Friday, March 20, 2015

County Manager proposing cuts to pedestrian and bicycle programs

The Arlington County manager is proposing cutting $800,000 from the complete streets program and eliminating one of the two county staff working on bike/pedestrian planning. Rosslyn's status as a bicycle trail hub and a great place to take a walk have helped Rosslyn to become one of the greatest places in the world to live. A Rosslyn resident who bike commutes year-round declared, "Those bike/pedestrian cuts are crazy. Figuring out how to better connect Crystal City and Long Bridge Park to Rosslyn for pedestrians and cyclists is an urgent planning need."

Tight economic circumstances may require budget cuts. As a quality new organization, the Ode Street Tribune believes that complaints about specific budget cuts should be matched with proposals for alternate cuts. Instead of the proposed bike/pedestrian budget cuts, the Tribune urges equivalent school spending cuts by reducing school class time and requiring students instead to spend that time walking and cycling together around the community. That would improve students' health, increase their knowledge of civic circumstances, increase social skills, reduce school over-crowding, and reduce the school budget. Trading student classroom sitting time for community walking and cycling time would be a good choice for Arlington.

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