Tonight, Asheville City Council is expected to adopt, by way of its consent agenda, a budget amendment accepting a $1,020,000 Federal Department of Transportation TIGER II Planning Grant. Funds will go toward the East of the Riverway Sustainable Neighborhood Project for purposes that read like another government lullaby:
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to fund contracted and administrative services for predevelopment planning.
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to complete pre-development planning for an integrated system of greenways, safe streets and improved transit service.
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[to] use this funding for contracted services and administrative costs. The funding will assist both general and specific planning efforts.
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[to] enable two long-standing conceptual greenways to move towards implementation.
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[to] contribute towards the construction readiness of a portion of the Wilma Dykeman Riverway.
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[to generate] a transportation network plan and energy plan for the target area, and assessments of development potential for key city owned properties.
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[to] provide an opportunity to enhance the City’s long term financial commitment to master plan implementation, infrastructure maintenance, capital improvements and public facilities.
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to support local and regional sustainable community efforts.
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to develop a multi-modal transportation plan that will include public transportation, greenways, streets, [and] river access resulting in a prioritized funding list.
In case it isn’t clear, the pros and cons of the proposal are stated as:
Pro:
• Enable the use of TIGER II Planning Grant funds to accomplish important city objectives;
Con:
• None.
