Thursday, July 14, 2016

Blakespear un-flip-flops (re-flip-flops?) on east side rail trail

Cardiff's No (East Side) Rail Trail:
Blakespear is flopping again!!!!! This is from her partner's newsletter (Shaffer)
Council member Blakespear expressed unhappiness with her relationship with SANDAG and what she perceived as unfair terms of the proposed MOU. She proposed that we ask the newly formed Coastal Mobility and Livability Working Group (see above) to consider whether we should stay with the currently proposed Highway 101 alignment or reconsider the east side with additional "concessions" from SANDAG to accommodate the local community. This elicited a response from the Mayor that she would never support the east side. She felt that SANDAG had demonstrated their willingness and ability to listen to community input and it was the City Council that wasn't listening when we originally supported the east side plan.

SHE IS TRYING TO GET THE EAST SIDE ALIGNMENT BACK.

Write or call Blakespear and let her know how you are greatly against this. 760-633-2620

cblakespear@encinitasca.gov
And:
Please email SANDAG right now. Here is the email address Tessa.lero@sandag.org They have a meeting tomorrow at 9 am to discuss the Coastal Rail Trail. The citizens need to let them know we are in favor of the west side alignment.

Here is my letter,

Hi:

I am writing to let you know that my group, http://www.norailtrail.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/norailtrail/ is in complete agreement with putting the Coastal Rail Trail on the west side of the Rail Road Tracks along coast HWY in Encinitas. Our group is called No Rail Trail because we did not support the city council member's decision to put the CRT on the east side of the Rail Road Tracks.

Please don't let the failure of our city council members representing our wishes effect your decision. We do not blame SANDAG for this. Our group has well over 2,000 members and you have received an email from each one of these members when they joined the group. As a matter of fact our city has never had more of a response on any issue that this one.

Please do the right thing and approve the Coastal Rail Trail west side alignment.

Best,
Chris Swanner
Cardiff by the Sea,

12 comments:

  1. Shaffer did not capture what occurred. Blakespeare said IF Coastal Commission were to refuse to allow the rail trail on the west side of 101, then SANDAG would be in the position of needing to complete the rail trail, and she speculated on getting concessions for having it on the east side. She was thinking out loud through all the contingencies. At least that's what I heard.

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  2. Nice try Catherine!!!

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  3. Blakespear reviewed her list with Ms. Lee's from LTC and nobody else (this was caught on tape). She strategically manipulated the list to get the needed votes she wanted to move the trail back to the East side.

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    1. She added Chris Swanner to the list because he has a large network and was the most active no trail person. She took Jerome Stocks off the list, which is what Ms. Lees likely wanted to talk about. If she wanted the trail on the east side she would not have flip flopped in the first place.

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  4. The City fights the Coastal Commission on plenty of things - why so passive all of a sudden??

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  5. Catherine is the bolm. Lisa no so.

    my trust is with catherine. there is more to this story.

    Caltherine is always for better mobility and higher quality of life.

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    1. Maybe she can Mobil her way out of town. She'll be the worst mayor ever. ( And she hasn't been elected yet- can you say more staff, worse roads, increase in pensions and salaries, more homeless, more noise and drunks downtown, more traffic, more stupid spending- are there other abondoned buildings full of asbestos and lead paint she can attach her name to??, more over budget- behind schedule construction projects.). She'll be the worst ever.

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    2. higher quality of life? The facts do not support you. Blakespear is for higher traffic (increased density) higher levels of pollution (increased density) higher levels of demand on the environment (increased density) higher levels of noise in the community (increased density). It has been my opinion that Blakespear never intended to move the rail trail - and like Jerome the sign-violator Stocks- Blakespear always wanted to politically blame SANDAG after appearing she supported neighbors when she supported Regionalism instead.

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  6. SANDAG first offered Encinitas the west-side alignment in 2015. They should have never offered this without changing the 2014 PWP or showing the conditions regarding safety, environmental, or physical were met. The environmental case can be made now, perhaps the others. Wrong order. This would have been an issue even if there were no flip flop.


    "City and SANDAG staff presented the west-side alignment and heard concerns from the Coastal Commission staff about the consistency of that alignment with the North Coast Corridor’s Public Works Plan (PWP), which was adopted in 2014.

    Specifically, that plan stated that there would have to be a “safety, environmental or physical reason” to move section 39C of the rail trail from the east to the west side of the tracks. The Coastal Commission had an additional traffic concern as well."

    http://www.encinitasadvocate.com/news/2016/jul/14/encinitas-city-council-coastal-rail-trail-sandag/

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    1. But the article also said:

      "Shaffer and some of her colleagues did emphasize one ray of hope that came out of the July 12 meeting with the Coastal Commission. While staff was forceful in its concerns about a west-side rail trail alignment being inconsistent with language in the PWP, commissioner Cox was more positive, leading council members to believe that the Coastal Commission could rule in favor of allowing a west-side alignment, should Encinitas (and SANDAG) decide to go forward with that plan."

      The west side alignment can happen if Shaffer doesn't deliberately sabotage what most residents want.

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  7. I love politics.

    When your guy does it, it's a flip-flop. Shameless infirmity!

    When my guy does it, it's a careful consideration of new facts. Prudent leadership!

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  8. WCV,

    Please don't edit the self-selected name of a community group to suit your agenda.

    The proper name of this community group is "No Rail Trail" with no parentheses.

    That's the name they chose, and it's an accurate and complete description of their objective.

    After the council meeting this week, it looks like they just might get their way. All citizens have a right to know the true name and purpose of this group, so we know who to hold accountable when we don't get a trail.

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