This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Sins of Omission in Temecula

So I went to the City Council Budget Workshop at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, but you will find precious little press coverage on how Temecula tax dollars are being utilized. The big news was the fluff coverage of groundbreaking for a Mercedes dealership in Temecula. What, you didn't get invited to the social event either? It was apparently only for local reporters and those with connections to the power elite. Wheels and local press coverage have one thing in common – a lot of spin.

The lack of sidewalks only becomes newsworthy after pedestrians are mowed down by a car and then the story falls off the news cycle. But if a BMW motorcycle dealership comes to Temecula, that will be sure to get fluff coverage.

Sidewalk sanity may not be newsy, but safe routes for pedestrians and access for disabled individuals is a primary obligation of local government for a healthy community. The lack of news coverage concerning the incomplete sidewalk linkages in Temecula are sins of omission.

Since the budget workshop and the neglected missing sidewalk linkages gets little press coverage, the following is the text of my plea for making pedestrian safety a priority that I presented to the city council on Wednesday. I also provided the visual aides included in this blog.

Good morning Mayor and members of the Council,

My name is Paul Jacobs, a citizen advocate for public safety.

Respectfully, I am asking for an urgent investment for public safety and ADA access that has been woefully underfunded in Temecula for decades.

The Americans with Disabilities Act required all city governments to complete a self-evaluation of their facilities, programs, policies, and practices by January 26, 1993.

Temecula incorporated as a city in December of 1989 and the need for contiguous sidewalk routes throughout the City has never been seriously addressed.

Now knowing of this deficit, The City has an obligation to take extraordinary corrective action to remedy a condition that endangers the non-motoring public, which includes pedestrians and disabled individuals of all ages.

The proposed Capital Improvement budget for city sidewalks is, respectfully, an insult to public safety. Between now and 2018, each year has $35,000 budgeted for administration, engineering and design with only $90,000 going towards actual construction of sidewalks. In five years the proposed CIP budget provides a total of only $450,000 for sidewalk construction.

Meanwhile, $3.5 million is budgeted for bike lanes and trails over the same period of time. I like bikes, but the safety of pedestrians and access for the disabled must be a priority. Bicycling is a leisure activity for the able-bodied; sidewalks are a necessity for the disabled.

Sidewalks in Temecula needed a five-years-ago plan. Somebody dropped the ball on a crucial matter of public safety and ADA access. Federal and state grants are available to help fund this infrastructure. I don’t think the City has pursued grants for this need.

But this is not a matter of blame. It is one of responsibility and obligation to the families of Temecula.

Sidewalks are a necessity for quality of life and public safety, but only the City Council has the authority to direct the funding to make sidewalks an urgent priority. Spend from reserves, borrow or bond, but please do whatever it takes now for the safety of the families you were elected to serve.

Thank you.

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