Start Walking

Today's news showed gasoline over $4.00 a gallon and going up. Alternate energy is still not practical. Employers are worried about the cost of travel for their employees. From food to cars the costs of goods is going up. Almost two-thirds of American drivers, are feeling the impacts of surging oil prices and stressed by congestion, say they feel traffic has gone from bad to worse in the past three years.

Sustainable is no longer just a buzz word, it is a necessity. Planning and other professions must find ways to implement change today. Walking or bicycling to work is essential to all our futures. Energy efficient cars, buildings, and life style is upon us. The transition painful for some, but the final result will bring us the future we desire.

Issues of water supply, clean air, climate changes (natural or man-made) are here and critical to our present and future existence. We must plan for generations, not just until the next election. Realistic planning for our children and grandchildren is critical to local, State and our Country's future.

On the International Scene

In a recent news article Naples' Italy's garbage — the plastic Ferrarelle water bottles, the copies of magazines, the decomposing kitchen compost — has ended up waiting to be dumped into an incinerator on the outskirts of Hamberg, German.

For months, mountains of rotting trash have grown in the streets of southern Italy because the region has run out of places to put it. So for the time being — 11 weeks, actually — a 56-car train will arrive in Hamburg every day after a 44-hour journey, each bearing 700 tons of Neapolitan refuse.

Italy 's problem is notable in all of Europe, Hamburg 's future. Despite population growth look brighter than most, Because of its efforts Hamburg produces less garbage today than it did almost a decade ago. What it does generate is either recycled or removed to high-tech, low-polluting incinerators. Across the world and the Continent, longstanding landfill sites are filling up quickly. The problem has made it imperative for European nations to cut their waste.

By 2020, the European Union will require member nations to reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills to 35 percent of what it was in 1995. It has already begun severely restricting and reducing the use of landfills, a k a garbage dumps, because of the host of health and environmental problems they produce.

“The trend is to recycle more and incinerate less and to generate less waste altogether,” he said. Indeed, Hamburg 's incinerators have excess capacity to accommodate Italian trash because so much trash from the city is now recycled.

Bartow CRA

Next year, residents hope to see a decorative gateway and an inviting park for festivals and other community events.

The city's Community Redevelopment Agency is funding the underpass improvements, including a gateway entrance, a park and an entertainment area, such as a stage. The agency, which funds projects that will spur development in the CRA's district, has set aside $300,000 to create the park.

U.S. 17 stretches over Polk Street , about a mile west of Broadway Avenue , marking the entrance West Bartow neighborhood. The area for the park totals about two acres.

the community has been working hard in recent years to rebuild, and this project will further those efforts.

The design phase is expected to cost about $50,000, and the remaining $250,000 will go toward construction.

One Bay Effort Continues 

As an extension of the “How Shall We Grow effort for the Greater Orlando regional effort, Tampa bay is continuing its planning efforts. Tomorrow Matters! (TM!) One Bay Town Hall meetings were conducted as a first step. There's much more work to be done!  Both to complete the Tampabay Effort and to connect the Orlando effort. Over the next weeks (until July 15) that they can review and comment on the scenarios on the OneBay website www.myonebay.com  , and forward comments and/or request a group presentation at info@myonebay.com   .

TM! also invites you to join the effort or a follow-up meeting to review and critically evaluate the town hall meetings and One Bay's VOICE IT public outreach campaign   with an eye to improving and expanding citizen engagement in the regional visioning process, TBARTA regional transportation plan, local government   2050 visioning efforts, community emergency preparedness, etc.  

DCA BRIEF

DCA's 2008 Growth Management Implementation Workshop

This year's workshop addressed the outcome of the 2008 Legislative Session and how changes to the Growth Management Act as well as current laws are being implemented by the Department. In addition to legislative, legal, and policy updates, the workshop will specifically address the technical implementation challenges related to schools, water supply, and capital improvement elements. There will also be expert panels on three hot topics:  energy, transportation, and land use; tools for sustainable rural growth; and, water supply planning.  This is an excellent opportunity to hear from DCA and Secretary Tom .  For more information and to register, go to www.dca.state.fl.us/fdcp/dcp/gmw/gmw08.cfm