I'm just as willing, if not more, as most individuals to pay my fair share. My problem, though, is when the people get little to no value from their tax dollars.
A few streets in my neighborhood are getting repaved. What made my blood boil was the corners the workers torn up. They're replacing the sidewalk corners at every location where these streets are being redone.
This is the THIRD TIME these corners have been done in FOUR YEARS! I asked a worker why they were being replaced again and I received a shrug of the shoulders.
I hope my councilman will be able to provide some insight.
We all have illustrations of govt waste, but this one just set me off.
Thank you for putting up with my rant.
You know what pisses me off about wasteful tax dollars? The street lights and "beautification" of the streets near Southwyck Mall. Yeah, I live over here but it's such a waste. It's like putting a pretty bow on a rotting corpse and I'm sure it wasn't cheap.
Yeah, and I hate all the yahoos with their cowboy hats
Oops, sorry. I thought the thread was titled, "Why I hate Texas".
Reinhart, surely you know by now that the Southwyck Mall suddenly announced it would be closing in June. This is all going according to an "economic development" plan that is designed for a developer to assume none of the risks yet will keep all the profits. Since being too obvious about that raises public ire, it's done deceptively or distractedly. The so-called improvements (in reality, yuppie-fication) of Reynolds at that point are being done since somebody is going to take a lot of public funds and try to reform the area into something like Levis Commons ... without the subsequent commercial "success", however.
Note well that I don't count Levis Commons as a commercial success at all, since it's highly dependent upon BANK CREDIT, and we should all be aware of how unsustainable that really is from current events.
Perhaps you should live in a country without them. If there is such a place. Wars cost a lot of money and take decades to pay off.
Most the companies listed and delisted on the NYSE rely on debt instruments to expand and retool. Fake money, fake companies, fake services, fake products, fake prosperity, fake happiness, fake happily ever after.... (what's the emoticon for shit eatin' grin?)
Postal - I'm really curious about the sidewalk corners. If you get a technical engineering answer please post. You could call the Engineering department or the Division of Streets and ask someone directly your self.
I've known them to be replaced during a repaving job because of the ADA requirements. There is a very miminal degree of incline or slope allowed for handicapped/wheelchair users. And believe me it is minimal. I don't remember what the exact specs are but even if you were told what it was you couldn't dicsern it without actually measuring. But even if that is the case - then either the engineering or the execution of the engineering plans for the repaving jobs is deficient. The corners should line up perfectly even if the jobs are done several years apart.
Unforseen engineering problems do arise frequently in road repaving jobs. The number one cause is utility lines ( gas, phone or water) which the Department of Public Utilities hasn't correctly located on maps during the planning and engineering phase. You've heard of OOPS right? The "Call Before You Dig" people. Well they don't always get it right. The usual reason is the maps they rely on are 30-40-50 years old and innacurate. That's why every now and then you hear of a contractor hitting a water or a gas line during construction. According to the plans approved by OOPS that line wasn't supposed to be there. Sometimes they just screw up. Once in a repaving job the location of a service box for Ma Bell was left off the maps. This box was down about 10', the size of a small house and in the middile of the road close to an intersection. The whole repaving job had to stop while the entire project was re-engineered. The box couldn't be moved and all the new sewer lines, now partially installed would have run right through it. Talk about an OOPS!
There is a reason for the sidewalk corner replacements. It's an engineering one. I'd be curious to see if someone from the City man's up and tells you the truth behind the engineering.
Hey just wait, if history repeats, and it usually does, as soon as the road is finished they will cut it up to repair a waterline. Then they will do an incredibly crappy job patching it.
The "Call Before You Dig" has an error rate since depths change over time due to erosion. On average, the piping in the documentation are simply not as far down as they think.
Holland, I'll let you know if we get an answer. This is Drummond Rd in Old Orchard. I believe there are two other streets being repaved in this area.
As to the ADA requirements, that's why they've done this a few times. Practically all corners were done to meet those requirements four years ago. The problem was the city got the slope wrong and most corners had to be redone the following year.
Yup. That happens unfortunately. Also, sometimes, the ADA changes its standards too. Although you don't have to go back and retrofit if the building/road/ramp whatever met the old requirements any new work done means a TOTAL do over. Bathrooms are a biggie. All in all it's a good thing as long as the engineers use that slide rule in their pocket protector correctly the first time!