Evergreen project was mentioned in this Point Reyes article, an interview with Wendi Kallins, one of the founders of Safe Routes to Schools. As you may or may not know, Ms. Kallins and I, along with several other Marin citizens, are running to fill Steve Kinsey's seat, as he has decided not to seek another term. Of course, I can only join the race if I raise the funds needed to file my papers by the 16th. I humbly ask for your support in this latest effort to serve our community.
I am taking a bit to process the remarks, because, my goal for this election campaign is to elevate the political discourse, not add to the vitriol that we are all constantly bombarded with in today's media. That said, I wanted to share this excerpt from the Point Reyes article with you, because I honestly want to hear your voices. I want to know what you think and feel.
One of my goals as Supervisor is to use my communication skills to increase opportunity for civic engagement. I also plan to initiate a "Safe and Sustainable Routes" green/living streets initiative to increase permeable pathways, slow down speeding cars in our neighborhoods, increase accessibility for all modes of travel and slow down the rain to protect our families, homes and businesses from flash flooding and landslides. I want to empower our County staff. Why do we need to hire consultants for everything when we have talented and capable people ready to serve the people of Marin?
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Light: I want to ask you about another candidate, Mari Tamburo, who has been a vocal critic of Safe Routes to Schools. She has talked about her opposition to a sidewalk that was built in her neighborhood.
Kallins: We did what we always do: we had a community workshop and that’s how we came up with the idea to put a pathway on Evergreen. But it took a while for the county to find the money and when they did, they determined they could not do a pathway because there were major flooding issues on the street. If they're going to put something in, they had to deal with the flooding, and the only way to do that was with the sidewalk. A pathway would've looked more rural and I think it would've been more acceptable to neighbors. But they fixed the flooding issues, so there was a trade-off.
You have to understand that this came out of a school called Marin Horizon. Right before we got the funding, Marin Horizon had a plan to expand and had major opposition in the community. They won the permit and expanded the school, and then the sidewalk came up. These were people who were mad about the school and so they said, “Well, we can't stop the school; we will stop the sidewalk.” It serves everyone, not just a private school. It's a suburban area. And it's pretty well received right now.
Light: What spurred you to run?
Kallins: When Steve decided not to run I was devastated. He's just been so incredible. All those of us who are progressives were racking our brains about who could run. Someone said, “Why don't you run?” I said, “No, no, no.” Then it started nagging at me. This little voice went, “This is it.”
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What do you think?
Sincerely,
Mari
Related :
http://www.homesteadbeat.com/p/evergreen-sidewalk.html
http://www.maritamburo.com/2016/03/i-humbly-ask-for-your-support.html
http://www.ptreyeslight.com/article/west-marin-meet-wendi-kallins
Synopsis of the EVERGREEN AVENUE in Homestead Valley "SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOLS" Project
