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Council rejects resolution on Fast Planning Unified Work Program after heated downtown two-way debate
Summary
The Fairbanks City Council voted down Resolution 5-223, which would have offered city comment on the FAST Unified Planning Work Program, after prolonged debate over whether to keep a two-way circulation study in the plan; the motion failed 3-4.
Fairbanks — The City Council declined on July 13 to adopt Resolution 5-223, a response to the Fairbanks Area Surface Transportation (FAST) Unified Planning Work Program, after members disagreed about whether the plan should keep a two-way downtown circulation study as an active item. The motion failed 3-4.
The resolution drew sustained public comment and council debate over project 300e, a study item the Downtown Association and some business groups want preserved as a planning tool. David Vandenberg, executive director of the Downtown Association, urged the council to "keep 300e active" as a tool to examine two-way circulation opportunities and not to remove it from the plan. "We just urge you to keep 300e active in the unified plan," Vandenberg said during public comment.
Opponents, including Councilmember Cleworth, warned that a two-way conversion carries large costs and uncertain benefits. Cleworth described the price tag for street conversions and intersection work as "staggering" and questioned whether the city should encourage studies that could lead to expensive capital projects. "The amount of money it costs to do this is staggering," he said during the debate.
Councilmembers split on whether FAST Planning should be permitted to study the downtown circulation question. Supporters of the resolution argued that FAST Planning’s role is to research and propose options; opponents said the council should use its influence to prevent studies that could raise false expectations for expensive change. Several council members said if a study later recommends conversion, the council would then have the opportunity to oppose or accept specific projects.
Vote: The roll call on Resolution 5-223 ended 3-4 in favor of defeat: Councilmembers Marney, Ringstead and Cleworth voted in favor of adopting the resolution; Councilmembers Therian, Tidwell and Mayor O'Neill voted no (the motion failed).
Implications: With the resolution defeated, the council declined to send the formal comments as drafted to the FAST policy process. Council members said they will continue to engage with FAST Planning and city engineering on specific projects and urged better up-front coordination between city technical staff and FAST planners before studies begin.
