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BUGLE CALL
LAST STAND
Newsletter Summer, 2003 (excerpts
thereof)
"Never doubt that a small
group of thoughtful, dedicated citizens can change the world; indeed
it’s the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead
Charting a
Course for Cruise Ships - by
Nancy Klingener and Elliot Baron
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In the last 12 months,
more than 1 million people have arrived in Key West by cruise ship.
The number of
passengers arriving in April of this year was 8.9 percent higher
than April 2002. In the first four months of this year, we are
running 11.6 percent higher than the first four months of 2002.
These skyrocketing
increases in cruise ship disembarkations to Key West
continue even as the public has
started to make their voices heard on the subject. The catalyst to
this public discussion was Last Stand. |
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Key West's debates about
the cruise ship industry,
kicked off by a standing-room-only Keys in the Balance event in
January, led eventually to the largest City Summit ever. Last Stand
was the only panelist at the city event to represent "quality of
life." Consensus points that emerged from the City Summit included
higher disembarkation fees and spreading the passengers around the
island so they're not all concentrated on a few blocks of lower
Duval Street. Key West's cruise ship dilemma was the topic of
stories in the New York Times, Reuters and other international media
and they quoted Last Stand board members. |
City Manager Julio Avael
reported to the City Commission in May
about ongoing negotiations with the
cruise industry and his proposal for raising disembarkation fees.
Although public comment was not accepted and a vote wasn't actually
taken, the City Commission directed Avael to proceed with the proposal
that Mayor Weekley was pushing; a $2 increase for one year, while the
City pursues its Quality of Life Study. Last Stand will closely monitor
the progress of the study and help ensure its validity.
At present, the city has the opportunity to move in the right
direction, but the mass market,
more-is-better proponents are still
strong. Contacting your city commissioner (www.keywestcity.com),
especially in the summer when political fervor tends to die down, is
valuable. They need to know that the community should be managing cruise
ships for its benefit, not the reverse. Key West is far too valuable a
"product" to sacrifice for $8 a head.
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Airport Expansion
by Joan Borel
In April, the County
Commission considered a proposal to add Runway Safety Areas
of 1000 ft. at both ends of the runway.
About 25 acres of Salt Ponds and wetlands would have been
destroyed. But, responding to the environmental concerns
expressed by Last Stand members and others and the $24 million
price tag, the Commission voted to scale back. They recommended
to FAA the use of 460’ of EMAS at the east end and 600’ of
overrun with no EMAS on the west. EMAS (short for
Engineered Material Arresting System) is a technological
solution for substandard Runway Safety Areas where expansion is
not practicable.
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.The County's 2001 Runway Safety Area Study by URS recommended
using 150’ of EMAS on the east end and doing nothing on the west
end.
EMAS offers Key West a way to improve safety now, save money, and
reduce environmental impacts.
Last Stand strongly supports the
use of the minimum acceptable amount of EMAS at
BOTH ends of the runway. The west
end is used only 5% of the time and extending the Runway Safety Area
600’ would bring it closer to the high school and destroy the Duck
Pond, an important freshwater resource for wildlife. While the
County's recommendation is a big improvement over the original plan,
it still allows unacceptable environmental loss, and we will
continue fighting to minimize damage to the Salt Ponds while
improving safety at Key West International.
The decision is now in the hands of the Federal Aviation
Administration. Please
contact Virginia Lane, Environmental Specialist, Federal Aviation
Administration, Airports District Office, 5950 Hazeltine National
Drive, Orlando, FL 32822-5024, (407) 812-6331, ext. 29. You can also
contact her at: Virginia.lane@faa.gov and ask her to look at the
benefits of EMAS.
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President's Message
Dear Members of Last Stand,
"It’s too late to protect the Keys."
We hear it all the time. It’s a
good thing that you members of Last Stand don’t believe everything
you hear! I’m grateful that you treasure the natural places in the
Florida Keys and I thank you for believing that it’s not "too late"
to preserve the uniqueness that makes our community a wonderful
place to live, work and visit.
Your membership affirms the beliefs that bike paths and salt
ponds
are more important than wider roads and longer run-ways. That green
spaces and clean water are more vital than increasing hotel rooms
and cruise ships. That habitat for wildlife deserves space as much
as houses for humans.
That good neighbors are more valuable than transient dollars.
That the economy should support the community, not the other way
around.
The Rodel Foundation recently awarded Last Stand
with an extraordinary
opportunity: a matching grant.
They will match each dollar of
donation we raise. So we are asking you to give generously and make
your money count twice as much. We also ask you to reach out to your
friends, neighbors, co-workers and acquaintances and invite them to
join Last Stand. You’ll find a membership form on the mailer panel
of this newsletter. The greater our numbers, the greater our
influence will be.
Last Stand will use your gift to sustain our organization.
We will continue to be your community "watchdog." And we will
continue to be your voice: often the only voice that is heard
researching issues, informing the public and saying out loud and up
front what many citizens are thinking in private. And we will
continue to make sure a diversity of voices are heard on important
issues by providing forums about local issues like traffic, cruise
ships and airport expansion.
Last Stand will be an effective force for positive change,
intelligent growth management, environmental protection and
sustainable tourism in the Keys.
It is not too late!
Sincerely, Amy Lachat Lynch
President, Last Stand
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TRAFFIC ISSUES in OLD TOWN, KEY WEST
Most Recent in
the Successful "Keys in the Balance" Series
by Rosi Ware
There are many traffic issues
affecting the quality of life in Old Town, Key West - from speeding
vehicles, noise from cars, motorbikes and trucks; inexperienced scooter
renters; conch trains, truck deliveries, to a general overall lack
of awareness.
Last Stand assembled a panel of relevant experts to discuss these
issues and come up with solutions as their latest "Keys in the Balance"
event. The panelists were: Jim Malcolm, bicycle and pedestrian and
the American with Disabilities Act coordinator for the City; Amy Culver-Aversa,
owner of Mangoes restaurant; Myra Hernandez, Department of
Transportation for the City; Barbara Bowers, concerned Old Town
resident; Michael Suib, taxi driver and writer; Deborah Moore, Manager
of Paradise Scooter rentals; Officer Jeff Williamson, Key West Transport
Police; and Ed Swift, owner of Historic Tours of America.
This diverse group provided a stimulating evening
discussing the problems and
potential solutions to help improve the quality of life for everyone in
Key West:
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Reduce the speed limit - 25 MPH in downtown and 15 MPH in
residential areas.
2. Prohibit cell phone use while driving.
3. Park & Ride should be encouraged.
4. Delivery truck ordinance should be evaluated and updated.
There was also agreement
that traffic is not
just an old-town problem and that similar discussions need to explore
solutions on a citywide level and for the entire Lower Keys.
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