Motion To Delay! Oh Frabjous Day! Callooh! Callay!’
After over an hour of details surrounding the $2 million loan order to purchase new parking kiosks, as well as improve some of Lowell’s current inventory, C.Kennedy made a motion to delay the vote by one week. The discussion, then, continued for about another hour more. Ultimately, the motion to delay was supported, 7-2, with C. Lorrey and C. Mendonca against.
Come tomorrow, over at LTC.org, we can all dive back in to the picayune of tonight’s exquisitely detailed waltz around the kiosks. Honestly, I partly jest. There was plenty of red meat for those of us that like concrete responses to valid questions. But, tonight, politics was in the air, so progress was waylayed.
It’s late, so I’m going to put down some quick notes and take a lucky stab at how this all plays out over the next week.
There seemed to be, for all intents and purposes, 2 unresolved issues: 1) the proposed parking along Father Morrissette Blvd 2) if the loan order should be approved before the bid documents are evaluated.
1) In this area, all the Councilors had ‘reservations’ about reconfiguring the layout along the Blvd. However, Adam Baacke provided details accumulated by Lowell’s Traffic Engineer which stated that the current configuration is only 50-75% ultilized. Meaning, the Blvd is underutilized. It is used less than many streets that run through densely settled neighborhoods. The short term plan, as proposed with kiosks, would bring utilization of the Blvd to, about, a consistant 80%. The long term plan would follow the guidelines promulgated by the Speck Report. This plan calls for a trolley, a bike lane and on street parking.
Without equivocation, C.Elliott denounced the data presented, relying on e-mails and anecdotes from residents. He mixed in his gut feelings on why the Blvd would be a mess, if kiosks were introduced. Blind to empirical evidence, C.Elliott came to his own conclusion. Typical. Next, C.Kennedy put his fist down, declaring that the Speck Report made no reference to on street parking. He was adamant about this, … well, until he wasn’t. (Adam Baacke can be very persuasive.) Even so, at night’s end, C.Kennedy made some offhanded remark about how he would take a look at the Blvd, himself. We may as well just fire the Traffic Engineer. How many potholes could that salary fill?
Note: Below please find ample references to the Speck Report’s reference to the Father Morrissette Blvd. (h/t Mr. Lynne)
xxx
2) Also, unresolved, is a lingering concern about how a loan order can be justly approved with the bid documents, mostly, in place. The City Manager’s view on this is ‘depends.’ Sometimes bidders want the loan order secured BEFORE they will prepare a bid. Sometimes they don’t.Ultimately, it is the interest of the City that the CM must uphold. In this situation, the CM opted to get the money secured, prior to having the proposals offered. Plan E gives the CM the authority to exercise this discretion. Like that would keep C.Kennedy out of the front seat? ;v) Kennedy repeatedly mumbled something about the ‘evaluation process.’ I came away with the impression that C.Kennedy wants to stick his nose further into the CM’s operations. Thus, the motion to delay. Other councilors, deferred.
I’m now going to gaze into my crystal ball and predict how this all plays out.
The concern over the traffic flow on Father Morrissette Blvd will subside. Based on comment from Councilors, tonight, the majority are willing to acknowledge the power of a calculator in the hands of a professional Traffic Engineer. C.Elliott, of course, will make pouty, so he can try to justify his hissy fit last week. He has questions, y’know. People send him emails and call him. Fortunately, Elloitt’s ’science denial’ will not persuade his peers.
The concerns about the RFP and the bid evaluations are more tricky. Mostly because these things are in the hands of the City Manager. C.Kennedy bristles at what he can not meddle in. I fully expect the Blog of Record to pick up Kennedy’s drone. Before next Tuesday, we should expect The Sun to call into question nuances of procurement methods. The Sun will find whatever weasel room they need to further instigate the Boo Birds to squawk louder. What the end game is? That is less clear. Two things come to mind. Spreading FUD (Fear. Uncertainty.Doubt) around the kiosk RFP is meant to snowball with the existing stink around the Lowell Memorial Auditorium RFP. Also, degrading confidence in how the CM conducts business, that he slants the playing field, makes him no better than any crooked politcal CM’s that may have preceded him. They mean to convince us that Lynch is just like the rest of them.
Tonight’s episode only secured my disposition towards C.Elliott and C.Kennedy. Elliott craves attention. He is needy, high maintenance. But, C.Kennedy is tricky. Crafty and mostly, imho, up to no good. This delay is not meant to give Kennedy time to learn. It is designed to give him time to move more pieces, so he can get a better angle.
I suppose you could doubt my opinion. Fair, I guess. But, you should have seen Kennedy wrangle with Adam Baacke over something, Kennedy was so patently ignorant of. Kennedy took a strong stand, emphatic that the Speck Report contained none of this:
Some Highlights:
Page 26:
“6. Bicycle lanes are added to French and Father Morrissette Boulevard.”
Page 31:
“13. Father Morrissette Boulevard: redesigned as complete street including a streetcar (long-term). Short Term: Two travel lanes traded for two parking lanes and two bike lanes.”Page 54:
“Although the apocryphal vision of the 1960s plan for downtown Lowell thankfully never came to pass, it was initiated, with the construction of Father Morrissette Boulevard from University Avenue Bridge to Lowell High School. Along this trajectory, its 5-lane cross section and high-speed geometrics were appropriate to an urban expressway that was intended to circle the entire downtown. But construction then stopped, and the city was left with a roadway that lacks the continuity that would have justified its high volume, high-speed design. As a result, it has wisely been determined that this street can be rebuilt as a lower-speed 3-lane boulevard in conjunction with the construction of the proposed downtown circulator trolley.”Details on the proposed lane widths on Page 55.
Pg 60″
“As noted, the above plans are based on the construction of a streetcar and, without one, significant investment in Father Morrissette Boulevard is not recommended. However, given that it is currently oversized for its traffic, encourages speeding, and has roadway available for more productive uses, it is recommended that a restriping regime be implemented in conjunction with the other short-term reconfigurations presented above.
Currently, the typical Boulevard segment contains two 24-foot-wide halves, each of which holds two 12-foot travel lanes (plus turn lanes). Each of these halves should be restriped to contain an 11-foot driving lane, a 7-foot parking lane, and a 6-foot bike lane. !e parking lanes would be available for use by the high school and by overflow visitors to the Tsongas Arena and Boarding House Park, taking pressure off the Ayotte Garage. The bike lanes would immediately introduce a key component of the Bicycle Network without having to wait for the construction of a streetcar. !is restriping could be accomplished for the cost of paint alone, without even requiring revised signals.”
Caption on Pg 60:
“In the short term, each 24-foot-wide segment of Morrissette should be restriped into one travel lane, one bike lane, and one parking lane.”
February 27th, 2013 at 6:33 am
The Speck thing wouldn’t be a big deal at all except for Kennedy’s emphasis that he knew what was in the report without any caveats or qualifications that his memory of the report might not be perfect. Once I had a chance to review the report the references to parking (the issue of the night) were so numerous I don’t see how he can be adamant about his knowledge of anything in that report if he missed this one.
February 27th, 2013 at 11:43 am
I don’t normally watch the council meetings but this peaked my interest and seemed like a no-brainer. I do read the Sun and blogs regularly. Councilors Elliot and Kennedy seem to want to poke holes in the CM’s proposals at the expense of the city. Making Father M. more walkable, aesthetically pleasing, adding revenue, and adding parking to an area that needs it is a win-win-win-win. Even if it doesn’t add revenue it makes sense.
Look what taking down the central artery did for the North End and West End/Financial District. You can still drive through albeit at a slower pace AND it’s beautiful AND spurred development.
Jeff Speck recently said “I’ve repeated it so much I hate to tell you the same thing, but it’s the honest truth. The biggest mistake cities make is to allow themselves to effectively be designed by their director of public works. The director of public works, he or she is making decisions every single day about the width of streets, the presence of parking, the question of bike lanes. And he’s doing it in response to the complaints he’s hearing. But if you satisfy those complaints you wreck the city.
A typical public works director doesn’t think about “What kind of city do we want to be?” They think about what people complain about, and it’s almost always traffic and parking.
The one thing we’ve learned without any doubt, is the more room you give the car the more room they will take and that will wreck cities. Optimizing any of these practical considerations — sewers, parking, vehicle capacity — almost always makes a city less walkable.?”
C. Elliot IS that Public Works Director!
February 27th, 2013 at 12:37 pm
Based on the section quoted from page 60 of the Speck Plan , the dispute seems to turn on whether $2M for kiosks is a “significant investment” or not.That is , the Speck Plan recommends on page 55 that Father Morrissette Boulevard not receive a penny of local investment unless there is funding for the trolley.
Absent such funding , the only expenditure the Speck Plan explicitly supports is restriping.
February 27th, 2013 at 2:10 pm
I’m not sure what dispute you’re referring to ax41. The thing I noticed was that Kennedy asserted that the Speck document said nothing on parking for that road. I then noticed that Adam Bakke point out that he was wrong on that point. Then I looked at the document and saw that he wasn’t just a little wrong, he was very wrong. That he was this wrong but nevertheless adamant makes me wonder.
February 27th, 2013 at 2:11 pm
From Page 55:
(bold mine)
What is critical, here, is that the Speck Plan does not live in a vacuum. There are 500 UML beds coming online, soon enough. The Cox Circle is being eyed for further development.
From the “Lowell Plan Video:”
We can march lock step to Speck’s words, or we can fullfill its spirit, as we go. I don’t find your highlighting of Page 55 to be an excuse for C.Kennedy to present a lopsided interpretation of the Speck Report.
February 27th, 2013 at 2:34 pm
From the Blog of Record, Lyle produces some some shitty editing, or his editor did:
Lyle the Cub fails to mention that after that, Kennedy got the proverbial stuffing knocked out of him by Baacke’s “yes, actually, it’s in there”. There is NO excuse for a reporter to say “so and so said” and then not give the truth of it, especially when it’s handed to you by the answer given right at the meeting.
It took the Mr. like 10-15 minutes to GO LOOK AT THE SPECK REPORT to find it. Amateurs. “Cub Reporter” is actually too good a nickname for what that guy does in the Sun. And I maintain that when speaking of Campanini, one must use the term “editor” in reference to him always in quotes…as in, the term’s real meaning is suspect when applied to him.
On this quote:
Like he frigging KNOWS the traffic on FMB around that time. I have never ever seen a traffic problem around FMB even at the peak times when high school is let out. You can still get around, there. Yeah, I used to drive around downtown and environs at all times of the day when I was self-employed and going places in and around Lowell. How much you all wanna bet that comment came out of his you-know-where and he didn’t actually have much experience with it?
But hey, don’t listen to the traffic engineers. Like Bud 1.0 and Bush II, Elliot listens to “his gut.”
February 27th, 2013 at 2:39 pm
PS - *I* would park on FMB if it was made into street parking. There are times I’m going to Merrimack St or something around there, and to be able to park on FMB would be awesome. First, you can sort of stay out of the downtown snarl if you head down Dutton to Arcand to FMB, or cross the river and hit FMB, park and walk into the downtown from there. I usually try to go for my “secret parking spots” way on the other end of downtown but when visiting the other end of downtown, that’s more of a hike than FMB would be.
Count me in. And the bike lanes = SUPER awesome! I know some people that would make very, very happy.
February 27th, 2013 at 2:43 pm
Now don’t go getting your knickers in a twist and start throwing shoes and pots and pans but… In Elliott’s defense (is there such a thing?) he did mention his experience came from having routinely driven his daughter to school in the mornings a few years ago.
February 27th, 2013 at 3:03 pm
Then I think his memory might be faulty. The only part that gets sticky is the people dropping off at the high school itself, IF that. (Usually you can go around if you are driving through there and not stopping). Remember, the high school is AFTER the lane drop anyway!
February 27th, 2013 at 3:12 pm
I don’t know, I’d really miss the whole “WWI no-man’s land just before the machine guns open up” vibe on Fr. Morrisette Blvd.
February 27th, 2013 at 9:17 pm
If and when this project gets approved, building a hotel over there should be the next logical step. Making it easier for guests to walk to the core downtown makes perfect sense.
UML going D1 in all sports could be great for Downtown Lowell. I imagine teams, fans, families coming from all over the Northeast would prefer to stay in a vibrant, walkable, historic setting than Industrial Ave. Make it happen Marty!
February 27th, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Didn’t mean to put my email in the Website field on comment #11.
February 27th, 2013 at 9:37 pm
Fixed it for ya.
February 27th, 2013 at 9:38 pm
And LMFAO at joe.