The Hansville Log reports that a Cross-Connector Road Feasibility Study Committee is being formed under Gerry Porter (638-1150). Such a road is attractive to bumpside people to divert traffic away from their houses, and it appeals to commuters weary of the bumps.
Old-time residents say that the county spent over a million dollars on a feasibility study in the '90s. The upshot was that it would devastate the last wild animal habitat in the north of the peninsula, it would create major water runoff problems, and it would cost a phenomenal amount---and the newspaper says the cost of asphalt will quadruple this year.
Based on the petitions for and against the bumps, 88% of Hansville wants the bumps removed and our arterial roads returned to arterial speed limits. That wouild solve the commute problems for 88% of Hansville, and it would cost very little compared to building a whole new road.
My neighbor was recently coming home on Twin Spits by the grocery and came up on a couple walking along their road. The car couldn't cross into the oncoming lane, so the car proceeded forward at a crawl. The lady sidestepped onto the wide shoulder there but the man insisted on walking in the road. As he walked past the barely-moving car, he smacked it repeatedly with a Steve Bauer election sign on a stick.
Notice a pattern here? The whiners on Twin Spits and Cliffside so screwed up our ride in and out of Hansville, and have so discouraged our hopes of majority rule returning the roads to us as they once were, that we're crazy enough to consider building a new road that avoids the bumps, leaves the whiners' roads empty for themselves only, and they do it all on the taxpayers' millions.
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Whether a cross-connector is ever built or not the speed bumps needs to come NOW! The Cross-connector Group currently meeting is a part of the 'messy' effort to try and resolve the speed bump issue. If the cross-connector is the "solution" to the communities division over the bumps it WON"T WORK! If the road is built it will take YEARS and I am not the only one who isn't willing to wait that long for a road to my home that is not impeded by multiple obstacles on a daily basis!
Sept 30, 2008--Hansville Cross-Connector Road Committee is now one of the 3 "working groups to identify speed table alternatives". They are meeting with Public Works regarding costs and the process for establishing a Local Improvement District (LID) (translation: a new taxing authority that will up your property taxes to pay for a road we don't need and don't want.
I notice also that this committee seems to be working a lot like the "Road Safety" committee that created the speed bumps: The Hansville Log for the first week of October invites the public to a meeting on the cross-connector to be on September 30. Only "time travelers" will be able to attend that meeting!
Okay people, let's at least be fair. There are three committees - one is working on how to make the speed TABLES (not bumps, humps, or any of the other misnomers that continue to be used) work, one on how to keep road safety while removing the tables, and one looking into a cross-connector.
The primary reason the cross-connector wasn't built is because it didn't need to be. Before people trashed the road through the res, that road was available for people to get in and out. Since people abused the privilege (and one of the ways is by speeding), we lost it.
This blame and whine game is getting really tiresome. Spend your time on the committees, it might be more fruitful than blogging your opinions (sans information).
Well, let's also be clear that just because someone is posting on a blog does not mean that they are uninvolved in whatever committees may be existence. Sometimes people speak out in more than one venue.
Actually, as far as being active is concerned, the new lawsuit against GHAAC and the County looks to be a lot more useful than going to a bunch of meetings or committees. For all those folks whose mantra is "you should have gone to the meetings, so too bad if you are unhappy", their message actually is "take action to make your voice heard and stop bad decisions from being made." The lawsuit is exactly that.
I personally cannot see why a crossconnector road is needed now - nothing has changed as far as the factors that would appear to drive that decision.
You are absolutely correct. I did make an erroneous assumption that the person who posted this comment was not involved in the committees. For that I apologize - it was based on the tone of the post, rather than any factual information.
The lawsuit, however, can not be labled "real" action. Have you read it? A lot of allegation, no substance.
I'm hoping that people will continue to work on the committees and get out and vote and make sure that the community is heard for real. I also hope that people will base their decisions on facts, rather than unsupported allegations and angst.
I'm not particularly fond of traffic calming devices, but I'm even less fond of the reason they may be needed - those who create a danger to others because they are in a hurry. I may be naive, but I still believe that people can work together to create solutions. Working together, however, requires putting aside anger and blame and having real discussion. The more accusation and blind anger enters a conversation, the less likely the speaker is to be heard.
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