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I wholeheartedly support the reduction of Twin Pairs to downtown Vero Beach.
Opponents of this allocation lack credible data, while proponents use professional research to support their plan. An unsubstantiated objection is only an opinion. My arguments will involve evidence.
Local media and social media abound with unsubstantiated claims and reviews regarding the project’s effectiveness. For example, another newspaper columnist speculates about an increase in injuries due to jaywalking, without providing evidence for this hypothesis. , Kimley-Horn’s study predicts a 54% relief in crashes after lane narrowing and a relief in speed (State Road 60 Lane Reuse Study, page 29).
Former Mayor Val Zudans said the developing population west of the city would want the seven lanes of Twin Pairs, without offering any evidence either. Kimley-Horn’s study directly refutes this claim, and by 2045. Even if reduced to two lanes downtown and planned due to population and traffic growth, no Twin Pairs room is expected to exceed 73% capacity (pages 24-25).
Critics put the cost of the task at between $1. 9 million and $3. 9 million. Still, a 2023 retail market research through the City of Vero Beach indicates that downtown is underperforming its retail outlook due to issues with streetscape design, parking, and walkability. $36 million in annual store sales and 88,000 square feet of additional retail space (page 1). Smart Growth America (2015) found that businesses prefer vibrant, walkable neighborhoods for their offices (page 27). The initial cost of the task pales in comparison to the prospect of increasing annual revenue of $36 million and attracting publicity.
The problem is criticism. A seven-lane megahighway alters the character and walkability of the neighborhood, and generates an underperforming profit engine. A similar task on Ocean Drive would face stiff opposition. Reducing the number of townhomes is a smart move to increase attractiveness. and the monetary price of the city centre.
Richard Gould, Vero Beach
Peter Buttigieg, U. S. Secretary of Transportation, explained that the infrastructure bill includes $570 million for the railroad crossing removal grant program that will be used for crossings, either by building a tunnel on the tracks or by building a bridge over the tracks.
With the increasing number of fast trains crossing the Treasure Coast, it’s vital to ask for cash to make crossings easier. The Stuart Railroad that runs along State Road A1A and where Monterey crosses the railroad tracks into the U. S. 1 would be a vital thoroughfare for traffic. and an ideal position to build an underpass or bridge.
With the increase in rail traffic, there are likely to be other people who desperately want to cross the tracks in a hurry for a child with health problems, an elderly parent, an emergency stop at a specialist, or for other reasons. It would be much safer for the public to build a bridge or overpass. Brightline has a very poor death toll along the railroad tracks.
Commissioners get an engineer’s plan for a railroad crossing and ask the Department of Transportation for the cash from the infrastructure bill before the cash is used in other Florida counties and other states. There are already 400 projects underway in 30 states.
Lizbeth Piel, Stuart
As an avid cyclist, I spend a lot of time on Sebastian Boulevard (County Road 512) between Sebastian and Fellsmere.
I must thank Indian River County for clearing the overgrown motorcycle lanes (up to partially in some areas), which particularly increases the width of my motor vehicle protection zone.
I hope the paintings will continue in other spaces in the county.
Jeff Howe, Vero Beach
According to Laurence Reisman’s column on Habitat for Humanity’s efforts in Indian River County:
Habitat has advantages over nonprofits. If there are problems, we have even more serious problems.
I wonder if Habitat is aware that it would possibly have to set aside about a third of the acreage, adding up the assets acquired through the county, for on-site water retention. I’ve had to turn down a lot of homes because of environmental issues. Problems similar to those of wetlands. Most homes have suffered a loss of about 50% due to those two problems.
Due to high interest rates, high structure costs, high land prices, government regulations and bureaucracy and lack of sufficient subsidies for buyers, we have to prevent construction for the time being and we are promoting all our properties by adding vacant land.
Jerry Flick is CEO of The Housing League Inc. , a Vero Beach housing provider.
I recently came across classified ads from the 1960s about how to live and retire in Florida.
“We’ve discovered the recipe for a happier life,” says one. Another touts a 1,226-square-foot, three-bedroom home for $70 a month. Another touts space-age homes for just $2. 18 a day.
At those prices, it’s easy to see why Florida sold itself as the “best position in the sun. “
A lot of things have been replaced over the years, but I think that description still holds true. Last year, Florida was named the nation’s fastest-growing state for the first time since 1957.
According to Zillow, Florida has overtaken New York as the second most valuable real estate market in the country. The median sales value of existing single-family homes is about $415,000, a 2-cent increase from last year.
But our beautiful state is only for the wealthy. There are still areas of the state where the median cost of a home is around $150,000. Small towns like Clewiston, Palatka, Port St. Lucie, and Lakeland attract a lot of national attention for their charm and affordability.
To maintain the greatness of our state, we cannot lose sight of the importance of considered progress to maintain critical farmland and our coastal regions.
A successful long-term expansion in Florida requires that we protect and maintain land ownership for both those who have lived here for decades and those who are new to the Sunshine State. This is how we establish the basic principles of what this state represents. and how it encourages others to settle here.
Things are changing, but I’m eager to see more classified ads about Florida being the most productive position under the sun for the next generation, knowing that this time they may just be in virtual format.
Brandon Tucker of Martin County is the director of the Florida Homeowners Association.
The Florida Department of Health just released “new guidance for newly approved COVID-19 boosters. “
The rules were formulated through Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida State Surgeon General. The “exceptional efficacy and protection considerations” indexed through Dr. Ladapo reflect his lack of experience or education in public fitness, infectious diseases, epidemiology, or clinical medicine. His PhD focuses on fitness policy, which addresses the political, logistical, commercial, and governmental facets of implementing fitness considerations and adds any experience to the practice of medicine.
Keep in mind that Dr. Ladapo has never treated a COVID patient. These rules will have to be dismissed as absurd political cronyism that can only be followed through a charlatan.
It is shameful that the Florida Department of Health has so utterly compromised its righteous reputation in the past by accepting clinical evidence and verified knowledge. I urge all physicians and other considerate individuals in the state of Florida to maintain their own health and forget about these new “guidelines. “This is nonsense.
Jere Fitts, MD, Sebastian
On October 21, Fox News promoted a very disturbing theme that “spoiled high school students are demonstrating to Hamas and voicing their hatred of Israel. “
A banner on the back of the screen read for hours: “Anti-Israel protests erupt on school campuses. “A guest commentator said, “Universities taught my generation to hate America; Are we surprised that they also hate Israel?Another commentator advised a halt to any federal investment in universities, such as Harvard, the University of Chicago, and New York University, that allow protests.
What really happened were pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campuses. Many video clips broadcast by CNN, MSNBC and even Fox show academics a difficult humane solution to the Palestinian people and a ceasefire. .
It is Fox who is at his worst, dividing Americans and creating resentment among conservative Republicans against school graduates who now constitute a staunchly Democratic voting bloc. Pew Research shows that only 31% of registered Republicans have a high school degree. About 58% of graduates voted for Joe Biden.
It is disgusting that Fox uses his propaganda to irritate his believers by falsely portraying the idealistic efforts of academics who have been the target of conservative resentment for many years.
The protesting academics were saying what they have been saying from Vietnam to Iraq until today: “Give peace a chance. “Israel has suffered a terrible terrorist attack and deserves the support of the world. The students say we won’t have to kill Gaza’s youth to protect Israel’s youth; that they are not slandered through Fox News.
Bill Wink, South Hutchinson Island
Our country faces many pressing issues, but nothing can be done until we know what truth and lies are.
The greatest fundamental challenge facing our country and the one that tears us apart is that of the theft of the 2020 elections. Our country elected a new Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives on October 25 and it turns out that the number one criterion for electing that user who voted to overturn the election. I’m scared for the 2024 election.
There are a number of indisputable facts about the election.
In 2018, Donald Trump hired Christopher Krebs to oversee election integrity. Krebs, a longtime Republican, was unanimously elected in the Senate to lead a new agency. In the past, he worked in the Bush administration and as director of cybersecurity policy at Microsoft.
To determine the voting irregularities, his signature was aided by the NSA, the FBI, and the Secret Service. After the election and after repeated emails and tweets from Trump, Krebs and his security team issued a statement that “the November 3rd election was the largest safe in American history. “President Trump immediately fired him via a tweet.
Trump issued statements and tweets saying that Dominion Voting Systems machines were suppressing millions of votes and changing millions. Fox News, repeating those lies, reached an $800 million settlement with Dominion over a defamation lawsuit.
At the time of writing, 62 lawsuits have been filed and lost to challenge the election results, most of them before Trump-appointed judges.
There are many other people and facts that I can cite, but the end result is that our country derives much of its strength and the admiration of other countries from the nonviolent movement of power. January 6 and the continued denial of elections are undermining our democracy and our country’s status in the world.
Jo Fuller, Port St. Lucia
I wasn’t afraid of zombies, witches, or evil clowns hiding on Halloween. What scares me is the meat industry.
It is the industry that deprives, mutilates, cages, and then slaughters billions of cows, pigs, turkeys, and chickens – animals that feel joy, affection, sadness, and pain, as we do – that exposes undocumented personnel to chronic injury at a price below the living wage and exploits farmers and ranchers by dictating market prices.
It’s the industry that contributes more than any other to our epidemic of diabetes, core disease, stroke, and cancer, and then bullies the fitness government into issuing fitness warnings based on nutritional guidelines.
It’s an industry that punishes global hunger by giving nutritious corn and soy to animals instead of humans.
It is the industry that generates more water pollutants than all other human activities, the one that emits more greenhouse gases than all transportation, the one that destroys more habitat than all other industries.
Luckily, my local grocery store has a wide variety of plant-based meats, milks, cheeses, and ice cream, as well as a colorful diversity of new fruits and vegetables. And sales of plant-based foods are increasing every year. Here, there is nothing to worry about.
Pete Midland, Port St. Lucia
This article appeared in Treasure Coast newspapers: Vero Beach Twin Pairs: Avoid Emotions; Brightline Solution | Lyrics
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