The Gateway Traffic committee could go "poof" if enough residents in the community speak their minds over the next 24 hours. The traffic committee has outlived its usefulness and is now simply grasping for straws to seem important. It's time residents put a stop to this crazy spending.
When the committee was created years ago it was to deal with additional traffic and speeding caused by non-stop construction trucks. As we all know that is no longer an issue and the committee has become a revolving door of residents that lacks direction and was basically on life support three weeks ago. The Supervisors were berating the traffic committee when they stopped coming to meetings to file a report, which they are required to do. Now all of a sudden they want our money to conduct a meaningless study. When this committee requests taxpayer funds to conduct redundant and worthless studies it's time the people speak out and push for change. The challenge will be knowing how many residents it takes to convince 3 out of 5 Supervisors that the committee must go.
In a matter of weeks, perhaps days, Lee County and the Boston Red Sox are going to begin construction on a brand new mini-Fenway park adjacent to our community just of Daniels. A new neighbor, by all accounts from our previous two town-hall meetings, that most Gateway residents want to have. Lee County paid for a traffic study that concluded there would be no negative traffic impact to Gateway. After all, the Red Sox play 15 spring training games a year.
That study did not satisfy Traffic Committee Tamara Sendewicz who requested the traffic committee be allocated $5,000 to conduct another traffic study. It's as if she and the committee did not trust the Lee County study. But more importantly, even if a new study produced somewhat different results, there is nothing anyone can do about the stadium. It's being built. The time for protest is long gone. The district has already gotten an estimate from a consultant to conduct the study and all that is left is for the Supervisors to give their final approval for the funds.
Supervisor Gary Neubauer plans to bring the issue up at the Supervisors meeting Thursday night. And, he's asking for your feedback. Time is of the essence. If Neubauer has enough resident input to convince his colleagues to reject the funding, he may also be able to talk them into dissolving the committee. After all, when it's over it's over. The park committee was dissolved because it was no longer needed. It's time the traffic committee was also sent to the glue factory. Finally, the residents may get a win over the government. The only way to reduce waste and useless government spending is for the residents to do it themselves.
Send Gary Neubaur an e-mail today. Don't expect that your neighbor will take care of this for you. We all need to get involved. All you need to send him is a few short lines.
