Anita Gorman is a well-respected community leader who has won recognition for her contributions to the cause of conservation. She was chairman of the Missouri Conservation Commission, president of the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners and had a park named after her when she retired from that post. The Discovery Center, an urban conservation area along Brush Creek, bears her name. She has figured prominently in several fundraising and charity events and serves on a handful of honorary commissions. Basically, she is a local hero.
Last night, she called me pathetic.
I was participating in a discussion at a public forum regarding the Riverfront Park development being pursued by the Port Authority. One of the discussion-inducing questions was "can you imagine this park without parking in it?," in response to which Gorman immediately became incredulous.
The development is involving some of the best consultants in mixed-used development and urban parks available, and the plan is advocating the leveraging of the adjacent neighborhood to provide event parking. More than 800 on-street spaces will be provided in the neighborhood, in addition to the private parking accommodations of the residents and an independent parking supply for the office space.
Gorman shook her head adamantly.
"You need to let these people know that they aren't getting it when it comes to parking," she said. I indicated, in turn, that I could absolutely envision the park without independent parking. It could leverage the plentiful parking in the area that would only be needed during off-peak times, all without destroying the park in the process.
Clutching her car keys in hand, Gorman began to stare me down. It was immediately clear that she is used to people reverently listening when she speaks, yielding to her legacy. In reaction, she evoked it, discrediting me with a smirk and sharing credentials like "I have been in KC longer than many of you [me] have been alive" and when events were held in Loose Park, neighbors were upset by the impact to the neighborhood. She laughed at the consultants suggestion that we re-route Riverfront Drive, saying the Kansas Citians can surely cross a street while missing the point that the sense of flow and connectivity was at play, not the ability to cross. She advocated keeping the street to accommodate a "sea of parking" for events.
I countered that the layout, connections and neighborhoods that will be near this park couldn't be more different than Loose Park and that a mixed use development is designed differently than a low-density, single-family homes neighborhood of mostly affluent people like the area around Loose Park. I also said that those who choose to live in such a development make a lifestyle choice that includes such complications as people coming in from outside of the neighborhood. In fact, we welcome it.
My continued deviation from her gospel clearly irritated her, and at this point it was visible on her face and apparent in her rushed delivery. She told me that "you'll never change things in Kansas City," "it won't work here," "you don't understand," etc, before ending with "you really are quite pathetic," to the shock of me and the others in attendance.
When challenged to defend her position, she made no defense other than to cite her legacy and then, failing that, to childishly call names.
In our only true riverfront space in Kansas City, this "conservation hero" wanted to make sure there was plenty of parking for her sport utility, despite the fact that parking would sit unused on the vast majority of days, adjacent parking would go underutilized and density and connectivity to the park would be lost.
For this park to be great, things are going to have to change in Kansas City, and they already have and continue to do so. I know because I'm paying attention and I'm an agent of change, not a member of an outdated way of thinking. I may not count for much, but I care about doing things right and I refuse to believe any tired stereotype about our city.
Perhaps everyone who yields to Anita Gorman out of respect alone should put a little more faith in our city and a little less faith in her outdated viewpoint and her childish tactics. I was very disappointed that this respected community symbol, a conservation hero who ironically falls in favor of more parking lots, could not have a constructive conversation about an important topic without attempting to immediately discredit me and call me names, all while undermining the thought that Kansas City can really become world-class.
On the way out, Gorman gave me an insincere smile while carefully analyzing my nametag to remember my name and then gave me the patronizing finale: "Now, Matthew, you won't be too upset if we just have a few parking spaces in our park, now, will you?" I'm sure I'm a marked man now.
Plenty of other people were there to see this and I hope they don't forget her behavior. I certainly won't, and I certainly won't let her legacy stand in the way of the legacy of our city and our return to the river.
If that makes me pathetic, so be it.
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8 comments:
Take note that the insipient old hag immediately employed the argumentative fallacy of Ad Hominem on you. It's a common response from people suffering from intellectual constipation, who basically are seeing their arguments collapse from under them, and get nervous. They retaliate with a personal, character attack against the other person, because the premises of their argument don't hold.
I'm disappointed that she doesn't share the next generation's vision for the city. She's very well connected and could be a great asset to the city, but things change, they progress, and they've left her behind. I hate to say it because it's used all the time, but she is an older person who is out of touch.
I actually wonder if she doesn't really know/understand the plans of what they were talking about. Does she not know that the ~800 on-street spots would be free most of the time, since the residents/tennants would have their own spots?
If she does know that, and still desires that both the park be enlarged AND a 1000-space lot be created, then there would be nearly no room for development. Without people living and working there, the place would remain stagnant, and that part of the city would remain just as boring and ill-utilized as it has been for the last 80 or however-many years.
Maybe a letter to the editor would be fun. I know the Star has written less-then-flattering articles mentioning her in the past. If it's printed, I've got nothing to loose. Maybe it would quiet her down.
Damn, sorry she picked you to shit all over. Drinks on me after the next meeting...
If you don't submit this post to your local newspaper editor... you sir are missing a wonderful opportunity!!
No way they'd publish it. The Star has very little teeth, especially when pressed to challenge someone that is generally regarded positively. Unless I was a featured guest columnist, they'd limit me to a only a handful of words as well.
All you haver to do is look at the setting, amenities and programming of the Anita Gorman Park to understand Ms. Gorman's concerns.
Surrounded by a highway (I-29) and two major roadways (Vivion and North Oak) Anita Gorman Park is "well-buffered" from the intrusion of nearby development of any kind (save the 3 homes to the East).
With over 45 acres of land, (compared to 17 acres for Berkley Park) Anita Gorman Park contains open space, a fountain and hiking and biking trails served by a parking lot of approximately 40 spaces (albeit they are IN the Park). That's less than one space for every acre of park space. (So a parking lot of 15 spaces or so should be enough for Berkley Park. Okay- make it 20.)
The open space, lovely fountain ample parking and excellent connections to the hiking and biking trail system makes Gorman Park premier choice for recreational activities of many kinds.
That being said, given the size of Gorman Park; the easy highway access; the excellent buffers provided by the adjacent roadways; the large amount of open unused space that could be converted to parking and event space; and, most importantly, how strongly Ms. Goroman obviously feels about advocating and promoting the use of parks for large outdoor events, Gorman Park may very well represent a better opportunity to fulfill Ms. Gorman's vision of a large event park with lots of parking than the small, isolated Berkley Park.
Sorry, I've been in KC's Northland for twelve years and have never heard of Anita Gorman and wouldn't even know the name were it not for seeing it on my way past the park on Vivion, a park I mind you I have never stopped to visit and have no intention of ever visiting.
Anita Gorman sounds like the kind of "community leader" (who the hell elected her a leader) that likes to use my tax dollars to 'enhance' the experience of KC citizens with projects, that were they were required to be voted up or down, would be last on a list of things that need done list.
AND WHY THE HELL DOES THE METRO HAVE A PORT AUTHORITY? AND WHY THE HELL ISN'T THE 68TH ST./WAUKOMIS DR. PROJECT COMPLETED AFTER THREE YEARS? AND WHY ISN'T THE CITY OF KC USING WELFARE RECIPIENTS TO MOW THE GRASS, PICK-UP TRASH, DEAD BODIES, AND THE LIKE FORM AROUND ALL 322 SQUARE MILES OF THIS CITY? Anita Gorman? Who the hell is she?
Anita Gorman HAS NEVER RUN FOR OR BEEN ELECTED FOR ANY OFFICE. I am tired of prominent people thinking they have all this power just because they were appointed to a commission.
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