Last breath for Red Bridge

The Friends of Red Bridge vow to keep on fighting and provide a near dictionary definition of why nobody likes neighborhood activists . . .

Again, it's hard not to admire their tenacity but there's no mention here of how Mayor Funky is really the one who let them down with empty promises of sidewalks and very little show of public support after he got his votes.

Also, their attacks against Councilman Sharp are completely unwarranted and nothing but political hackery considering that 6th District at-large Council person Cathy Jolly pretty much held the same viewpoint as Sharp but going after her would be impossible considering how popular she is . . . AND there really isn't much indication that the group represents more than a small contingent of Red Bridge folks given that so few people want to get involved in politics since it's obviously pretty hopeless for small timers if this livid letter is any indication.

I'm including the unedited e-mail which just might have been written in anger:

"No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up."
- Lily Tomlin, actress and comedian (b. 1939)

As you have probably either read in the paper or heard from your neighbors, the Parks commissioners opted to accept the big-bridge plan for Red Bridge Road that was submitted by Bucher, Willis, and Ratliff (BWR). Your representatives for Friends of Red Bridge spent many hours researching data, reviewing your comments, and analyzing the information in Michael Wallwork's report in order to put together our report to present. Unfortunately, the commissioners clearly had no intent of even reading the report. Our presentation was cut from 20 minutes to 10, and we were unable to make our case. Many of you also testified on our behalf, but the end result was to play into their clumsy attempt at creating the false appearance of an open, democratic, objective and inclusive process.

Our whole experience with the Parks Department has been a sham.

Information we have received since last Tuesday indicates that Councilman Sharp, though professing his support for us prior to being elected, was in fact never in support of a smaller, neighborhood-friendly bridge. He also has been repeating the oft-heard phrase that Friends of Red Bridge is just a handful of people. Perhaps
the most disappointing of our recent gleanings is that one of the Parks commissioners has actually stated in a phone conversation that the Councilman threatened the Parks Department budget by reminding the commissioner that it's the council who must approve it.

Another meme (a contagious idea that replicates like a virus) that is being passed around by Sharp and other shills for the political establishment is that "Friends of Red Bridge got a lot of what they wanted". We'd like to know what we got, because it looks like the BWR plan is the scarriest once since the original, 2003 plan -- the one that Chuck Eddy said was "never a serious proposal". This idea is supported mostly by false information; for example: They say the speed limit was reduced from 45 to 35 MPH when in fact all proposals were to maintain the 35 MPH posted speed. The BWR plan will not only ruin the Minor Park experience, it will lead to increased industrial use of Red Bridge Road, and pressure to widen it to four or six lanes -- something that our engineer pointed out will increase further with the development of the Richards-Gebaur property into a freight, trucking, and warehouse center.

The future of south Kansas City does not look good for those concerned with our qualitiy of life.

Teresa Edens
Craig Morea
for Friends of Red Bridge

The Friends of Red Bridge proposal for Red Bridge Road, called the
Saving PLAN (Parks, Lives and Neighborhoods) can be downloaded at
http://www.redbridgeroad.org/Saving_PLAN

Damn, somebody forgot to count to ten.