• Home
  • Contact

Erie County Report

Erie County and PA news, analysis and opinion

Three Plans for the Erie Area – Two We Can Work With

May 21, 2016 by Paul Crowe

Lots to work with and lots to do, but Erie has potential
Lots to work with and lots to do, but Erie has potential

If you read the last post on the three plans for Erie and Erie County, you could have followed the links to see what was in each one. It’s understandable if you didn’t because it’s not the kind of reading that keeps you on the edge of your seat, but if you want to know where your tax dollars might be headed, they’re actually quite interesting. Two of them were written by people very familiar with the area and the problems that exist, one of them, Emerge 2040, is so bad we should demand our money back and wouldn’t you know it, it was, by far, the most expensive.

According to local media reports it breaks down this way: Emerge 2040 $1.8 million, Erie Refocused $137 thousand and the Downtown Master Plan $50 thousand.

In two previous articles, we noted how Emerge 2040 was really a thinly disguised plan generated by the federal government to solve problems Erie and Erie County do not have. In essence, a set of guidelines from Washington, D.C. was mildly customized and presented as a plan just for us, but if you look closely, you quickly see recommendations based on these assumptions that simply don’t apply to our area or are wildly off base.

Two statements, only one can be true

Emerge 2040:

Longer distances between residences and jobs lead to increased commuting and traffic congestion

Erie Refocused:

streets were redesigned in the mid-20th Century to handle automobile volumes that either never materialized or that no longer exist

One says we have a problem with traffic congestion, while the other says we have streets too wide because we have so little traffic, … so which is it, and which do you think reflects reality? If you think number two is closer to the truth and number one is nonsense, you’re not alone. If an easily observable item like this is so far off the mark, it’s logical to call into question all of the rest of the expert opinion in Emerge 2040 on matters that require deeper study and more thoughtful conclusions.

One is not like the others

Both Erie Refocused and the Erie Downtown Master Plan seem written by people very familiar with Erie and filled with details of the city and it’s neighborhoods, very reassuring since the studies are meant to stimulate thinking and guide the city as it moves forward.

Emerge 2040, on the other hand, is filled with dense bureaucratic prose that highlights buzzwords like livable, green and connected, but gives you the impression the planners were trying to justify their fee while hiding a map for massive government intrusion into our local community. It’s not really a study or a plan, it’s an agenda. It’s unfortunate our county executive is such a big booster of its “vision” because taxpayers will be poorly served.

Filed Under: government planning Tagged With: City of Erie, Emerge 2040, Erie County, planning, redevelopment


Like Erie County Report? Tell everyone about it. Together, we can turn Erie County around!
eriecountyreport.com

« All of the Plans for Erie and Erie County in One Place
A Modest Proposal for Parents and Students in Erie Schools »

Principles we believe in:

More freedom - Less government
Think for yourself - Do it yourself
Free markets - Made in the USA
Buy American - Hire American
---
Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

The basics:

Make it here - Not there
Export products - Not jobs

United States of America 1776-2021


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Erie Downtown Master Plan

Erie Downtown Master Plan

Erie Refocused Comprehensive Plan

Erie Refocused

Erie Port Authority Master Plan

Port Authority Master Plan

Copyright © 2022 · Erie County Report · Website by Crowe Computer Services
US Army veteran owned and operated
This website proudly Made in the USA!
Made in the USA