You will recall my now-classic post about the miles of sidewalks leading from Warren, Rhode Island, to the Massachusetts state line, Miles of Sidewalks, and Empty Stores.
I have not observed this new project with my own eyes, because that would have required about a 25 minute drive, which no real Rhode Islander would do without a truly compelling reason.
But the reader describes the project as running on "Walnut Hill in Woonsocket, at various points on Diamond Hill Road between Bound Road and Social Street." It is hard to tell the precise cost of the sidewalks, but it appears to be part of a $4.4 million stimulus grant (at page 4 in this link).
Welcome to Rhode Island. Crushing deficits, pension obligations, and high taxes are killing the state.
So we're buying a sidewalk to heaven.
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High Taxes And Union Pensions Are Killing Rhode Island. Duh!
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and at the end of all this new pavement is a dilapidated Cumberland Farms. I guess it's the RI version of Nightmare Cafe.
ReplyDeleteRhode Island - The next Wisconsin. Wisconsin - the next Michigan
ReplyDeleteOut here in politically correct Washington, not many cities would issue permits to build a sidewalk with utility poles poking up out of them. The custom here is a shakedown, in which the utility is forced to move their poles out of the walk - in case some innocent pedestrian, blinded by cares and worries about tea party racists in the bushes, walks blang into a pole and sues the city.
ReplyDeleteWe also might wonder if the sidewalk was built by a stimulus-eligible public employees union, but the pole-movers were stimulus-ineligible private utility employees, stiffed in the doling of the swag?
At least we can all feel good about how well used (therefore, how highly needed) this sidewalk is. Look at all those pedestrians! And see all those cars and trucks using the street? All those poor pedestrians would be in terrible danger from all that vehicle traffic if not for the sidewalks.
ReplyDeleteNow, about that bike-lane.... can we get some buck from Stim II, The Sequel, for the bike-lane?
-Brian Paasch
In all fairness, it was 9am on a Saturday morning. An hour later, you'll see much more road traffic.
ReplyDeleteThere's actually a shopping center a little farther down that's come back from the dead over the past 15-20 years and that has a lot of congestion (a good thing, as it's busy, especially in hard times). But still--the area shown in these pics--foot traffic? You've got to be kidding me.
I see that Obama-Stimulus sign! That probably cost $10,000 easy.
ReplyDelete