Well, "public works projects in Surprise" aren't mentioned either, and guess what?
From the Arizona Republic, written by Lesley Wright -
Surprise “tea party” members told Surprise’s transportation chief this week that they oppose a $40 million project to lift Bell Road over Grand Avenue.
While city leaders and state transportation officials say the upgrades will help relieve congestion on one of the Valley’s busiest roads, the party’s members worry about how it will impact merchants.
“It would have a negative effect on businesses at that intersection,” tea-party member Bernard Paluch said. “We have stores that don’t want to run the risk of being put out of business.”
{snip}
Tea-party member Larry Templeton said he does not foresee the population booming again and is opposed to the Bell-Grand improvement and other large projects that would burden the taxpayers.
“I want the ‘no-build’ option,” he said. “Let’s be cautious in spending money we don’t have.”
To be fair, the Constitution wasn't mentioned in the article, so I suspect that it wasn't mentioned during the meeting.
Also to be fair, here in Scottsdale we have the same sort of "we don't know what it is, but if it is new, we don't like it" sort of folks who mask their fear of the future with a sincere-sounding concern for local businesses (and then do their shopping at Walmart because of their low wages/low quality/low prices business model).
Don't believe me? Just go to any neighborhood meeting here, stand up, say the words "light rail", And then duck.
Anyway, for now, I'm going to assume that the project isn't going to go forward. The only question that I have is how many of the reflexive naysayers will raise their hands when their neighbors wonder why traffic congestion is so bad, and who's to blame?
I expect the number will be somewhat less than "one".
2 comments:
If the only correct answer to any given problem is to pass one more law, build one more government funded road and borrow $1 million more dollars on the taxpayer's back then those who suggest anything else should indeed be "blamed" for their political position.
The fact is that not every proposed government road project should be implemented. Are there any other options that would reduce congestion in that area? Nobody will know if the question is never asked.
In the end if you need someone to blame for this particular project never coming to pass you are welcome to blame me. I won't mind. I am sure there are plenty of taxpayers who will be thankful.
I should have been clearer in the post -
My criticism isn't really of the "no" position of the tea party types, it's the mindless reflexiveness of it.
They are opposed to the overpass not because it is a bad idea (which it may or may not be), but because it isn't the status quo.
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