Newspaper Page Text
ACC Senior Planner Bruce Lonnee noted
Logan's remarks, then told the Commission that
an economic impact study—which some
Commissioners and business interests have
requested—would be difficult to conduct
without very clear parameters. He said the
Commission would have to establish those guide
lines before any study could be carried out.
Following a brief, inconclusive discussion on
the merits of such a study, Mayor Eldridge said it
was dear the Commission would not be ready to
vote on the development ordinance in
September and removed it from the agenda
indefinitely for “professional, technical and legal
reasons. “
Ironically, Eldridge then said the ordinance,
once adopted, will not be “written in stone,"
and that, “Anybody who thinks we're going to
pass a perfect document is mistaken."
The following evening, at the Mayor and
Commission's monthly agenda setting session,
Commissioner Jordan proposed a moratorium bn
all zoning actions until the new ordinance is
adopted or until January 2, 2001, whichever
comes first. The moratorium will be discussed
and voted on at the Mayor and Commission's
regular monthly business session on Tuesday,
September 5.
The latest draft of the development ordinance
is now available for review at the Planning
Department office (120 W. Dougherty Street),
the ACC Library (2025 Baxter Street), Kinko's
and Bel-Jean copy centers, and at athensclarke-
county.com.
BAXTER BIKE LANES
MAY BE EXTENDED
The Athens-Clarke County Department of
Transportation and Public Works has scheduled a
meeting for Tuesday, August 29 to take public
comment on its plans to convert another seg
ment of Baxter Street from four lanes to three.
The Milledge Avenue to Alps Road stretch of
the corridor was re-striped last October as part of
a demonstration project to reduce the number of •
accidents there. Bike lanes were later added to
the plan, giving the Athens cycling community
another section of what it hopes will one day be
an interconnected series of bike paths and lanes.
A six-month evaluation of the re-configured
corridor—consisting of two lanes for auto
through-traffic, a center turn lane and a bike
lane on each side—showed accidents were down
55.1 percent from the same six-month period
beginning in October, 1998, while total auto
traffic had decreased by just 3.7 percent.
ACC Transportation and Public Works Directoi
David Clark says the next phase, from Lumpkin
Street to Milledge Avenue, will match the
existing three-lane configuration and will
include bike lanes. The Commission is set to vote
on the plan at its monthly business session on
September 5.
"The Commission asked for a special public
meeting to gather more comments prior to their
vote," Clark says.
Residents spoke in support of the plan at the
Mayor and Commission's August 15 agenda set
ting session.
"I hope that Athens can become a leader in
the state of Georgia in alternative transporta
tion," said Jim McGown, who said he cycles to
his job at the Presbyterian Student Center on
Lumpkin Street.
Others said the three-lane setup would pro
vide safer passage for traffic into the UGA
campus and would help change the perception of
disconnected bike lanes as a waste of public
funds.
Among the public comments gathered imme
diately after the re-stripinq of Baxter from
Milledge to Alps were calls questioning "the use
of public dollars for a project that appears
unused by the community." Athens-Clarke's six-
month evaluation attributed low ridership to
lack of connectivity, a factor cyclists have long
held as a major obstacle.
At the agenda setting session. Mayor Doc
Eldridge asked Clark if he thought public input
might be influenced by UGA student traffic,
always especially heavy in late August. Clark
said his department would take that into
account. __ •
ACC Manager Al Crace told the Commission
that UGA has expressed interest in working with
the city on the project. Crace said the University
has plans for new curbing along the corridor.
The August 29 meeting will be held at the
ACC Public Library, located at 2025 Baxter
Street, at 7 p.m. According to Clark, Public
Works will also take comments regarding the
resurfacing of Hawthorne Avenue, which is con
sidered to be a crucial part of a viable cycling
network.
CORPORATE DEBATES
SHUN THIRD PARTIES
The door to the Presidential debates has been
slammed shut by Democrats and Republicans,
and locked tight by corporate cash, according to
Green Party Presidential candidate Ralph Nader.
Nader has filed suit against the Federal
Election Commission (FEC), challenging its prac
tice of allowing corporations to fund the debates
through the Commission on Presidential Debates
(CPD).
The CPD, founded in 1987, calls itself a non
partisan organization formed “to erture that
debates, as a permanent part of every general
election, provide the best possible information
to viewers and listeners." It has sponsored and
organized every "official" Presidential debate
since the 1988 general election.
But the "non-partisan" CPD is co-chaired by
former Democratic National Committee Chairman
Paul Kirk and former Republican National
Committee Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr. Only
Democrats and Republicans sit on the CPD beard.
Nader says the CPD has intentional 1 ;/ estab
lished unfair criteria for entry into the debates.
The CPD requires a Presidential candidate to
receive 15 percent support in five select polls.
Under this standard, reads a statement on
Nader's web site, "neither Ross Perot nor John
Anderson nor Jesse Ventura wo 1 ’Id have been
allowed a forum to raise issues that the
American public wants to have discussed."
In 1992, when the CPD standard was lower,
Perot debated George Bush and Bill Clinton and
received 19 percent of the vote. Perot was
exduded from the debates in 1996, and received
nine percent.
Perot's successor, Reform Party nominee Pat
Buchanan, has also filed suit against the FEC.
Nader is calling for a CPD threshold of five
percent in five national polls, or 50 percent in a
poll directly asking Americans whether a candi
date should be allowed to debate.
On July 19, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-
IL) introduced a resolution to reduce CPD stan
dards to match Nader's request.
In a letter seeking support for the resolution,
Jackson wrote: "The CPD's V percent require
ment excludes non-major party candidates on
the basis of polls from a public who has not yet
had an opportunity to hear from these candi
dates."
Further corrupting the CPD selection process,
Nader says, is the barely publicized fact that
major for-profit corporations sponsor its debates.
Two of this year's sponsors—AT&T and
Anheuser-Busch—not only spend large sums of
money lobbying the government each year, but
have issues before the ament Congress. Nader
claims this is a violation of federal law.
“Unlawful corporate contributions to the
debates corrupts the political process, tilts the
electoral playing field sharply toward the
Demoaatic and Republican parties, underau - rg
third parties and limiting the choices of voters,"
Nader said of the suit.
The CPD has scheduled three Presidential
debates, the first on Octobei 3 in Boston.
For information on Nader's efforts to join the
debates, go to nader.orj. For Pat Buchanan, go
to buchanan.org. ©
.ik
/
them Me
The Art of Collectives from the 50's, 60 s & 70's!
gift certificotes cvoitoVe
940 V. Erood St. #2 • hon-Sot 12p*-5p»
706-353.3299 • crti»on*t>e«soutft.nrt • set'S ui efioy
glosses
dishes
clothes
coffee
tobies
sofos
ond
wore
We hove
onew
shipment
to
help
decorote
you
pod.
peaLeasy
269 east broad st
546.5556
TRANSPORTATION • LAND USE • SMART GROWTH • CLEAN AIR AND WATER • QUALITY OF LIFE
Friday, September 8 7:00 UGA Chapel:
A presentation by James Howard Kunstler
Nationally known author of THE GEOGRAPHY OF NOWHERE
Followed by a special reception sponsored by the Athens-Clarke Hertitage Foundation
Saturday, September 9 9:00 College Square:
1M 1 1 v •
TOUR DE SPRAWL 2000 a bike and bus tour featuring:
James Kunstler The Problems of Automobile-Dependent Development
Learie renter Smart Growth: Preserving Open Space and Agriculture
To be aaouaced Sprawl and Affordable Housing Issues
MHl NM (Prince Bcffleworics) Infill Development and Smart Growth
DiHBHatoes Sprawls Effect on Water Quality
Special thanks to TOUR DE SPRAWL sponsors:
ATHENS-CLARKE HERITAGE FOUNDATION, INC. • UGA INSTITUTE OF ECOLOGY
UGA SCHOOL OF LAW • UGA SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT • SIERRA CLUB GEORGIA
CHALLENGE TO SPRAWL CAMPAIGN • GEORGIA RIVER NETWORK • R.E.M./ATHENS
WINBURN, LEWIS Cr BARROW, PC • ATHENS LAND TRUST • OCONEE RIVER LAND
TRUST • EARTHFARE, INC. • SANDY CREEK NATURE CENTER • FLAGPOLE MAGAZINE
DIXON’S BICYCLES • SUNSHINE BIKES • BIG CITY BREAD • JITTERY JOE’S
Pre-reqistration Is $ I 5 with shirt/$ 1 0 w/o. Day-of-event is $20 with shirt/$ I 5 w/o
v T-shirts guaranteed only for pre-registered participants. Late registration ends August 30
For more information please visit www.bikeathens.coin/tour or call 425-0868
Organized by BikeAthens, a multi-modal transportation group
Visit our brand-new website at www.bikeathens.com
AUGUST 23, 2000 FLAGPOLE B