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The Irony Of It All
Brad Hollerbach

City To Hire 20 People To Use Sidewalks

Posted Wednesday, February 6, 2013, at 12:00 PM

Comments

View 11 comments or respond
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  • Ah! The risk of fiction aligning so closely to truth. "The unapparent connection is more powerful than the apparent one." Heraclitus, 500 B.C.

    -- Posted by Paul Nenninger on Wed, Feb 6, 2013, at 1:37 PM
  • One of your best! Miss your regular postings.

    Have to ask, do you write weather- or- not also? Noting a simular writing style.

    -- Posted by Otoe on Wed, Feb 6, 2013, at 2:36 PM
  • No JS, I do not write weather-or-not. I would like to write more, but for me this is an extracurricular activity and I have other commitments for my spare time.

    Thanks for reading.

    -- Posted by Brad_Hollerbach on Wed, Feb 6, 2013, at 2:59 PM
  • I'm regularly accused on the site of not having a job... ...this one was PERFECT for me! Da**!

    Guess I'll just have to keep my hopes up for work at the Federal Department of Redundancy Department.

    -- Posted by bbollmann on Wed, Feb 6, 2013, at 3:40 PM
  • Brad - a great piece, probably your best ever.

    -- Posted by justbob on Thu, Feb 7, 2013, at 6:46 AM
  • Brad, so improving and adding sidewalks are a waste of money? Personally, I wish my neighborhood had sidewalks so I wouldn't have to walk on the side of the road against traffic. But hey, why encourage walking when we can just hop in a car, not get any physical activity and spend $3.50 a gallon on gas, right?

    -- Posted by gazza33 on Thu, Feb 7, 2013, at 7:52 AM
  • Gazza,

    I'm not against adding and maintaining sidewalks, but I'm both a realist and a long time resident of this town. The existence of sidewalks does little to encourage people to use them. There are sidewalks on both sides of my street and the only person who uses them on a semi-regular basis is whoever is delivering our mail, and half the time that person cuts through yards. The few pedestrians I do see more often than not use the streets.

    Money doesn't grow on trees no matter what the city and state appear to believe. The sidewalk improvements and trail extensions like the one being put in along William Street obviously are costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. How much they will be used is a matter of opinion, but based on my observations, I think very little. However, those projects are highly visible and as a public relations ploy, it proves to Joe Public that his tax dollars are being "well spent."

    Thanks for reading.

    -- Posted by Brad_Hollerbach on Thu, Feb 7, 2013, at 9:24 AM
  • Brad,

    Obviously, the sidewalk improvements and trail extension cost money. However, I'd much rather them spend that in which people can use and enjoy. I'd rather the money spent on sidewalks and trails rather than a quarter million to tear down a functional building at main and broadway. Do you use the trail at all? Personally, I'm glad they are extending the trail so that I can safely ride my bike. I would've been happy with bike lanes on streets, but that got nixed. These improvements are quality of life improvements. Could it be this town has had stagnant population for 30 or so years because Cape doesn't bring in any industry with decent wages or improvements around town to make people want to move here and enjoy amenities?

    -- Posted by gazza33 on Thu, Feb 7, 2013, at 11:37 AM
  • Gazza,

    It is impossible to make everyone happy, but I would wager that for every one resident who thinks the construction of sidewalks and trails is a smart fiscal decision there are at least 20 who think that money would be better spent in other ways.

    Reducing sewer bills would be nice. How about a leaf pickup service that actually works as promoted? Or perhaps MODOT could focus on maintaining some of their deteriorating bridges such as the I-55 overpass at the 99 mile marker where rebar is clearly visible on some of the columns.

    By the way, I checked with the reporter who deals with the city since a quarter of a million seemed rather steep for tearing down the old bank building. Apparently that figure also includes construction costs for new parking lot.

    Thanks for reading.

    -- Posted by Brad_Hollerbach on Thu, Feb 7, 2013, at 12:26 PM
  • LOL! Where do I sign up for this job? I've been looking for a job for months. I have diabetes and this would also be great for my health.

    -- Posted by cuincr on Sat, Feb 9, 2013, at 12:05 PM
  • Funny. I thought this was an early "April Fool's" story. Lol

    -- Posted by vintage1 on Tue, Mar 5, 2013, at 3:50 PM