VICKY GOULD
My name is Vicky Gould and I’m the VP of MSVB. I’m also a resident of a downtown neighborhood, Osceola Park, which is the first neighborhood in the COVB to be named to the National Register of Historic Places. I’m also someone whose family moved to Vero Beach in the late 1940s (as did my husband’s family) and I grew up here.
As I’ve said many times before, I want ALL areas of our county to be successful. We have some distinct areas in Vero such as the beachside, Royal Palm Pointe, Miracle Mile, the U.S. 1 corridor, the Mall area, and the historic heart of our city, downtown Vero Beach.
What we want for our downtown is what makes for vibrant, successful downtowns all over the country: a design that respects and accommodates people of all abilities. We do not have that in our downtown. What we have is a straightaway that encourages high speeds and disregards pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The fact that we don’t have that on the beachside, Royal Palm Pointe, or Miracle Mile is quite telling to me.
Oppressive multiple-lane highways have helped kill downtowns, their businesses, and surrounding neighborhoods. This has been shown all over the U.S. Many cities such as Greenville, SC, have taken steps to turn that around. Why? Because safer, walkable communities enhance the ENTIRE town It also helps the tax base of a city, which is something that seems to have been forgotten by the Taxpayer’s Association and the local Tea Party. When all areas of a town are thriving, people want to go there, to move there, to shop there, and to dine there. It benefits ALL of us. A high tide lifts all boats.
Some of the publications in town have as much as said that downtown Vero Beach is an area of blight and more money should be spent on the beachside. Is that really okay with you? Put more money into a beautiful area that already has a lot of tourism, foot traffic, and money being spent there? It seems disingenuous that a publication that represents the beachside would denigrate our historic downtown and ask for more money to be spent on “their side” instead of “ours.” In my mind, we don’t have a their side and our side. We have ALL of Vero Beach and ALL of Indian River County. How am I to believe such yellow journalism when they talk of and take pictures of the worst of the worst….and the farthest areas from the downtown core? It almost seems as if they are consciously trying to draw a line where the river is to divide us. This type of thinking and writing is NOT good for our town.
I’m also disappointed in our Press Journal and its viewpoint on the issue. This paper grew up in the downtown area, in the building where Ironside Press is today, yet they seem myopic about the Twin Pairs and intransigent in wanting to keep the status quo. We all know the Kimley-Horn study shows that seven lanes are not needed in downtown. There are more lanes than on than I-95 or U.S. 1 in our county, yet they refuse to even consider the good it could do. And it only adds 20-30 seconds to your trip! Why disregard this study, the Vero Beach Vision Plan, the VB Main Street Downtown Charrette Citizen’s Report, the Downtown Vero Beach Action Plan, the FAU Design Institute’s Study on the Twin Pairs, and the Comp Plan?
Let’s get our thinking back on track here and take the long view of how we want our town to be in the future. Be reasonable and ask yourselves what small town benefits from having seven lanes of traffic running through it, bisecting its downtown. We should strive to enhance all areas of Vero Beach to bring more business and beauty to each distinct section. It’s not a competition. What makes Vero wonderful is that we have all of these unique areas.
Traffic calming is just one piece of the puzzle in helping preserve our historic downtown, the birthplace of Vero Beach. It’s not just about parking, it’s not just about helping downtown businesses, it’s not just about helping the surrounding neighborhoods, it’s not just about safety. It’s about ALL of these. Please think in a bigger way and show your support at next week’s City Council meeting.
Indian River Guardian 
Well said! We need to stop the “beach side” and the “town side” cass system in our community — and Lord knows, we don’t need to spend another dime on a study. What a cop out — think what features and assets we could have provided to all areas if we had all the money wasted on study after study of the same issue!
Vicky, as usual, your clear thinking and logical writing makes your points easy to understand and hard to refute.
As you state, “A high tide lifts all boats”. Why is that so difficult for many of our citizens to comprehend? When we increase the tax base we all benefit. When we increase safety is that not a benefit? When we take steps to help restore and preserve a historic neighborhood doesn’t that benefit our community as a whole?
There is surely no need for further study. Every study so far has recommended traffic calming the Twin Pairs. We fund these studies and then we don’t implement them. Why have them if the results don’t bring results.