Comments Welcome

I was not sure exactly how to handle comments to this blog. At first, I thought it would be helpful to only allow registered users to comment, but soon realized that many of the visitors to this blog would not have an OpenID or Blogger account. What I hoped to prevent was some of the license to name call or finger point that anonymity lends itself to. I decided instead to go to moderated comments, which will allow anyone to make comments, but also allow me to help the blog stay fair, clean and respectful. I'll post any comments except for those that include labeling / name calling and profanity.

And probably, my fears are a bit unfounded because the comment number is exactly - zero - at this point. However, I would like to stir up some commentary and dialogue here, so please feel free to let your feelings be known, even if you disagree with someone or your viewpoint is unpopular. Just keep it respectful.

Revealing my bias

My husband asked me today if I would be so committed to my involvement in this process if one of the potential roads didn't go right over my house. "Probably not," I replied. And I'm not a city / transportation planning professional or elected official. I'm simply a citizen who wants a voice in the transportation planning process.

So part of my intention in getting community involvement going in the transportation planning process is to save my house and the homes of my neighbors. In addition, I would love to see the rural way of life in western Weber County preserved. I want to see historical buildings saved. I want more walkable communities. I want to hold developers accountable to planning for the good of the community rather than just looking for open space to fill with houses and commercial buildings. I want to prevent WalMart from coming into my community. Ultimately, I want the environment in our community to contribute to my family's quality of life.

With all the things that I want, I'm continuing to learn the ecology of all of those desires. Some of my desires may exclude others. I guess I'll discover that as time goes on. However, above all, I want to be informed and involved. I believe that the commitment to respectful dialogue will lead us to a solution that will meet needs that seem to be diametrically opposed to each other.

Invitation to other voices

I know that there's essentially one voice on this blog so far: mine. However, I am happy to post other opinions, editorials, or commentary. Just email me at pshurd(at)gmail(dot)com if you would like me to post something. I will not post anything anonymous.

One way to get the word out

The intention with this blog is to publish information that I learn about the current transportation planning in Weber County, Utah. UDOT, the Wasatch Front Regional Council, city leaders, and consultants have been participating in studies in order to plan major arterials in the Weber County area. Because these major arterials will likely affect the rural way of life, historic properties, private property owners, existing homes, farms and the national wetlands inventory, it behooves us all to be informed and involved in the process.

Feel free to contact me at 206-984-3252 (voice mail number) if you become aware of any new information that I haven't posted.

Pay attention to the subscription options up in the upper right corner. You can receive any posts by email, or you can subscribe in a feed reader (like Google Reader). Don't trust yourself to come back and visit; you probably won't.

I appreciate comments as well--feel free to post comments in any post. Just keep your language clean and keep an open mind. I hope that this will be a place that individuals can share differing opinions and learn from each other. Let's get the dialogue going.