Little Rock directors delay vote on I-30 corridor resolution

The Little Rock Board of Directors couldn't agree Tuesday on a resolution that asked the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department to consider alternatives to its proposed Interstate 30 renovation project.

By the end of Tuesday's board meeting, the resolution proposed by City Director Kathy Webb ended up being deferred for a month to allow time for directors' questions to be answered.

"I think voting on something right now that says we are against something when you don't know all the facts and don't know what you are talking about is the wrong thing to do," Director at-large Dean Kumpuris said before asking that a vote be put off until next month.

Webb, who represents Ward 3, said her resolution wasn't in opposition to the I-30 project that proposes replacing the bridge over the Arkansas River and expanding the interstate to 10 lanes.

"We are not saying in this resolution that we don't want the bridge to be replaced, that we don't want safety enhancements. We are saying we want to have other things considered," she said.

Webb and Ward 7 Director B.J. Wyrick were the only board members to vote against the deferral. All eight other city directors were in favor of putting off a vote.

Webb's resolution specifically called for the Highway Department to follow Metroplan's Imagine Central Arkansas Plan, to invest in other public transportation such as light rails and streetcars, and to evaluate alternative options used in other cities. Metroplan is the long-range transportation planning agency for central Arkansas.

It didn't cite any specifics as to what the alternative options were.

"Favoring one mode of travel at the expense of all others tends to make communities less competitive, less resilient, and more dependent on larger future government subsidies, while degrading quality of life, and limiting citizens' choice," the resolution said.

Vice Mayor and Ward 5 Director Lance Hines repeated his previous comments that the resolution seemed to be drafted by someone either "uninformed or ill-informed."

He read into the record a two-page list of points given to him by Highway Department Director Scott Bennett that Hines said refuted several assertions made in Webb's resolution.

"If we want this city to become a destination for people to come in and spend tax money, we have to make it easy for people to come in and out of the city, as well as local folks to get in and out of parts of the city," Hines said.

Ward 2 Director Ken Richardson was the only director to publicly voice his support for Webb's ordinance Tuesday. Wyrick and Ward 6 Director Doris Wright previously said they were supportive of it, but they didn't indicate their positions Tuesday.

Richardson said he agreed with the resolution's statements because he doesn't think the Highway Department's I-30 proposal is "a comprehensive plan."

"The resolution doesn't express explicit opposition to this plan, it merely says let's take some time, step back and take a more comprehensive approach to this issue," he said.

Mayor Mark Stodola announced at the end of Tuesday's meeting that he has asked the city manager to hire an urban planner to take a comprehensive look at the Highway Department's proposed project.

The person hired for the position will "review all these issues, as well as design issues, and all other things that concern us in terms of the massiveness of 10 lanes," Stodola said.

Metro on 11/18/2015

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