“Martha, did you survive back there? Martha? Martha?”
Yup, it’s like bumper cars and demolition derby on the streets of Deforest City but the city’s road chief is partly wrong when he says ‘politicians who underfund road work are to blame’ for the terrible conditions of our roads.
Come on, let’s do the math:
First, road chief David Leckie says he needs $20 million smackers per year to keep our streets from becoming worse than they already are (Worse? Insert laugh track here). And he’s not talking about improvements in other areas.
Second, City Hall spent half that amount last year, will spend less this year and well under $20 mill per year in the future.
Sounds like I’ve paved myself into a corner, eh? Not quite.
Third, have politicians and those that vote for them allowed funding for roads and other infrastructure needs to increase at the same pace as city growth to the far reaches of the known universe, as should happen when sprawling subdivisions and poorly planned development widens the borders of Deforest City faster than one can count the SUVs and heavy trucks that pummel roads into bite-sized fragments? (Whew. Take a breath. That was a long one.)
Fourth, how many people who live miles from work in an inappropriately named suburb (Rolling Meadow? Where’s the meadow now?) put pressure on City Hall not to raise taxes for roads because the payments on an over-sized house and car are too high?
Fifth, how many of us will vote for a councillor who says we need to pay more for the petroleum-based macadam that allows us to get smoothly to our lifestyle choices?
Martha, will you? Martha?
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