Multimodal

Tonight the Kissimmee City Commission will have a second and final hearing on the adoption of ordinance changes to adopt a Multimodal Transportation District. This basically means that the commission is adopting language that shows they are 'kinda-sort-of' interested in improving transportation options in the City. This is a good first step considering that most of those who are now singing of the praises of this 'Get Out of Transportation Jail Free Card', are the very individuals who let public transportation grind to a halt for many in the community who rely on it every day. Don't worry though, years of damage to our public transportation system due to funding cuts so round-about fountains could be added will be wiped away with the adoption of any ordinance with the word 'Multimodal' in it.

One thing that shocked the WayneWho staff in reading this proposed ordinance was that it would amend the Bicycle/Pedestrian plan. We were shocked because from what we can tell from trying to get around town on foot these days, the current plan resembles a scene from 'Death Race 2000' starring David Carradine where 'Hit and Run driving is no longer a felony, it's a national sport!' While we have heard the election year rhetoric of creating a 'Walkable Community,' we have yet to hear any reports of any of our elected officials walking around town to see if we really have one. For those of us who do walk, we know that every time you try to navigate any of the ill-conceived sidewalks or crosswalks it feels more like someone has applied a point system to vehicles trying to hit you whether you were in a crosswalk or not. If 'Multimodal' means jump or dive out of harms way, then this plan is the one the community has been dealing with for years.

In the end, this shiny new ordinance is not really about the community as much as it is about the city scoring more grant money to build light rail stations that no one can get to while neglecting the transportation needs we already have. The ordinance does much more than this when you dig into it though. This ordinance also becomes the blueprint on how new development in the city will be squashed under the more mounds of red tape. Now new projects will have to jump through even more hoops to get approved which is always great when trying to jump start an economy.

Just Remember - Fountains are worth 200 points and points are doubled if it is a round-about fountain.