(118th in a series of posts on parking)
Gadfly has kidded seriously that the Bethlehem Parking Authority needs a public relations officer.
He has nagged them about making sure meeting times are correctly published. Well, we’ve both given up on the Bethlehem Press. They never get it right!
He has nagged them about using the web site for publishing meeting times and announcing meeting cancellations. They have finally started to do that.
He has nagged them about publishing their meeting agendas on their web site. They have yet to do that.
What’s the use of publishing meeting times without agendas? How can the general public know whether they want to or should attend a meeting without knowing what’s up?
Nag. Nag. Nag.
Gadfly thinks the BPA needs to improve its connection with the public, with the outer world. Hence the PR person suggestion.
Gadfly was thinking about this as he wrote the last post on the August 28 meeting.
In effect, Gadfly was criticizing the BPA for, in effect, being insular (good SAT word).
They meet in the BPA headquarters, what Gadfly humorously refers to as their “bunker.”
They sit around a table. They face themselves. They talk to themselves. Their eyes on each other. Their backs to the outside world.
Gadfly is a literature person. Big on symbolism.
Think of the symbolic difference if the BPA complied with the Mayor’s suggestion and moved their meetings to Town Hall — the “People’s House” — and literally faced the public instead of each other.
A symbolic reminder of the public presence even if no one was there.
So a decision has been made about the “liner” building on the 3rd Street side of the Polker without much public discussion or input, without much regard to wider City perspectives.
The design of the garage itself is next.
What kind of public discussion will occur on it?
The City Climate Action Plan is not in literal operation yet, but it should be in figurative operation.
On July 29, the City Environmental Advisory Council sent the BPA suggestions for the garage design in line with the birthing Climate Action plans.
To date, as far as Gadfly knows, the BPA has not responded to the EAC.
Will they?
Gadfly is not optimistic.
The BPA needs to face the public.
It couldn’t be more obvious that BPA does not care what the people think, does not regard possible changes in vehicle use as relevant, does not see the need to mitigate global warming & climate change — just wants to continue ‘business as usual’ (20th-century thinking).