Ten Questions with Betsy Price, Fort Worth Mayoral Candidate

March 30, 2011 at 9:01 am | General | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

This is the fourth part of our ongoing series of Q&As with Fort Worth mayoral candidates. Here’s the lineup, posted in order of reception of response:

Tarrant County tax assessor Betsy Price is one of five candidates running for Mayor of Fort Worth. Below is our Q&A with her, featuring the ten questions from us and readers about urban issues.

Fort Worthology:  What are your thoughts on improving the city’s rather lacking transit systems, including promoting better bus service, new rail projects, and re-starting the prematurely canceled modern streetcar project?

Betsy Price: Well, the streetcar project was canceled because the timing was bad on it. Right now, we don’t have the money, but the Citizens of Fort Worth have said they want the streetcar, so we should revisit that as soon as the City has the money to do so.

We need to work closely with The T to promote the public transit buses and study to figure out where the most ridership will be and then promote those routes. Part of the work is educating people about the resource we have in The T, part of it is working with private businesses to encourage ridership with discounts. We need to support and expand the bicycle routes, we need to get the word out so people know we have them, and then we need to provide facilities so people can shower and get to work.

FWO: What is your position on reducing Fort Worth’s extreme dependence on private cars for transportation, and the accompanying heavy reliance on increasingly uncertain supplies of oil?

BP: The reality of it is, Texans love their independence and their cars. We aren’t going to change that overnight, but we do need to work on the long-term vision to reduce traffic by educating people about alternative methods of transportation and developing incentives to encourage Fort Worth to walk, bike and use public transportation. That’s how we’ll create a cultural change.

FWO: Fort Worth passed a landmark bicycle transportation plan, Bike Fort Worth, and early bike infrastructure projects (like bike lanes in the Near Southside and 7th street, and large increases in bike parking in the Near Southside) are showing strong positive results in increasing the amount of people getting around on bikes as real transportation, not just for recreation purposes.  What is your position on continuing to make Fort Worth a much more bike-friendly city, and a place where the bicycle is as practical, attractive, and safe a transportation choice as the car or transit?

BP: I testified in support of the Bike Fort Worth plan. I’m a long-term committed cyclist. I bike to work when I can, for recreation or for running errands. As I’ve said, the first step is education and the second step is incentives.

FWO: Walking is the simplest form of transportation, but much of Fort Worth is not pedestrian friendly – from car-oriented sprawl land use patterns and zoning to lack of sidewalks and safe crossings.  What would you like to see done to make Fort Worth a first-class city for pedestrian activity?  What would you like to do to ensure that pedestrians are treated as respected transportation, not mere obstacles to cars?

BP: First the City has to get their fiscal house in order before we can do anything to address pedestrian transportation. We have to get the pension issue under control.

In this tough economy, core city services have to come first but the City can help look at public/private partnerships and ways to develop other sources of revenue. The good news is urban sprawl is starting to reverse and we are seeing some vertical growth areas.

FWO: What is your position on promoting central-city redevelopment and investment in walkable urban neighborhoods versus promoting car-dependent sprawl on the fringes of the city?

BP: We have to promote the inner city, work on getting more people to build vertical. It’s happening already in the 7th Street corridor. When the River Vision is implemented, we’ll see more progress.

FWO: On improving Fort Worth transportation:  Take a hypothetical visitor to Fort Worth arriving at D/FW Airport.  What in your mind should be the best way for that visitor to get to a destination in the heart of the city, such as Downtown, the Cultural District, the Stockyards, or the Near Southside, and then move within the city between those destinations?  What would you consider the second-best way?  Consider all potential options, both existing and not yet built.

BP: Long-term, we have to work on our commuter rail line from the airport into the City, we need stops in big neighborhoods, in the heart of the City, Downtown, the Cultural District, the Stockyards, Near Southside, and between those destinations. For neighborhoods where we don’t get stops, we need connections to the T, and then we have to advertise and promote what you can do and see in each of these areas.

Short-term, we can work with rental car companies at the airport to provide coupons and information that will draw people into the City, Downtown, the Cultural District, the Stockyards, Near Southside, and between those destinations. We also need hotels to promote transportation options out to key regions in the City.

FWO: What are your thoughts on promoting and supporting independent, locally-owned businesses in Fort Worth, and on helping them compete with national chains?

BP: I think the City has to make a priority of keeping small businesses here. The Chamber and Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau needs to help put a focus on them. Locally owned small businesses are the backbone of Texas and we must continue to support and encourage them.

FWO: What do you feel about current programs designed to “end” chronic homelessness in Fort Worth, and what if anything would you do to improve them?

BP: There are a lot of shelters in Fort Worth that are working hard and making a difference. Helping the homeless starts with solving our budget problems. The Directions Home Program funding was reduced because of budget shortfalls. First we’ve got to cut waste, and then we’ve got to balance the budget to free up money for projects that make a difference on homelessness.

FWO: There is no doubt that Fort Worth faces monetary challenges in the coming years, but how we deal with those challenges can make a big difference in the city’s future health.  What are your thoughts on heavily cutting budgets and services versus smart investment and improvements in infrastructure and services to position Fort Worth in a more competitive and advantageous situation?

BP: Obviously, the City can’t spend more money than it has, so we have to study every area to make sure it is as efficient as possible. If we can forge public/private partnerships to fund programs, we should do it, but first we need to cut waste. I’ve had success with that at the County Tax Assessor’s office where in ten years I faced a 50% increase in workload with only a 5% increase in budget. We must look at the reduce on investment before cutting and see where the best pay back for our taxes dollars is to make Fort Worth competitive .

FWO: Natural gas drilling has been a hot-button issue in Fort Worth in the recent past.  What are your thoughts on gas drilling in densely populated urban settings?  What are your thoughts on gas drilling in close proximity to schools and parks?  And how would you balance the needs of energy production with the safety and livability concerns of residents?

BP: As Mayor, my first and foremost priority will be the health and safety of our citizens in Fort Worth. That means we need up-to-date, independent testing when it comes to gas drilling. We need to study our current zoning and ordinances in relation to gas drilling and make sure we are doing the right thing. We need to meet with citizen groups and neighbors to find out what they’re thinking. We are sitting on top of one of the largest deposits of natural gas that can help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, so we need to figure out if there is a safe way to get to it.