MAN TIRED OF EATING DUST ON MAGNOLIA

The Rev. Hal Green doesn't have to drive on the gravel section of Magnolia Street to be reminded of the frustration he and his neighbors have felt for several years.

Green said even though he lives on the corner of Rampart and Magnolia, he eats plenty of the dust when traffic stirs the gravel on Magnolia. Rampart is completely paved. But Magnolia was paved as part of the city's 3-inch surfacing program several years ago only as far as Rampart. The remainder of the street is gravel.

The dust gets in Green's lungs, on his clothes and the interior of his car.

Green, minister of Cape Bible Chapel, was the lone participant of Tuesday's Vision 2000 transportation meeting at First Baptist Church. Upon realizing he still had an opportunity to voice his sentiments, Green said he is tired of "eating the dust."

And, Green said he isn't alone in his frustration. "The people who live on Rampart and the ones living on the section of Magnolia that isn't paved with asphalt have told me this has gone on long enough," Green said. "It's just unacceptable."

The citizens who live in Green's neighborhood have taken their plight to the city. But City Engineer J. Kensey Russell said so far there has been no easy solution.

"To pave the rest of the street with asphalt would be giving the people a poor product because it wouldn't last very long," Russell said. The city engineer calls the situation a Catch-22 dilemma. Russell said the issue has gone back and forth between citizens and city officials with no real solution forthcoming.

Russell said the city wants to pave the remaining gravel streets in the city. But the cost often exceeds what property owners are willing to pay.

"I would have to pay $14,000 to pave the 144-foot frontage and I can't justify that with what my house is worth," Green said. "There is one property owner who would have to pay $40,000 to pave the front of the home he owns on the block."

Green said he would be happy to pay for asphalt, however. "My neighbor got an estimate of $640 for the asphalt," he said. "I would be happy to pay that, but if I've got to pay $14,000 I'd have to sell my home and move out."

Having lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years, Green said moving out is the last thing he wants to do.

It is an issue like Green's that has come before the Vision 2000 transportation committee. Vision 2000 transportation committee chairman Melvin Gateley said such dilemmas need to be brought to the surface to give the Planning and Zoning Commission an idea what projects to recommend to the city council.

Due to the declining numbers of participants in the last few meetings, Gateley said Thursday's session at Westminster Presbyterian Church has been canceled.

However, the final meeting on Saturday at Red Star Baptist Church is still on for 9 a.m. "I think we've given people enough of an opportunity to say what they think that we can wind it down with a final meeting at Red Star and then hold our town meeting May 22 at West Park Mall," Gateley said.