BENEFITS to UF of donating the right-of-way

NAAC knows of two documents in which UF administrators describe benefits that they expect from the donation of the right-of-way for a four-lane road through NATL.


President Young's letter to Rodney Long

On 25 March 2003, President Young sent a brief letter to County Commission Chairman Rodney Long, to be read into the official record of the County Commission's hearing on SW 24th Avenue. In that letter, President Young indicates that UF's contribution of the right-of-way to extend SW 24th Avenue to Archer Road will--

(1) "support the sustainable growth of Gainesville and Alachua County"
(2) "encourage the student village concept as envisioned in the SW 20th charette"
(3) "continue to foster good mass transit"
(4) "support Plan East Gainesville"
(5) "provide the protection that we must afford our traditional neighborhoods that surround the University of Florida."

[Comments on these proposed benefits.]


Vice-President Poppell's letter to T. J. Walker

On 24 March 2003, in response to a request that he provide the Natural Area Advisory Committee a summary of the benefits that the proposed donation of right-of-way would have for the University of Florida, Vice-President Poppell sent a three-page letter by e-mail.

[One must read the letter to get a full understanding of the benefits it describes. Below are the six benefits I found in the letter and their source paragraphs--T. J. Walker, NAAC chair]

(1) A four-lane SW 24th Avenue is the only cost feasible way to add needed additional east-west lanes to the SW 20th Avenue Charrette area. (page 1, third paragraph)

(2) A four-lane SW 24th Avenue will encourage high density and infill and will discourage urban sprawl. (page 2, first paragraph)

(3) A four-lane SW 24th Avenue can become part of an "east/west road connector," a need identified in Plan East Gainesville. (page 2, second paragraph)

(4) The SW 24th Avenue extension to Archer Road is needed to accommodate RTS buses traveling between east and west, and it must be four-lanes because frequent stops of buses on two-lane roads create frustrations for motorists. (page 2, second paragraph)

(5) A four-lane SW 24th Avenue will further the student village concept [of the SW 20th Ave. Charrette], thereby relieving the pressure on Gainesville's older and traditional neighborhoods. (page 2, third paragraph)

(6) A four-lane SW 24th Avenue will help cure failures in the current road system and provide the road infrastructure to support growth and mass transit. (page 3, first paragraph)

[Comments on these proposed benefits.]