“We have $4 million and would like to make your community more sustainable. But we cannot find a location to make this investment. Can you provide assistance?”
No, this isn’t the latest spam e-mail promising to deposit millions into your bank account.
City Utilities has been searching in vain for five years to find a site for its new bus terminal but has found resistance at every turn, as this is a classic issue of NIMBY, or “not in my back yard.”
The project is challenging due to the bus station’s public perception (to which I have a front-row seat each day from the Urban Districts Alliance office), the Federal Transportation Authority’s strict evaluation criteria and a Midwest culture of vehicular independence.
But Springfield’s business community has a proven track record of facing tough issues.
It brought much needed resources and mentors to Springfield Public Schools through the Partners in Education program. It bolstered City Council and the Springfield R-XII Board of Education by becoming more active in local elections. The business community benefits nonprofits in transformational ways.
Just look at the American Cancer Society’s Cattle Baron’s Ball and Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks’ Hooked on Dance – two events that have raised millions of dollars, alone.
Covered in asphalt
Major employers should be more active in transportation policy.
Every on-site parking space increases overhead through property taxes, maintenance and security. Those expenses become substantial when it translates into acres of asphalt and parking garages. Vehicles are costly for employees, and transportation accounts for 16 percent of household expenses. The impact on the environment also should be taken into account given the startling carbon footprint for a high ratio of cars to employees.
According to the Springfield Chamber of Commerce’s demographic service, the 2000 Census noted the 109,000 workers in Springfield had an 18-minute commute on average, and a large majority, 82 percent, drove alone to work. Only 10 percent carpooled, 3 percent worked at home, 3 percent walked and a measly 1 percent used public transportation.
More than 150 businesses and institutions have signed the chamber’s Pledge for Sustainability. Undoubtedly, some could step up and become instrumental in exploring transportation options on an entirely new scale. Imagine the benefits for employers, employees and the environment if we cut the number of parking spaces allocated to employees by half.
Green and lean examples
Recent chamber leadership visits to Grand Rapids, Mich., and Little Rock, Ark., have demonstrated that public transportation facilities can have a positive impact on economic development and center city revitalization.
We need more sustainable transportation options in Springfield. CU has secured millions of dollars for a bus transfer facility, and the city has developed a bicycle commuter route called The Link.
The missing piece is identifying employers whose workers could use these services every day.
The entrepreneurship and creativity that created “the granddaddy of all outdoor stores,” aka Bass Pro Shops; 100 miles of Ozarks Greenways trails; and a nationally recognized Springfield-Greene County Parks system can work with City Utilities to design a transportation system for the 21st century.
Now is the time for our community to come together to create a vibrant hub for buses, bikes and pedestrians that motivates everyone to be more green and lean.
Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance, can be reached at rusty@itsalldowntown.com.[[In-content Ad]]
