Lisa Austin, Roland Slade, Adam Trott and Abdullah Washington clarify the connection between innovation and walkability in their essay that quotes urban visionaries Philip Langdon, Charles L Marohn (Strong Towns), Dr. Donald Shoupe, Jeff Speck, Charles Landry and Charles Montgomery.
Your Erie reports ErieCPR's mission to counter city's neglect of Eastside
Photo clip from video by WJET’s Kendrick Tate
Adam Trott, ErieCPR president says of Erie City Council, "Their deliberate indifference and their intentional discrimination to the East side, it cannot keep going on. The east side could recover if they just got a little support from City Hall. And that's what we're fighting for." The McBride Viaduct is what brought the group into the public eye. But now that that battle has essentially been lost, they say they'll continue to fight back against the leaders of the city to help turn east side neighborhoods around.
Viaduct Lessons & Viaduct Voices Video
Civil Rights Case Appealed
LiAnna Schwerer / Erie News Now reports on ErieCPR’s press event held Saturday, March 23.
Erie Times-News reporter Ron Leonardi writes that ErieCPR files a petition in dismissed Viaduct lawsuit. His story was published in the Sunday, March 24th edition on page B4 on the popular obituary page. The on-line version of the story attracted the usual set of naysayers, of which few (or none?) actually took the time to walk the Viaduct and the Bayfront Connector Highway path to gain any real understanding of the situation. They have functioned as a kind of back-up chorus for the frequent misinformation circulated by City Hall and the ETN Editorial Board:
Post by one of GoErie’s deep-thinking commentators.
Donate to ErieCPR/Winds of Change: TEXT "Viaduct" to "44-321"
Though ErieCPR fought long and hard to save the Viaduct, it was “never just about the bridge.”Now that the Viaduct is history, ErieCPR is still fighting to end the flawed decision-making that led to the demolition of the Viaduct and the McAllister Building - and - the proposed 4-lane waterfront highway - as well as City Council’s vote to appoint a man to the Erie Planning Commission, despite his anti-Eastside Erie comments to The New York Times.
To stop the wheels of the status quo from continuing to turn, ErieCPR has flied a second Appeal in their Federal Civil Rights complaint. To donate, text “Viaduct” to “44-321.”
Erie News Now: Viaduct Fight Continues
15-Minute ErieCPR Update on 2nd Appeal - 4:15pm Sat., March 22
ErieCPR and CIVITAS will co-host a brief media event at 4:15pm Saturday, March 23 in the Renaissance Building, 1001 State Street, Suite 205 – the office of AJT Architect.
ErieCPR members including Vice President Janice Cole, Community Outreach Advisor Cynthia Muhammad and President Adam Trott will explain why ErieCPR has filed its second appeal in the Federal Civil Rights case.
Trott reports that the “Federal complaint to save the McBride Viaduct a.k.a. East Avenue Bridge was filed in April 2018, assigned to a federal district court in Pittsburgh, later reassigned to an Erie court in August, granted a hearing in October that was dismissed by the judge on the eve of the hearing date, and then was dismissed with prejudice in late October by the same judge without hearing arguments. This forced the Plaintiffs to appeal to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, and it was dismissed by that court on the misunderstanding that the completion of the bridge demolition made the case moot.”
Trott explained that a petition for a rehearing was filed on Friday, March 22 because the legal complaint was “never just about the Viaduct but about correcting the flawed, illegal decision-making process that continues to undermine Erie’s great potential for what seems to be the immediate, short-term gain of a few privileged power-brokers.”
Structural problems in Erie’s decision-making process continue to ignore needs and wishes of city residents as evidenced by: the demolition of the Viaduct, the planned demolition of the McAllister Building to make-way for place-less new construction, and the proposed 4-lane bayfront highway to move traffic through Erie instead of designing infrastructure for the benefit of Erie City Residents.
Those wishing to donate to support the all-volunteer effort by ErieCPR are urged to text “Viaduct” to phone number “44-321”. # # #
Judy Lynch mourns demolition of Irish Heritage Site: the McBride Viaduct at East Ave.
Former Erie County Executive Judy Lynch gave a powerful presentation on the four Irish men, all affiliated with St. Ann’s Church, who were responsible for the construction of the McBride Viaduct. She recounted how two of their descendants, Mr. Charles Barber and Mayor Joe Schember, were complicit in the demolition of of this Irish Heritage Site.
ErieCPR looks beyond Viaduct at March 12 JES meeting
ErieCPR and CIVITAS co-hosted a town hall meeting LESSONS FROM THE VIADUCT at the Jefferson Educational Society. ErieNewsNow’s Andrew Hyman covered the event.
Learn why ErieCPR isn’t giving up. Come to the JES at 7pm March 12. Free and open to the public.
ErieCPR will soon file another appeal in the Federal Case about the systemic flaws that demolished the Viaduct, the McAllister and that now propose a 4-lane roadway on the Bayfront)
ErieCPR is continuing the legal fight about the Viaduct because ErieCPR has never been just about the Viaduct.
Erie’s leaders are making bad decisions that are causing harm that can never be undone. Their bad decisions impact live-ability, walk-ability, public safety, public health and economic development.
The Viaduct stood in the center of Erie zip code 16503, connecting some of the country’s most diverse, impoverished neighborhoods.
The loss of the Viaduct can never be undone, but, ErieCPR is working to change the government structure, so that Eastside voices are heard and future decisions will support vibrant, diverse neighborhoods.
Erie Times-News
Adam Trott
Jefferson Educational Society
Come to the Jefferson Educational Society at 7pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2019 for a free presentation and dialogue with CIVITAS, ErieCPR and other Viaduct advocates.
Hear the facts absent from the public narrative: the failure to maintain the Viaduct, the flaws in the Viaduct study and the trauma inflicted by the demolition. The Viaduct is down now and the harm to Eastsiders is just beginning.
Several brief presentations will set the stage for a 40-minute conversation between the panel and the audience moderated by Roland Slade of Three Lee Films.
Speakers include Judy Lynch (former Erie County Executive), Abdullah Washington (Bigg Wash) and ErieCPR’s Architect Adam Trott.