Whenever I saw Bob Karp moving around GNV – and that was frequently – he was either on a bicycle, on foot or getting on or off an RTS bus.
I never once saw him in a car during the many years of our mutual acquaintance.
I was an unabashed Bob Karp fan. And not just because he shared my passion for preambulating about town on two wheels. Bob was many things, but most of all he was a visionary who was constantly working to make GNV a more livable, walkable city.
And Bob was the best kind of community activist. He didn’t just show up at public meetings to speak his mind. He was hands-on.
A hands-on urbanist determined to make his city safer and more pleasurable for people who choose to get around without cars.
A hands-on organizer and a founder of GCAT (Gainesville Citizens For Active Transportation).
A hands-on activist who managed countless local political campaigns – and who insisted that, so long as he was involved, his candidates conduct their campaigns in the most ethical fashion.
It is no surprise that, after Bob passed away last year, the City Commission proclaimed Bob Karp Day in GNV. An honor befitting “a true friend, trusted confidant and moral compass to uncounted leaders in the Gainesville community.”
But some of his friends think a proclamation isn’t nearly enough to truly honor Bob Karp’s legacy.
Former City Commissioner Warren Nielsen is spearheading a campaign to install a permanent marker in Bob’s honor. And in the most appropriate location imaginable – on the roundabout where the GNV rail-trail crosses South Main Street.
Depot and South Main are GNV’s most “complete streets.” And Bob was nothing if not GNV’s most dedicated complete streets champion.
As Nielsen pointed out in a letter to GNV city officials:
Bob was an enthusiastic advocate for what has become the transformation of Main Street south of Depot Avenue and he energetically participated in the city’s planning process for the project. In fact, the current roundabout on South Main at the rail-trail was his idea.
We propose to place a modest slanted stone monument imprinted with the words of the city’s proclamation at the roundabout’s NE intersection of Main and the rail-trail. Additionally, an attractive sign could be placed on each of the two the medians on Main leading to the roundabout itself indicating “Robert Karp roundabout.”
It is important to note that Nielsen and other involved in the project are not asking the City to spend public funds on this. They are just seeking City approval of the memorial.
Our group of citizens will cover all costs of the monument and signage, he said in his letter.
Bob Karp was the least self-aggrandizing individual I’ve ever known. And if he had an ego, he kept it well hidden.
But if Bob was the soul of modesty, his friends know that GNV would be a different, and a lesser, community but for his involvement.
His is a legacy worth remembering. Please join me in asking City Commissioners to sign on to this worthy project lest Bob Karp’s legacy be forgotten.
FreeGNV 