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GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: A bridge to the future redux Comment By Roy Sutton DailyTidings.com By Roy Sutton Posted May. 5, 2016 at 4:33 PM By Roy Sutton Posted May. 5, 2016 at 4:33 PM » Social News It was not surprising, but unfortunate, that a guest opinion piece in the Daily Tidings of May 3 was titled “Nevada neighbors don’t want bridge.” This well-written opinion piece by Jim Flint was intended to summarize the result of the April 28 Ashland Transportation Commission public discussion meeting on the proposal for a bridge across Bear Creek connecting West Nevada Street with East Nevada Street. The title was unfortunate because the neighbors in general were objecting to just one type of bridge: one that would include two lanes of automobile traffic. I agree with Mr. Flint’s and his neighbors’ concern about having a lot of automobile traffic on the rather narrow, curved route in close proximity to residential buildings. There was support at the meeting for a bridge if it was just for pedestrian and bicycle travel over the creek. A more appropriate title for Mr. Flint’s letter would have been “Nevada neighbors don’t want automobile bridge.” One thing that Mr. Flint didn’t reference is that several speakers spoke in favor of considering a bridge that would accommodate not only pedestrians and bicycles, but also emergency vehicles and a bus — but no automobiles. Although this concept will require further analysis and cost estimates, I didn’t notice any opposition by the neighbors to that type of bridge other than concern about the cost and the placement of the bridge so that it would survive a “500-year flood.” I had a letter published in the Daily Tidings of Jan. 27 with the title “A bridge to the future.” In that piece, I said a Nevada Street bridge would enable a bus route that would serve many hundreds of Ashland residents who are not served by public transportation — including, of course, the “Nevada neighbors.” I won’t repeat all of the benefits of such a route because one can find my letter by Googling “ashland daily tidings bridge to the future.” Since I feel the theme of that letter should still be in play, I have added the word “redux” to the original title. One very unfortunate aspect of Mr. Flint’s letter of May 3 is his misunderstanding of — and woefully inappropriate interpretation of — the comments of commissioner David Young toward the end of the meeting. I know and greatly respect Mr. Young, and he had no intention to “chastise the people in attendance for coming ‘at the last minute’ instead of early in the discussion.” On the contrary, Mr. Young greatly appreciated the public input at that meeting, but regretted that the commission hadn’t had it throughout the commission’s public meetings. Being a commission member is very demanding in time commitments and, thus, there is quite a personal sacrifice in order to benefit the public. It is quite frustrating to serve in that capacity without regular input and feedback from the public. Mr. Young was simply commenting on the contrast of the huge public input at the April 28 meeting versus its virtually total absence at their other meetings when proposals are discussed and developed. On the issue of getting public presence at their regular meetings — and those of the 13 or more other Ashland commission and committee meetings — I have an apology to make. At the end of my guest opinion of Feb. 17, I implied that I would soon initiate a process — called Ashland CAN — that would improve city/citizen relations and actions by facilitating public knowledge of the happenings at those meetings. The letters in CAN stand for Citizens Awareness Network. I apologize that my initiating of this process has been delayed by personal issues, but I hope to return to it before long. Roy Sutton lives in Ashland. By Roy Sutton DailyTidings.com By Roy Sutton Posted May. 5, 2016 at 4:33 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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