Recap of Friends of Car-Free Key West Top Stories of 2019
This is our January 1, 2020 recap story sharing all of our Top 10 Stories of 2019 as counted down on our Facebook page (click on the links below to go to each story):
#1 Adopting a Key West Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan (Dec. 31, 2019)
#2 Adopting Ambitious 10-Year Key West Transit Plan (Dec. 30, 2019)
#3 New Duval Pocket Park for People Replaces Parking Lot for Cars (Dec. 29, 2019)
#4 Mall on Duval (Dec. 28, 2019)
#5 “HAWK” Signals Installed at Five N. Roosevelt Crosswalks (Dec. 27, 2019)
#6 City Implements Progressive Parking Strategies (Dec. 26, 2019)
#7 Starting the Crosstown Greenway Project (Dec. 23, 2019)
#8 Duval Street Revitalization Help Sought Via RFQ (Dec. 22, 2019)
#9 City Rebuilds Atlantic Boulevard Bike Path (Dec. 21, 2019)
#10 City Addresses Closing Admiral’s Cut (Dec. 20, 2019)
What were your top 10? Are we missing something? Have them in the wrong order? We always love to hear what you think. Share in the Comment section.
Taken as a whole, this was a pretty good year. What brings many of these items together is a push from our City’s Mayor. She’s big on developing plans AND she’s big on testing and trying things out to get things done. The new City Manager and his staff get it and seem to be moving forward too.
It may be odd that two planning documents top our list. But both of these plans are once in a decade and once in 23 years in the making. It just so happened they were both adopted this year. As both of these plans are fairly bold and ambitious, if they are actually implemented, our little City could be transformed into a true biking, walking and transit paradise. It is up to us as citizens to keep pushing for the improvements already contained in the adopted plans. We must emphasize with NIMBYS and naysayers that these actions have been vetted and approved by the City Commission.
Why is it important we keep pushing? Our island is small and built out. Traffic and parking congestion are a drag on our quality of life. If more people walk, bike and take the bus it makes our streets more efficient. Research shows it is better for our environment and helps combat climate change; It spurs local business; makes us healthier; more equitable; and happier too.
While Key West s unique, we hope to show through this page that we can learn from others by sharing best practices from around the world. We want to shine a light on positive efforts and call out areas where we need to improve. We’ll hope you’ll join us by following our Facebook page, sharing our page with your friends, participating in the discussions our stories spark and helping us by bringing your own knowledge to these issues.
Thank you and Happy New Years!
