commentary
milt thomas
There has never been a consensus on the Twin Pairs. So here we go. Again. On Thursday evening at the Community Center, after a presentation from Kimley-Horn Consultants that answered all possible concerns about narrowing the highway through central Vero, the same naysayers ignored that and voiced their opinions against doing anything.
I think maybe we are missing the big picture here. It is not about potential problems that may or may not result from changes to the Twin Pairs – because this isn’t just about a highway – it’s about our history, our identity, our future, and it’s about what is best for the citizens and taxpayers of Vero Beach and Indian River County.
More specifically, how important is it to us that Downtown Vero Beach become the vibrant heart of our community rather than just a way to get from point A to point B?
Newcomers to our community cannot learn to appreciate the importance of Downtown Vero by listening to arguments about the Twin Pairs. They learn by walking through downtown and immersing themselves in the history and sense of place; in other words, learning about the roots of our existence. So the question is really whether or not we are proud of our downtown’s heritage.
By the 1980s Downtown Vero was dying. So, who cared about a seven-lane highway through our downtown.
But wait! Just about that time, downtowns around the country began experiencing a renaissance across America, so why not here?
Actually, it was also happening here. The early 90s saw a brand new public library drawing people downtown, a new county courthouse, and local investors like Bob Brackett took on the huge expense of renovating historic buildings. Why? Because he believed downtown Vero should again be a destination, not a bypass. Citizen groups created events like Downtown Friday, the Hibiscus Festival, Gallery Stroll, bringing many people into the historic heart of our community, many for the first time – or for the first time in years.
However, our downtown has a major structural problem – it is severed in the middle by a highway, sort of a Mason-Dixon line with a “no pedestrian zone.”
Most of the objections you heard Thursday night are really symptoms, and just like in medicine, there are remedies for those symptoms. But you need an overall plan to get back to full health. We have a plan here and all it requires is a City Council and citizens to say, “Yes, we want the cure. We want a downtown we can all be proud of.”
We owe it to all the City Councils and citizens who came before us, who built this community. Drive over to Crestlawn Cemetery and look at the names on those headstones. Those are the people who made Vero Beach what it is today. We are proud of what they accomplished. That is why we are here.
Let us repay them by fixing this impediment to our future and restoring our downtown so they know they left it in good hands.
Indian River Guardian 
And??????? Your point is???
Excellent editorial, Milt. It was great that balance was achieved last night, and your comments resonated with many attendees. It was quite clear that Twin Pairs lane repurposing opponents have not supported their opinions with either experts or facts, while the city has—repeatedly and persuasively. And the press, absent IRGuardian, has chosen to throw gasoline on the fire rather than present both sides objectively.
The issue of parallel parking, which is not at all central to the Twin Pairs lane repurposing concept, has poisoned the pond and needs to be remedied by city staff and the council. There must be a way to repurpose the eliminated lanes without the expense of changing the rainwater drainage infrastructure.
Further, the criticality of expanding the downtown residential community in order to establish core patrons of city center businesses is a message that needs a megaphone. As long as a seven lane raceway runs through downtown, developers will not invest in much-needed condos and apartments and continue to build additional car washes or storage locker units on our main corridor.
Finally, Vero needs to get creative on how downtown redevelopment infrastructure is funded. The 17,000 City of Vero taxpayers should not fully pay for a venue that all 100,000 greater Vero residents and visitors will enjoy. Establishing a Vero Downtown taxing district aligns benefit with funding and indirectly passes it on to those that live and enjoy downtown Vero.
Again, thanks!
Thanks for your comments, Bob!
Great post, Milt! I have always found you to be balanced and reasonable in your analyses of situations. The only “news” sources available have published negative comments about the Twin Pairs for years. Their unsubstantiated claims have echoed as if in a canyon. To my knowledge, none of them have ever asked for the other side of the story.
As many of us know, the Twin Pairs was never needed and still isn’t. All of the experts who have weighed in on this issue agree with the above. Thank you for adding your voice to the list of supporters, which is longer than people realize.