License Branch Relocation
We've all heard Tom Wyss and Graham Richard voice their displeasure with Joel Silverman over his decision to move the BMV branch from Southgate Plaza to Waynedale. They would have rather seen it move to the revitalized Southtown Center.
It appears as if that their argument was nothing more than a subtle campaigning move to be viewed as fighting for the residents of the southeast side of Fort Wayne. Their argument was that moving the BMV branch to Southtown would help in its revitalization.
My first thought on this was if Silverman wasn't going to listen to the throngs of people who came out against the closures of their BMV branches then he isn't going to listen to those two.
My second thought was that his decision to relocate to Waynedale was the right one.
Richard and Wyss want the branch moved to Southtown Center. That wasn't a feasible option for Silverman because of a few reasons.
A new facility would have to be built in order to meet the needs of the BMV. The bureaucratic red tape involved in a new building would take a too long. The lease at Southgate is up in shortly. A new building would also have a high potential for a PR nightmare for the Daniels administration considering all the hostility towards the closings of other branches.
The Southgate and New Haven branches are too close together. This is causing Southgate to have heavier traffic and longer waits and New Haven to be lighter in traffic. A move to the Waynedale location creates more of a fix than does Southtown.
A move westward in the county gives better access to the growing southwest side. Once the Ardmore extension and widening projects are completed it will also make it easy access to residents as far north as West State Street. This would alleviate some of the congestion issues at Pine Valley.
In the end it all comes down to service. Silverman isn't known as a customer-friendly type of guy but in this case this is what is happening. The Waynedale location meets the present and future needs of the BMV better than either Southgate or Southtown.
It appears as if that their argument was nothing more than a subtle campaigning move to be viewed as fighting for the residents of the southeast side of Fort Wayne. Their argument was that moving the BMV branch to Southtown would help in its revitalization.
My first thought on this was if Silverman wasn't going to listen to the throngs of people who came out against the closures of their BMV branches then he isn't going to listen to those two.
My second thought was that his decision to relocate to Waynedale was the right one.
Richard and Wyss want the branch moved to Southtown Center. That wasn't a feasible option for Silverman because of a few reasons.
A new facility would have to be built in order to meet the needs of the BMV. The bureaucratic red tape involved in a new building would take a too long. The lease at Southgate is up in shortly. A new building would also have a high potential for a PR nightmare for the Daniels administration considering all the hostility towards the closings of other branches.
The Southgate and New Haven branches are too close together. This is causing Southgate to have heavier traffic and longer waits and New Haven to be lighter in traffic. A move to the Waynedale location creates more of a fix than does Southtown.
A move westward in the county gives better access to the growing southwest side. Once the Ardmore extension and widening projects are completed it will also make it easy access to residents as far north as West State Street. This would alleviate some of the congestion issues at Pine Valley.
In the end it all comes down to service. Silverman isn't known as a customer-friendly type of guy but in this case this is what is happening. The Waynedale location meets the present and future needs of the BMV better than either Southgate or Southtown.
posted by Indiana Pundit at 11:03 AM
5 Comments:
Ossian had a great branch with friendly people. The decision to close it was probably the right one given its light traffic.
However, it left a lot of hard feelings and folks between Waynedale and Bluffton were left without a convenient choice.
Waynedale is a great location to serve the folks who felt deprived when Ossian was closed.
So, too bad for Graham and for his cronies he favored on the Southtown development.
Any word yet when the Allen County Election Board is going to put the detailed election results from 2006 up on the county website?
The more technology changes the slower they get.
If the Allen County Commissioners are going to tell the voters that Allen County government is zooming into the 21st century with internet use then they ought to take a look at the Election Board.
If Tom Wyss moves back to Fort Wayne instead of living in Indi and appearing in Fort Wayne occassionally then he can have a point of view. Why didn't anyone run against him?
Mike Bynum is running against him - he was unopposed in the D primary so it didn't get a lot of attention. Mike has worked as a neighborhood leader for years and been in some appointed volunteer positions - I think Fort Wayne Plan Commission. He's a great guy and would be a great senator.
I was one of the letter writers to the JG that it ran along with its editorial about the Southtown Branch in February. I raked Silverman over the coals pretty hard then, but the decision to move the branch to Waynedale seems sound to me, especially given the upcoming Ardmore Avenue improvements. It's just too bad that Silverman isn't more savvy politically.
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