I have no doubt that there will be a reduction in personnel or in their budget. In fact, they will likely ask for more money for some other reason. The "empire" will never get smaller.

I must admit, our differences on this issue have confounded me, so, I took to my trusty friend, Google Maps, to try to figure it out.

You are correct in your assertion that the neighborhood (and the apartments it holds) is within walking distance to Bearden High as well as being correct in noting that there are several other apartment complexes (including section 8 housing suitable for families) within walking distance to the school. You are also correct in your assertion that many (depending on the daily circumstance) take advantage of this.

However, I believe there is a disconnect when we speak of the proposed Teaberry site and the rest of the neighborhood.

First, the proposed Teaberry site is in the extreme southeast corner of the neighborhood at the bottom of a huge sinkhole that continues to sink. (As we remember, this is why the project was cancelled. During the course of the due diligence, forced by those of us looking closely at the project, we found that Mayor Haslam put forth a plan that wouldn't pass building codes.)

Second, the natural ingress and egress for any north and eastbound travel would be Beaverton, as opposed to the natural route for Bearden High, which would be Elderberry. As someone who drove for 25 years for a living, I can honestly say I don't care for the pedestrian crossing at Downtown West/Elderberry/Gleason, but I must concede that you are correct in the sense that it is not the guaranteed death trap that the Beaverton/Gleason crossing is.

Frankly, I missed both these points in the original discussion, and while it really doesn't change anything in terms of the validity of the project (simply put, the drainage on the roads servicing the neighborhood preclude reasonable foot traffic during poor weather), it does make a great point that the neighborhood could actually be served by a pedestrian infrastructure upgrade that included a plan to incorporate permanent placement of the homeless.

There were other factors as well, crosswalks, traffic calming, sidewalks, trolley service, and covered bus stops that would have been necessary to make the project a success, but as we remember, then Mayor Haslam's position was that there would be no infrastructure upgrades and that the infrastructure in place was suitable for the project. He was and is wrong and Mayor Rogero has already addressed two of the problems by planning greenway access, and working on the drainage problem. Strategically placed sidewalks and crosswalks were and will be necessary for this neighborhood to survive as a pedestrian enclave. I firmly believe this. How many pair of shoes should we demand a person own?

This is an extremely hilly area and some spots are at best challenging to live in if one was dependent on walking. Basic and reasonable infrastructure fixes would go a long way in making the neighborhood more walkable.

But, on your larger point that people are indeed making do and walking to school, you are correct
In my haste, I overlooked your obvious points of reference and judged the whole neighborhood by the Teaberry location. The Beaverton and Elderberry points of ingress and egress are indeed quite different and I failed to consider your points (which would appear to address the Elderberry intersection) when I addressed the Beaverton intersection. That was quite a careless error on my part and I apologize.

Whenever I drive Gleason, I do a site check for improvements needed and a little cost/benefit analysis on various ideas that pop into my mind on various things I notice.

I presume due to this weeks weather pattern, something that has escaped me became noticeable. Through the drooping weeds I noticed something. There is a thin narrow footpath snaking down Gleason from the end of the 7900 block all the way to the sidewalk behind Bearden High. Depending on season, weather and light conditions , one could consider it anything from passable to treacherous, but it's there, none-the-less. I do not know if the path would fall on city right-of-way or if the users would technically be trespassing, but clearly there is a need for a safe pedestrian walkway along this stretch of road.

To your point that it is walkable, I would have to say absolutely and obviously people are walking this route often enough to wear a path in the dirt so clearly there is enough foot traffic to support this path and keep it noticeable.

My point would be that its existence demonstrates an obvious need that isn't being addressed. Mayor Rogero has thus far done a great job with limited resources (paint and signage) to address needs of greenway access and walkability. As a parent, I would demand my child walk the route from Elderberry through Downtown West and back to Bearden through the gate behind the shopping center, but I'm not sure access is available through this gate to the school. In addition, since I don't have access to any wildlife inventories in the area, I don't know if how big a problem ticks, chiggers and mosquitoes are along the corridor. If the bat and opossum populations are in line, these pests should have a decent amount of natural controls.

It would appear that it is time to consider this need in terms of budgeting it into future city projects.

Edit for relevant link: (link...)