- New developments are making their way to Southwest Tallahassee, but some may not be on the same page.
- Some Blueprint staffers want to invest in a new road through Innovation Park as a transportation network as part of the new amended project.
- Watch the video above to here from neighbors and county leaders on the Airport Gateway Project.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The original plan or a new plan? That's the tension in this Southwest Tallahassee neighborhood.
"The Gateway Project impacts a lot of neighborhoods. It impacts the Providence neighborhood, my neighborhood out around Lake Bradford, and it impacts a lot low-income housing around Robert's Road."
Bill Peebles, a Southwest Tallahassee neighbor, says he's all too familiar with the original Airport Gateway Project plan.
"The Blueprint board decided they were going to enact a substantial change to the projects that have been approved by voters."
The Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency says the Airport Gateway Project is designed to create a safe transportation network between the Tallahassee International Airport and Downtown Tallahassee as well as FAMU and FSU.
Some Blueprint staffers want to invest in a new road through Innovation Park as a transportation network as part of the new amended project, but that has some neighbors in disagreement.
"I think the Blueprint board ought to do is revisit the decision to add the FSU component of the Gateway."
I asked Peebles why.
"If the FSU component happens, then our neighborhood character is going to be forever changed. We'll be living on thoroughfare of folks going to the airport."
At Blueprint's most recent meeting where this project came up, Bill Lickson argued to keep the Innovation Park connection.
"Yes, it's infrastructure. It's also economic development, and it is unprecedented branding for our community."
I spoke with Leon County Commissioner of District 2, Christian Caban about his stance on the project updates.
"I made a commitment to be unapologetically selfish for my district which is District 2. The feedback I've gotten from folks in my district is that they appreciate me speaking up and defending taxpayer dollars. They also appreciate me standing up for backing up what they voted for in 2016 which was Springhill Road."
Take a look at this map. Commissioner Caban tells me he's for the Airport Gateway project but believes the Blueprint staff should focus on the original idea of enhancing Spring Hill Road instead of adding a road through Innovation Park that already has a four-lane road.
"You go to the airport on your maps; it's going to take you to Springhill Road. I think it's a better use of our taxpayer dollars, and I think it's important that we uphold what was promised to taxpayers."
Though, thoughts are different between the original plan and the new plan, the Airport Gateway Project is still up in the air.
"It's dramatically changed."
