A Salute To Joe Wallace

(photo credit: courierpress.com)

Yesterday, a reader of the Evansville Courier & Press decided to write-in to the paper claiming to be tired of reading the articles written by Joe Wallace.

First of all, I would just like to say how great of a guy Joe is. These past few years, Joe has helped me get my foot in the door in the Evansville community whether it be serving as the Vice-President in my group Tri-State Tomorrow, posting my ideas for Roberts Stadium and Kleymeyer Park on the City-County Observer, or simply giving me advice on who I should talk to about my different projects.

There is no doubt that Joe is a HUGE asset to the Evansville community, and this just frustrates the heck out of city hall. If we can ever get people like Joe Wallace into office, we might just get somewhere.

In an effort to pay tribute and thanks to Joe Wallace, I have compiled the following list of attributes about Joe Wallace. Enjoy.. (Note: These jokes were obtained from http://www.thechucknorrisfacts.com/ . They are based on the jokes from that site but replaced with the words Joe Wallace for Chuck Norris)..

- Joe Wallace counts to infinity.... Twice.

- Death had a near Joe Wallace experience.

- Superman wears Joe Wallace pajamas to bed.

- Joe Wallace has already been to Mars; that's why there are no signs of life there.

- If you can see Joe Wallace, he can see you. If you can't see Joe Wallace you may be only seconds away from death.

- Joe Wallace doesn't have to look both ways before he crosses a street.

-They once made a Joe Wallace toilet paper, but it wouldn't take crap from anybody.

-Joe Wallace is 1/8th Cherokee. This has nothing to do with ancestry, the man ate a freaking Indian.

-There is no chin behind Joe Wallace' beard. There is only another fist.

-In fine print on the last page of the Guinness Book of World Records it notes that all world records are held by Joe Wallace, and those listed in the book are simply the closest anyone else has ever gotten.

-The chief export of Joe Wallace is pain.

-Joe Wallace is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.

-The Great Wall of China was originally created to keep Joe Wallace out. It failed miserably.

-Crop circles are Joe Wallace' way of telling the world that sometimes corn needs to lie the heck down.

-Joe Wallace is ten feet tall, weighs two-tons, breathes fire, and could eat a hammer and take a shotgun blast standing.

-Joe Wallace is a man of few words. Joe Wallace is not a man of few roundhouse kicks to the face.
-The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse actually live in Joe Wallace's fist.

-Joe Wallace made Ellen Degeneres straight.

-Joe Wallace kicked Neo out of Zion , now Neo is "The Two"

-Joe Wallace' iPod came with a real charger instead of just a USB cord

-Joe Wallace knows where Carmen Sandiego is.

-Rudolph has a red nose because he got lippy and Joe Wallace roundhouse kicked him across the face several times

-China was once bordering the United States, until Joe Wallace roundhouse kicked it all the way through the Earth.

-Joe Wallace is what Willis was talking about

-If you have five dollars and Joe Wallace has five dollars, Joe Wallace has more money than you.

-Joe Wallace sent Jesus a birthday card on December 25th and it wasn't Jesus’ birthday. Jesus was to scared to correct Joe Wallace and to this day December 25th is known as Jesus' birthday.

-When Joe Wallace had surgery, the anesthesia was applied to the doctors.

-Joe Wallace once broke the land speed record on a bicycle that was missing its chain and the back tire.

-Multiple people have died from Joe Wallace giving them the finger.

-Joe Wallace once tried to wear glasses. The result was him seeing around the world to the point where he was looking at the back of his own head.

-If Joe Wallace is late, time better slow the heck down

-Joe Wallace sleeps with a night light. Not because Joe Wallace is afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of Joe Wallace

-Joe Wallace can touch MC Hammer.

-A Handicap parking sign does not signify that this spot is for handicapped people. It is actually in fact a warning, that the spot belongs to Joe Wallace and that you will be handicapped if you park there.

-Joe Wallace frequently donates blood to the Red Cross. Just never his own.

-There is no such thing as tornados. Joe Wallace just hates trailer parks.

-Joe Wallace never cries, because of this when he's sad he roundhouse kicks himself and it makes him feel better since he knows he is the only one who can survive the roundhouse.

-Joe Wallace does not procreate, he breeds

-When asked what type of vehicle he drives, Joe Wallace responded slyly with "Don't you mean what kind of vehicle drives me?"

-Joe Wallace doesn't worry about changing his clock twice a year for daylight savings time. The sun rises and sets when Joe tells it to.

-Joe Wallace was the fourth Wiseman. He brought baby Jesus the gift of “beard”. Jesus wore it proudly to his dying day. The other Wisemen, jealous of Jesus’ obvious gift favoritism, used their combined influence to have Joe omitted from the Bible. Shortly after all three died of roundhouse kick related deaths.

-Joe Wallace used live ammunition during all shoot-outs. When a director once said he couldn’t, he replied, “Of course I can, I’m Joe Wallace,” and roundhouse kicked him in the face.

-If paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, and scissors beats paper, what beats all 3 at the same time? Answer: Joe Wallace.

-When his martial arts prowess fails to resolve a situation, Joe Wallace plays dead. When playing dead doesn’t work, he plays zombie.

-Although it is not common knowledge, there are actually three sides to the Force: the light side, the dark side, and Joe Wallace.

-Scientists used to believe that diamond was the world’s hardest substance. But then they met Joe Wallace, who gave them a roundhouse kick to the face so hard, and with so much heat and pressure, that the scientists turned into artificial Joe Wallace.

-God offered Joe Wallace the gift to fly, which he swiftly declined for super strength roundhouse ability.

-When Joe Wallace was denied a Bacon McMuffin at McDonalds because it was 10:35, he roundhouse kicked the store so hard it became a KFC.

-Joe Wallace drinks napalm to quell his heartburn.

-A duck’s quack does not echo. Joe Wallace is solely responsible for this phenomenon. When asked why he will simply stare at you, grimly.

-Joe Wallace once tried to defeat Garry Kasparov in a game of chess. When Norris lost, he won in life by roundhouse kicking Kasparov in the side of the face.

-Joe Wallace’ roundhouse kick is so powerful, it can be seen from outer space by the naked eye.

-Joe Wallace doesn’t believe in Germany.

-If you want a list of Joe Wallace’ enemies, just check the extinct species list.

-Joe Wallace has never blinked in his entire life. Never.

-Joe Wallace doesn’t need to swallow when eating food.

-If Superman and The Flash were to race to the edge of space you know who would win? Joe Wallace.

-Ironically, Joe Wallace’ hidden talent is invisibility.

-Joe Wallace owns the greatest poker face of all-time. It helped him win the 1983 world series of poker despite him holding just a joker, a 2 of clubs, a 7 of spades, and a green number 4 from Uno and a monopoly ‘get out of jail free’ card.

-Joe Wallace invented water.

-Joe Wallace invented a language that incorporates karate and roundhouse kicks. So next time Joe Wallace is kicking your tail, don’t be offended or hurt, he may be just trying to tell you he likes your hat.

-Joe Wallace went looking for a bar but couldn’t find one. He walked to a vacant lot and sat there. Sure enough within an hour an a half someone constructed a bar around him. He then ordered a shot, drank it, and then burned the place to the ground. Joe Wallace yelled over the roar of the flames, “always leave things the way you found em!”

-Joe Wallace is Luke Skywalker’s real father.

-Contrary to popular belief, Joe Wallace, not the box jellyfish of northern Australia, is the most venomous creature on earth. Within 3 minutes of being bitten, a human being experiences the following symptoms: fever, blurred vision, beardrash, tightness of the jeans, and the feeling of being repeatedly kicked through a car windshield.

-Joe Wallace does not use spell check. If he happens to misspell a word, Oxford will simply change the actual spelling of it.

-In the original pilot for Star Trek Next Generation, Joe Wallace can be seen powering the USS Enterprise warp drive with his roundhouse kicks.

-Joe Wallace isn’t lactose intolerant. He just doesn’t put up with lactose’s crap.

-Joe Wallace doesn’t eat. Rather he kicks tail until he’s full.

-Scientists in Washington have recently conceded that, if there were a nuclear war, all that would remain are cockroaches and Joe Wallace.

-Joe Wallace once threated to sue Burger King because they refused to make it his way. When asked what “his way” detailed, he replied: “with barbed wire and nails, of course”. He then roundhouse kicked the reporter for even asking.

-Helen Keller’s favorite color is Joe Wallace

-When you open a can of whoop-ass, Joe Wallace jumps out.

-There are no disabled people. Only people who have met Joe Wallace.

-Joe Wallace got a perfect score on his SAT's, simply by writing Joe Wallace for every answer.

-Aliens do exist. They're just waiting for Joe Wallace to die before they attack.

-After much debate, President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima rather than the alternative of sending Joe Wallace. It was more "humane".

-Joe Wallace doesn't see dead people. He makes people dead.

-Joe Wallace doesn't have normal white blood cells like you and I. His have a small black ring around them. This signifies that they are black belts in every form of martial arts and they roundhouse kick the crap out of viruses. That's why Joe Wallace never gets ill.

Thanks for all you do Joe!

(photo credit: U of E's flickr.com account)

We Should All Be Like Shirley James

A few days ago, construction crews placed one of the main and final bridges at Lamasco Park which will connect our entire Pigeon Creek Greenway from the Heidelbach canoe launch to the Evansville riverfront later this year.

There is no doubt that this success would not be possible without the heroic and passionate efforts from Shirley James. Very few people do I feel have the same views I do towards urban planning, the environment, and progress, but Shirley James bucks this trend as well.

Who is Shirley James?

http://alumnisandstorm.com/Obits/pics07/RIP49WattsShirleyt07.htm

"This community and its environment became her passion. She helped organize the West Side Improvement Association in 1976 and served as its president for all but two of the next 20 years, waging wars against urban sprawl, drainage problems, litter and junk yards, creek debris and other pollution.

She led development of the Howell Wetlands, was a force behind restoration of the Pagoda and volunteered her time and expertise in many other projects. But it was her tireless commitment to the Pigeon Creek Greenway for which she was best known. She served as chairman of the advisory committee for the past 18 years, as a volunteer working often full time to help plan and gain funding for the Greenway Trail, that she was convinced would add tremendously to the quality of life in Evansville.

She received many honors for her leadership, including the prestigious Rotary Club Civic Award in 2000. Shirley once told a newspaper reporter that her life had been filled with adventures similar to those in novels she read by flashlight beneath the covers late at night as a child.

She became a student of urban planning, zoning, drainage, sewage, grant-writing and other such topics, and she became known for her persistence. She was a formidable foe of commercial developments and rezoning that she believed would damage the environment. Although she often disagreed with politicians, her approach was to offer assistance rather than criticize. Glenn Boberg, chief planner for the Evansville Department of Parks and Recreation, said of Shirley, "She influences the quality of life. It can be felt.""

There are 4 core beliefs that Shirley held that I myself try to replicate in my own political, business, and urban planning career...

1. Respect the environment.

2. Encourage Smart Growth where downtown development is strongly supported while urban sprawl is strongly opposed.

3. Form your own beliefs no matter how popular or unpopular they may be with local residents, politicians, or city officials. Don't let others influence you.

4. Always promote ideas that you feel are right and always make sure you give a counter proposal against ideas you oppose.

Shirley didn't just preach these beliefs, she didn't just practice them when it was convenient, she lived by these beliefs.

Shirley James Taught Us To Respect The Environment.

Shirley was a fierce defender for our environment, and we ALL have benefited from it. One of the areas Shirley especially fought for was Garvin Park and Pigeon Creek. Back in 1995, she stood strong against a developer who wanted to put an auto salvage yard next in the area to go with the already nasty, dirty, and ugly salvage yards we already have there...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=743864

Shirley stood strong against this project, and we are still reaping the benefits today. As walkers, bikers, and joggers take a stroll down the Pigeon Creek Greenway, they will not have to look at this development and they will not have to look at a Pigeon Creek being polluted by this development.

Shirley James Introduced Us To Smart Growth

While most politicians here in Evansville couldn't care any less that we have an out of control urban sprawl with a dying downtown at the same time, Shirley fought against these problems.

In a 1981 article in the Evansville Press, Shirley laid out the vision we must have for the west side if we are going to be success in developing it while not destroying our environment...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=859799

Unfortunately, city hall hasn't been practicing the vision Shirley gave us and know we have out of control urban sprawl with a damaged environment on our west side.

Shirley James Formed Her Own Views

As most of you remember, we made a terrible mistake in Evansville by developing the land that is south of the Lloyd Expressway and west of Red Bank Road. The worst thing about it is that many politicians and city leaders who were truly against it caved in to peer pressure. Not only was Shirley against it, she also strongly believed that at least 25 acres of the land should be set aside for the Greenway. Shirley stood firmly behind her beliefs in a zoning hearing about the project...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=757264

The ironic thing about it is that if Gene Hahn would have listened to the vision Shirley gave him 17 years before about Smart Growth, the problem wouldn't even have existed. Instead, he insisted on building an urban sprawl nightmare we know as Pearl Drive which resulted in a tight land design. Luckily, there is still room to build our Greenway out to USI thanks to Shirley James!

Shirley James Stood Up For Her Beliefs

For those who live on the west side, Shirley James went to battle for you many, many times over the years. After forming the West Side Improvement Association in 1976, she made sure the west side had sufficient representation at city hall. You can read about all of her west side efforts in this article...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=859770

There's not one single person on the west side, or in the city of Evansville for that matter, who hasn't benefited from Shirley James' leadership. Today, we all enjoy our parks, our trails, our environment, and our community fellowship thanks to Shirley. She fought hard for these ideas, and when she opposed something, she always made sure she gave a counter proposal.

Unfortunately, Shirley lost her battle with cancer in 2007. To honor her, the Shirley James Gateway Plaza, which is the Pigeon Creek Greenway trail head, pays tribute to her and the history of transportation in Evansville. While I don't believe that city hall had to sacrifice our historic Robert Orr Building to get the monument, nonetheless, I am THRILLED TO DEATH that our city built this monument and placed her name on it.



Shirley is the kind of person I want to be like as I fight to get Evansville moving forward. Shirley had several beliefs that I am committed to fighting for today. Some of these beliefs are...

1. Preservation of historic buildings
2. Preservation and respect for our environment
3. Standing up for Smart Growth
4. Volunteering for anything and everything that I can to promote Evansville
5. Working fiercely and tirelessly to get new projects built in Evansville
6. Introducing you the residents of Evansville to new progressive ideas and technology
7. Always giving a counter proposal when I oppose something
8. Making sure all Evansville residents get a fair chance to participate in government
9. Making sure Evansville is on the same page and united
10. Forming my own beliefs based on my own core values rather than what is popular at the time

While I could go on and on about all the great beliefs Shirley held throughout her entire life, the important thing to take from this post is the fact that we are blessed to have had a living legend among us all these years.

In an era of political corruption, incompetence, and apathy, one person stood up to fight for what is right, what is just, and what is fair. That one person is Shirley James.

We should ALL be like Shirley James!

(photo credit: Courierpress.com)

Evansville Is Killing Itself With Urban Sprawl

Well, I finally have gotten around to the post I've been wanting to do for some time now: The effects of urban sprawl on the city of Evansville.

I really want to hit this topic hard because I believe this issue is the root of all of our problems. If we can ever solve the problem of urban sprawl, we will solve just about all of our problems, whether it be health, finances, jobs, the environment, and safety.

Wikipedia gives us a general outline of what urban sprawl is...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_sprawl

Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses (e.g. stores and residential), and various design features that encourage car dependency.

Already, most of you can see just how easy Evansville fits into this description. The pall of 50 + years over Evansville is largely due to our failure to plan. Most people don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan. Let's take a look at some of the effects of urban sprawl from wikipedia...

High car dependence
Inadequate facilities, e.g.: cultural, emergency, health, and so forth
Low public support for sprawl
High per-person infrastructure costs
Inefficient street layouts
Inflated costs for public transportation
Lost time and productivity for commuting
High levels of racial and socioeconomic segregation
Low diversity of housing and business types
High rates of obesity
Less space for conservation and parks
High per-capita use of energy, land, and water

If you didn't believe that Evansville was a victim of urban sprawl before, this list definitely should convince you. Let's break down each of these effects...

High Car Dependence

Quite possibly the worst effect on Evansville. Currently, we have no light rail and a very basic METS system. We are told that mass transit is too expensive, but we just watched the most expensive road project in Vanderburgh County history with the $25 million Green River Road expansion. We're also seeing our local planners willing to waste money on I-69 and then complain that INDOT doesn't have enough funds left over for the US 41/ Lloyd Expressway renovation. We need drastic change here in Evansville. We need a new city hall and a change of community goals if we're ever going to stop wasting massive amounts of money on roads and the automobile.

Inadequate facilities, e.g.: cultural, emergency, health, and so forth

In the past decade or so, we just watched our downtown Welborn Hospital close its doors with a new Deaconess Gateway Hospital opening way out on the I-164 Bypass. This puts our downtown residents, who are abiding by good smart growth principles, at a higher risk to their health and wellness. It also puts those who live on the west side at a high risk as well. Yes, we have Deaconess Hospital, but it can not handle both Deaconess and old Welborn's amount of patients.

Although we have the Pagoda, Angel Mounds, and the museum, we are sorely lacking in the cultural department. I'll ask you this simple question: How big of an uproar do you think this community would be in if there was a China Town established in Evansville? Simply put, it would never happen. Unfortunately, most cultural events here quickly turn into drinking events.

In regards to facilities in general, how many facilities of any kind can you mention that are state-of-the-art? Just about all of Evansville's facilities could use a major upgrade. The new arena sticks out like a sore thumb in downtown Evansville.

Low public support for sprawl

Just about all development projects on the east and west sides of town have faced stiff opposition. For example, Pearl Drive and the new development across from USI faced off against many neighborhood groups who did not want the developments (One group was called Wake Up West Side). The USI development failed while Pearl Drive managed to win approval.

On the east side, the current Target complex received such high opposition from neighbors that a fence taller than most houses in the area was constructed.

High per-person infrastructure costs

Like I said earlier, the Green River Road project was the costliest road project in Vanderburgh County history. We're also seeing massive problems with our sewer system which has gotten so bad that the EPA has had to step in and force Evansville to come up with a solution to its sewer problem. We have built sewer line after sewer line out to the east and west sides but have not updated most of our sewers in the downtown core. Our sewer problem is estimated to be in the $500 million range!

Inefficient street layouts

If you've ever been to Pearl Drive, Burkhardt Road, the Lloyd Expressway, or even the newly renovated Green River Road, you will see just how inefficient the street layouts are here in Evansville. Urban planning is severely lacking in Evansville, and it has cost us most of our urban forests.

Inflated costs for public transportation

Some say METS is affordable, some say it's way too expensive. One thing we do know: Our mass transit system cannot compete with those in smart growth cities such as Portland, Seattle, and Austin. You can't really have inflated costs when you have no costs for rail at all. Meanwhile, the bill to renovate the Lloyd Expressway, Green River Road, and build a whole new I-69 is increasing by the day due to the expanding of our city with the decreasing of our population in the city.

Lost time and productivity for commuting

There use to be a bumper sticker "Of course I'm late I took the Lloyd." Very few, if any, locals walk or ride their bike to their job due to the fact that they live on one side of town and have to commute to the other side of town. As a result, high road construction costs, long road construction delays, and a fair amount of wrecks have resulted in both high costs and lost productivity for Evansville residents.

High levels of racial and socioeconomic segregation

How many African-Americans, Chinese, Europeans, or any other non-Caucasian residents can you name that live on the far west side or in the affluent east side neighborhoods? How many rich or even working class Caucasians can you name that live on the southeast side? While we celebrated a huge milestone in abolishing segregation many years ago, Evansville still hasn't gotten the message. Our urban sprawl has brought both racial segregation as well as socioeconomic segregation where our rich elitists only live in privileged subdivisions.

Low diversity of housing and business types

I was thinking about this just yesterday. It seems like every house we have here looks exactly like the house on Roseanne. It doesn't help that our Front Door Pride program will be rebuilding houses that look just like it as well. If you drive between Burkhardt and Green River Roads, you will notice few differences between the buildings.

Before urban sprawl took over, we had great architects such as Ralph Legeman who designed his house to replicate his design for Roberts Stadium. Now, every house in every subdivision is cookie-cutter. We have become Whoville from the Dr. Seuss cartoon.

High rates of obesity

Now THIS is Evansville. Recently, we were just named the most obese city in America which also happened to be mentioned on Jay Leno's Tonight Show. Evansville is becoming obese at an alarming rate and we must convert from an automobile friendly community to a walkable and mass transit friendly community.

For those who don't believe obesity is connected to urban sprawl, think again...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050909220354.htm
http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/research/measuring-the-health-effects-of-sprawl/
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/obesity_urban_sprawl.cfm
http://www.nber.org/papers/w15436

Less space for conservation and parks

The parks we do have in Evansville have been neglected for many, many years largely due to the fact that many residents haven't cared enough to demand change from our Parks Department.

As more of our development moves out to the northeast side, more of our forests, open space, and environment is lost. Why would we want to expand to an area we know is going to have these negative consequences?

High per-capita use of energy, land, and water

Think about how much cheaper our sewer problem would be if we would have taken care of our downtown and then branched out as each section was completed. Think about how low our taxes would be if we would have only built sewers in high density areas. Just like in the categories above, our politicians, business community, and even some of our residential community have turned a blind eye to the urban sprawl problem we have built up. Now, our environment, our health, our wallets, and our future are all paying dearly for it now.

Thankfully, there is a solution. We have to adopt the beliefs of a philosophy called Smart Growth. Here are the ten basic principles of Smart Growth...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_growth

1.Mix land uses
2.Take advantage of compact building design
3.Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
4.Create walkable neighborhoods
5.Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
6.Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
7.Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities
8.Provide a variety of transportation choices
9.Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective
10.Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions

That right there is what we MUST DO if we are going to turn our town around. We need to get serious about smart urban planning and we need to do it fast. Here are a few things we need to fix.

1. Stop building in the county. Expanding Green River Road and building the new EVSC high school were terrible decisions. People follow development. Follow through with the downtown master plan and then expand out.

2. Build up before we build out. We currently only have three decent sized buildings in Evansville, the old Old National Bank building, the 5/3rd building, and the Old Courthouse. That is completely unacceptable. Instead of building one and two story building after building, let's build some nice high rises. It will give us a great skyline with a cheaper infrastructure system around it.

3. Merge the city and county. If we are ever going to rebuild our downtown, we have to prevent residents from taking advantage of downtown while not contributing to downtown. Our city should be improved for good quality urban life while our county should be kept rural and free of out of control development.

4. Build efficient transportation. We cannot keep wasting dollar after dollar on the automobile road system. All we end up getting is lost land, grid lock, fatalities, and wasted gas that damages our environment. Rail, whether it be light rail, high speed rail, commuter rail, or street car rail is cleaner, greener, faster, cheaper, safer, and smarter.

5. Change city hall. Let's be honest, our current crop of political leaders as a whole (certainly not everyone!) aren't concerned about urban sprawl. They just look at the bottom line which is blind of the negative effects of urban sprawl.

6. Improve our parks. With an improved park system, we can have both the joys of urban life with the peace of rural life which will bring residents back into our city limits. Our parks should be the pride of the region, not another hassle we have to maintain.

While urban sprawl has left a pall over Evansville that is easily twice my age, things can and will get better. But, we have to commit to change. We cannot complain about urban sprawl without willing to change ourselves. We must demand our city follow the 10 basic rules of Smart Growth.

Is Evansville ready for Smart Growth? Honestly, I do not know. But I do know one thing for sure: Let's build a smart Evansville of tomorrow!

Please Support My Latest Blog Evansville Rail

(photo credit: electronici9.com)

After many emails from you the viewers of this blog and my other blog SaveRobertsStadium.blogspot.com asking me to create a rail only blog, I have decided to do just that. For 50 + years, there has been a pall over Evansville. This pall is mainly due to the terrible decision our local leaders made to rip up our light rail and trolley systems and replace them with roads.

If Evansville is ever going to lift the pall, we must join the rest of the world in the 21st century with our transportation. It is time to shed the old ways of the automobile and get on the rails of tomorrow.

Unlike my Save Roberts Stadium blog where I support both the new arena and Roberts Stadium, I will taking the position of supporting high speed rail, light rail, freight rail, commuter rail, cable car rail, maglev rail, and personal rapid transit but will be opposing the construction of I-69. While many believe that high speed rail and I-69 would co-exist, this simply isn't true for a number of reasons...

1. There isn't enough money to go around.
2. I-69 will destroy any environmental benefits we will gain with high speed rail.
3. High speed rail is best served by using the land adjacent to the existing track's Right-of-Way.
4. Building I-69 encourages Southern Indiana to remain shackled to the automobile.
5. High speed rail needs to be in the planning stages now, not when I-69 is completed.

I can't thank you the viewers of my blogs for all of your support. When I started Evansville Moving Forward and Save Roberts Stadium, I never dreamed how popular they would be. Although building rails in Evansville will take a lot more time than it will to save Roberts Stadium or get Evansville Moving Forward, I believe that if you the viewers support this blog as much as you have supported the other two we will be successful.

Evansville has a lot of work ahead of it to bring rails of all kinds to town, so let's get to work!

(photo credit: vistadome.com)