Leaders of the Save Our Streets effort today hit City Council Chairman Ron Littlefield and Mayor Bob Corker as "self-serving politicians."
Referring to the Council chairman as "Litterfield" in a press release, the group said they are disappointed he "took the low road" in criticizing their efforts to block the two-way conversion of McCallie Avenue and MLK Boulevard/Bailey Avenue.
Councilman Littlefield currently is in China on a Sister City visit to Wuxi.
SOS, a group headed by attorney Charles Gearhiser, said, "We are disappointed that City Councilman Ron Litterfield has chosen to take the low road in trying to convince the public that the foolish efforts to convert McCallie – MLK/Bailey to two-way traffic is worth the millions of dollars it will cost the taxpayers.
"This is what he said in the media recently: 'The most disturbing part of this is that former city leaders — people that have been admired and respected in the past — are blatantly and knowingly spreading misinformation just to frighten and divide the public. They should be ashamed of their distortions and half-truths. All of this noise and negativism is an effort to hang on to a damaging, outdated one-way traffic pattern that hasn’t really been needed since construction of the Interstate.'
"Litterfield attacks the integrity of such outstanding citizens as former Mayor Ralph Kelley, former Mayor Pat Rose and long standing Chief Traffic Engineer Ralph Lewis.
"He says these outstanding leaders, and others, plus thousands of Chattanoogans have the audacity to question city officials on a very questionable project.
"We ask the public to consider the motives. On the one hand you have civic-minded citizens that have avoided second-guessing city officials for decades, but feel so strongly that this is a foolish project that they speak up and subject themselves to criticism by entrenched politicians.
"On the other hand, you have a mayor with higher political ambitions, and a chairman of the City Council that still wants to be mayor despite his overwhelming loss to Gene Roberts.
"Try to find the real motives of these self-serving politicians.
"Litterfield’s 'Fact Sheet' avoided the real facts. He chooses to carefully select non-committal quotes by the commissioner of the Department of Transportation; now we quote the commissioner: 'TDOT opposes the conversion of these streets to two-way operation as we believe it will have a detrimental effect on the operation and safety.' That seems pretty plain.
"Litterfield quotes the Federal Highway Administration, saying there are 'both advantages and disadvantages.' Why didn’t he elaborate on the two typewritten pages of concerns raised by F.H.A.?
"Litterfield accuses Save Our Streets of distortions and half-truths. Our facts are taken directly from the studies commissioned by the City of Chattanooga with taxpayer’s funds.
"The differences were so great that Judge Ralph Kelley asked the Chattanooga Engineers Club to make a non-political study to explain the differences.
"Civic-minded professional engineers donated many man-hours over a two- month period and found the 1998 study by a Tennessee firm was far superior and the cost estimates much more accurate than the Florida firm. The mayor and City Council choose to ignore the unbiased findings. Why?
"Litterfield says the Fire Chief favors the change. The Fire Chief works for the mayor. Former fire chiefs with far more experience, strongly oppose the change for safety reasons.
"Ron Litterfield, not 'Save Our Streets' is guilty for distortions and half-truths.
"It seems that there is a hidden agenda. We appeal to the other City Council members to rethink this project and talk to their constituents. Ask where the mayor plans to find those 'State and Federal funds.' What projects in what districts will be postponed or canceled?
“Save Our Streets urges officials to cancel or postpone this project at least until the new bridge on Third Street is completed, and human impact and air pollution studies are complete."
Other members of Save Our Streets include Pat Rose, Merv Pregulman, Ralph Kelley, Jack Stocker, Marti Rutherford, Bob Elmore, Jack Anderson, Ralph Lewis Jr., Scott Seldon, Joe Dumas, George Spencer and James Stephenson Jr.