By BOB MAIER
The terms “road diet” (reducing lanes), “bike equity” (reducing lanes and reassigning them to bikes) or even the grandest term of them all, that “roads are racist,” may be new to you. If you have questions about any of them, perhaps you should attend a Fairview Community Council meeting in Anchorage. That’s a group that promulgates the “road diet” lane reductions and “roads are racist” theories in Anchorage.
One federally funded project clearly needs further discussion.
Bragaw Street between Northern Lights and the Glenn Highway has been targeted for a “road diet” by reducing this heavily trafficked road from two lanes to one lane in each direction in order to make the area “safe for all road users.”
On Nov. 15, 2021 President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. Through this $1,200,000,000,000 ($1.2 trillion) federal expenditure, nearly $25 million was prioritized in Anchorage for this Bragaw “road diet” project.
Could this money be allocated not only for Bragaw Street but for all of the rest of us in Anchorage?
The State of Alaska Legislature granted had earlier granted $20 million to Anchorage in order to extend Bragaw Street from Northern Lights to the intersection of Providence Drive and Elmore Road. This project would have connected Bragaw with the existing infrastructure to Tudor Road.
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz returned that money to Juneau. On Dec. 5, 2015, he requested the money be spent on the Port of Anchorage Modernization Project. He cited fiscal austerity, potential cost overruns, and community opposition as reasons, asking for the $15-17 million balance to be redirected.
At that time, extending Bragaw was supported not only by both universities but also Providence Medical Center. Response times from the Glenn Highway and Mountain View for emergency services would have been reduced by many critical minutes.
For reasons of public safety, I encourage everyone reading this to contact Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Dan Sullivan and Congressman Nick Begich and ask that this $24.9 million of federal money be restored to the already discussed and supported Bragaw extension to Tudor Road — and not for this “road diet.”
If that fails and the monies are not utilized for that purpose, then I ask everyone to contact Elon Musk and DOGE, or contact the House DOGE Caucus and tell them to withdraw this money and apply it to the federal budget deficit.
Bob Maier is an Anchorage Property Taxpayer and Utility Ratepayer in Anchorage.