View FOCC’s Letter of Support for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)
Hello Clark County Council, Public Works Staff, and Planner Husting,
Friends of Clark County wholeheartedly supports the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC’s) requests that Clark County implement the 2010 BPAC Master Plan and the 2025 Work Plan Goals and Action Strategies, with a few additional comments:
Clark County faces a convergence of urgent crises: the climate emergency and skyrocketing housing costs. Moving swiftly to implement Complete Streets will significantly address both issues.
Climate Safety
We will not belabor the points already made by BPAC about active transportation infrastructure being an effective greenhouse gas reduction solution and the multimodal requirements of the new Climate Element of the Growth Management Act (GMA), but we will stress that global scientific consensus tells us we are in an climate emergency and we must act as quickly as possible to transform our communities to mitigate and adapt.
Equity
We emphasize the issue of equity when it comes to providing safe and complete multimodal infrastructure throughout the County. Just last year, the annual National Low Income Housing Coalition report revealed that:
- Washington is the 5th most unaffordable state in the country
- The typical market rent for just a studio apartment in the Vancouver area is $1,650, requiring a wage of $32/hour to meet the acceptable standard for housing cost to income ratio of 30%
- The top 21 most common jobs in Washington state pay well under $32/hour, and the state minimum wage is half of the wage needed to rent the most modest housing accommodations in the Vancouver area
- The costs are much higher for residents with children who need more living space
A safe, equitable, and complete multimodal transportation system that provides residents the freedom to choose not to drive a vehicle, and therefore avoid car insurance, maintenance, fuel, and loan costs would go a long way toward reducing people’s overall cost of living.
Collaboration is Key
We support BPAC’s request to the County decision-makers to fulfill the goal of BPAC review of projects at 30% and 60% completion, and generally urge the County to take advantage of the passionate, experienced, and volunteer (free!) expertise from regular residents to ensure community partnership in outcomes and overcome budget deficits.
Reducing Sprawl
We remind the County that part and parcel to creating safe, equitable, and connected communities with our growing population is compact urban development so residents aren’t forced to default to a car. Final decisions on the Comp Plan Update will greatly impact whether this goal will be achieved.
Great Job!
Finally, we appreciated the open, honest, and collaborative discussion that took place at the BPAC Work Session with the Council. While it appears support from the Council and staff already exists for BPAC’s requests to rectify past County mistakes and implement BPAC’s plans and strategies going forward, active transportation is part of FOCC’s mission to create safe, vibrant and equitable communities in Clark County, so we are compelled to join the chorus and commend this volunteer advisory group for their efforts. This was an exemplary instance of collaboration between local government and residents, as well as a welcome reminder that we are all in this together.
Let’s get moving!