has been several apartment complexes built in what is essentially rural areas that are on two lane roads with no access to services. Not only does this create traffic issues on these roads, it also makes it difficult for emergency services to reach them and should a disaster strikes, these rural located complexes will be in a world of hurt.

The priority of density should be where it makes the most sense and with the services to allow residents and workers at the high density developments to be able to avoid using a car whenever possible. This means near high capacity transit lines and major bus lines plus walking distance to grocery type shopping and other services.

So yes, sometimes the NIMBY's do get it right.

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• On NIMBYs

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NIMBYism and Unintended Consequences

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Any time a NIMBY wins a battle, there is often unintended consequences of that win. Sometimes the NIMBY's can end up with something worse than they were fighting against. Sometimes the consequence is a loss of something that could really helped the community in the long run.

In Salt Lake City, the west side of the city suffers from the victim mentality of NIMBY. They see things as a threat to their community because everyone likes to pick on the west side. While the west side did get screwed with the building of I-15 and I-80 that effectively cut them off from the rest of the city and the rebuilding that did not do the right thing and lower the freeway, the will often become their worst enemies by fighting projects that will ultimately help their neighborhood.

A perfect example of this is the Airport TRAX line. One of the plans for the line was to run it down 600 West and service Central Station in west Salt Lake. However, the west side fought against the project because it would have created a viaduct over the existing Union Pacific and Front Runner railroad tracks.

However, the section of the west side that would have been effected by this viaduct is minor. In fact it is actually cut off from the rest of the west side by I-15. In fact we are only talking about a few homes along the street along with a fairly new apartment complex at the corner of 600 West and North Temple.

Now instead of the viaduct, TRAX trains on the Airport will not serve the Intermodal Station at all and instead will continue to travel on North Temple, turn on 400 West and connect up with the existing TRAX lines at South Temple.

Now comes the unintended consequences.

Because there will no longer be a direct connection from the airport to Central Station, the two proposed hotels for the station area will not be built. While they would have not provide a huge amount of jobs, but they would have created new opportunities for economic development in a part of town that desperately needs it. With the addition of the hotels it would have been more likely that Central Station and Gateway could be connected through redevelopment.

However, all is not lost in the Central Station district. The city of Salt Lake does have plans on the books that would redevelop the area between Central Station and the old Rio Grande Station that would also connect those areas to downtown area.

While the west side NIMBY's may have won a battle in their area, in the long run their actions may have actually set back their area a decade or more.

Another Attack of the NIMBY's

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To no one's surprise, the NIMBY's are coming out of the wood work at the public hearings about the proposed Davis County Streetcar. They are claiming that their children will be put into danger because of the presence of the streetcar on Main Street in Centerville.

Now lets remember that these are the same people who fought so hard for the Legacy Highway but we must also remember that they Legacy Highway was not in THEIR neighborhood.

Some of their complaints remind me of some of the BS that was spouted before TRAX opened up. I remember that their was one business on State Street by the Midvale TRAX station that put up a sign saying light rail kills children. While I am big supporter of small businesses clearly this person was ignorant.

Its amazing that these are some of the same people who also tell everyone that they should take personal responsibility. Apparently personal responsibility doesn't apply to something that you are against. After all, I don't recall a TRAX train ever, ever, ever running off the tracks to run down someone in cold blood. Am I wrong? Maybe if Steven King made a movie about it but not in reality.

What is even more ironic is that the streetcar will be traveling down a major street that is also a state highway. Traffic speeds by in the neighborhood over the speed limit with many drivers not paying attention to anything but their cell phone.

NIMBY's Part II

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Previously I talked about your typical NIMBY’s. Today I am going to discuss a different type of NIMBY called the community activist. While they both end up being NIMBY’s the motivation behind the community activist makes them a different creature all together.

First of all there are two different types of community activist. The first one is to be despised. They are either out to make a name for themselves or just get their name in print. They could care less what ultimately happens so long as they benefit from it.

The second type of community activist is the one I will really focus on. For the most part they truly car about what they are trying to accomplish but often end up being obstructionist much like regular NIMBY’s.

I am going to pick on the west side for this example.

First of all let’s look at how the west side ended up in its present position. The first big blow to the west side came when it was cut off from the west of Salt Lake City by Interstate 15. In fact it is hemmed in on three sides by freeways and despite what the road warriors will tell you, when a community is cut into pieces by a freeway it causes it to loose a part of itself. It doesn’t matter if it’s above or below ground; the freeway divides an area into separate parts.

As you know over time the Westside was largely ignored and forgotten while most of the money went to the east side of town.

The problem with activist from this scenario is that they feel that they deserve everything handed to them but see everything as a threat to their neighborhood. They get so caught up in their own little world that they are not willing to accept anything that will for the common good.

The TRAX line along 600 West is the perfect example. This would have service the greater good as it would allowed a direct connection from Central Station to the Airport. UTA could still route the trains into the station but they would either have to travel through downtown first and head back or miss downtown entirely. Only a small number of homes would have been affected by the line and they are already cut off from everything in sight anyway.

On the other hand the community activist thinks they should be handed everything. They complain that they are not seeing enough economic development yet they do little to help their community attract businesses and promote the locally owned businesses that are already in their community.

Using the west side activist again:

The first thing community activist must do is stop having the victimization complex. While the west side has gotten the shaft in the past, the only way to change things is to work with the rest of the city not against them.

Second they need to deal with the problems they have in their community especially the gang problem. They need to show that they have the community organized to make it a better place before businesses are going consider moving to the area.

They also need to work with existing businesses to promote the area and bring new attention to the area. Turn their disadvantage into an advantage because they are different from the east side.

Too many community activists are nothing but obstructionist and in the long run they cause more harm than they do good. However, they need to work with their community to make it a place that people want to come to instead of a place people want to avoid.

What is a NIMBY Part I

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Exactly what is a NIMBY?

Is it some strange little creature that only comes out at night? Well, no because the night brings out “those kind of people” although some NIMBY’s could be considered strange little creatures.

For the few that don’t know the term NIMBY it means Not In My Back Yard. They are the people who fight every proposal that comes down the pike crying foul that their peaceful little existence will be destroyed. The most outrageous claims will come out that will make people think the end of the world is coming and for those NIMBY’s it is.

You can look to Draper as a perfect example of what claims are made: “it will shake our homes”; “it will increase crime”; “it will bring those type of people”; “our property values will go down”; “it will destroy our peaceful neighborhood” and so on. Most NIMBY’s claims come out of either fear or downright ignorance.

NIMBYism has become more rampant in our society today as people become more isolated from others. These people get in their car drive the kids to school, drive to work, drive to the store, pick up the kids then drive them everywhere then drive home. All the homes in their neighborhood are about the same price range which means many of these people do not interact with people outside their economic status unless it is looking down at their fellow Wal-Mart shoppers or the janitors in their office building.

The isolation also creates a situation where people fear opinions different from their own which can manifest it self either by not wanting to associate with people from other political beliefs, religions, economic status and various other differnces. Just look at how people have become so polarized when it comes to political views and the mean spiritedness that comes with any political today. People do not want to listen to views different from their own because they know that they are right and people who think differently are wrong.

In the long run the major thing that NIMBY’s do is cause the cost of projects to go up while trying to stop projects that make since. They also create so much noise that often times the truly legitimate concerns get drowned out.

There is another type of NIMBY and that is the community activist NIMBY and I will discuss them soon.

U of U narrowing options for Stadium TRAX TOD

Image via WikipediaHere is a new article that has come out about the proposed development between the Stadium TRAX station and the stadium itself.

U. to identify finalists for commercial development on campus

Of course any development in an existing area brings out the NIMBY's. One of the most insincere arguments is that it will bring "vagrants".

The more real argument is that it could harm independently owned small businesses like those along 200 South. Without incentives small business owners will not be able to afford the rents at this complex. Ironically, some chain stores will get sweetheart deals that practically gives them free rent.

The University needs to be a good partner in the community and insure that smaller business have opportunities when developing their TOD plans. The developer will most likely want only chain stores in the complex so it will up to the University to insure that small businesses are taken care of.

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Interesting Blog Posts...

Image via WikipediaHere is some blog post that some may find of interest. First one is a post from the RT Rider about what is happening in Sacramento the capital of California. The transit agency is facing a major funding problem because the state controls the purse strings and the Govenator whats to transfer the money to road building. This is some of the options that Sacramento RT is looking at:

Making ends meet at Sacramento Regional Transit

Remember there is some misguided people out there that actually want our state legislatures to control transit funds.

Next up is a blog entry from the Orphan Road in Seattle talking about Bus Rapid Transit. In this case is it really cheaper and quicker to build?

Reality Worse Than Imagined

Next up is from the Intermodality Blog which is out of Houston. There is plans to build a new highway but what are the real reasons for it being built?

Where the people aren’t

Sadly the blogger from the Capricious Commuter is no longer blogging but here was one of this final post that was very interesting.

there’s no such thing as free parking

From one of the newest transit related blogs Light Rail Photos come some great photos from the Portland region:

Portland MAX downtown

Portland Eastside MAX

Portland Westside MAX

Portland Interstate MAX

Next comes an article from Transit Miami about how a group of NIMBY's is opposing a bike trail. The author does a great job showing how misplaced fears by NIMBY's can cause heartache for a project.

NIMBYs Fear Bicycle Path

Next from the Overhead wire comes an entry about the Federal Transit Administration and their calculation of numbers:

Cost Effectiveness Disconnect

Finally from Streetsblog Los Angeles comes this story about our federal governments misguided priorities:

$36,000,000,000 for Corn. $0 for Transit

Perils for Pedestrain video

Image via WikipediaHere is another Perils for Pedestrian Video.

First they talk to the head of the Rails To Trails Conservation. While the Rails to Trails sounded like a good idea at one point, the whole point of railbanking was to make the rights of way available to the railroads when they needed them. However, the organization and the trail users have fought every attempt to put rails back down even if a trail was also included. This includes the fight against the badly needed Purple line in Washington DC, the restoration of rail freight service on a line in Washington State, and the NIMBY attitude in Draper.

Another one of the interviews really caught my eye. It is a guy here in Salt Lake City that got rid of his car and uses his bike primarily and public transportation. Unlike many bicycle advocates that blame everything on the automobile (there is plenty of blame there) , this guy admits that bicyclist create problems by not obeying traffic laws. You also never hear this from the die hard bicycles advocates so it is a nice change.