Ward 5 Update

By Councilmember Richard Fimbres (Ward 5)

Close to four years ago, the Mayor and Council discussed the Broadway widening issue and the proposed eight lane roadway. I want to remind everyone that the eight lane project was a City transportation plan drafted in 1987.

The original plan was only to go to the north side and one Ward. The Mayor and Council met on this and a compromise was achieved. The project would also take in areas south on Broadway, encompassing two Wards, including Ward 5.

The Mayor and Council voted then to have the Citizens Task Force review this plan and to present the Mayor and Council with other options for consideration. The Citizens Task Force brought forward a proposed six lane plan, the Mayor and Council approved the concept and sent it to the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) for consideration, since it was an approved ballot measure in 2006 and the RTA compromised, voting to approve six lanes.
City staff and the Citizens Task Force proceeded on a concept design for the new plan. Questions were raised and the Mayor and Council had voted to extend the time and work of the Citizen’s Task Force, requiring a vote by the RTA for further funding to continue the work. The RTA authorized further funding for Staff and the Citizen’s Task Force to continue their work.
The concept proposal was discussed further, delayed twice due to questions and on June 9, 2015, the Concept Plan was approved by a 7 to 0 vote.
On April 5, 2016, the Mayor and Council held a public hearing on the proposed 30% design plan, hearing people at the meeting and through comments who favored building eight lanes, supporting the six lane proposal, opposing the six lane proposal and doing nothing and killing the project.
If the project is delayed further, the cost for any further action would have to come from the City’s pocket. If the Mayor and Council had voted to kill the project, the City would have been on the hook to the RTA alone for close to $8 million dollars. Plus, there was the $1.7 million the City had spent on early acquisitions and the more than $3 million on the design process during the three years of work.

If the project had been killed, it would cost up to $40 million just to repair Broadway in its current configuration.

The talk of being able to spend the $71 million dollars earmarked for the road construction was just that, talk. $68 million was from the RTA and they would have pulled the money if the project was not moved forward.

This Mayor and Council, with the City Manager and staff, worked together to deal with the projected budget deficit of $42 million. I was not again prepared to scuttle that work at that point. Compromise was reached again for our budget and was reached for this proposal.
This project has gone on for nearly ten years, and we can’t delay it any further. I made the motion to move the compromise proposal forward, that will deal with the questions and concerns raised about historic buildings, the bus pullouts and other issues raised, as well as the help from Mr. Vint and the other volunteers. The motion was approved 5 to 1.
Property owners and businesses will be consulted by City Staff and the RTA Mainstreet Business program. Public workshops will be held with regard to the questions raised, the streetscape and landscaping to get input from the community for the vision of the corridor. In addition, architect Bob Vint and other architects and designers offered to assist, at no cost, to help with this project.

This compromise plan will be refined as it progresses further in the process.