There is a lot of talk about tenth street these days. Actually it's been going on for quite some time. What has changed though is that some are trying to make it seem as though the council is not interested in making improvements to tenth street. Simply put, this is not true. More so this merely an attempt by most to protect their mayor and portray Dennis Julius as the bad guy in light of the up coming election. They are some what desperate to do this because of the sad political situation that Mike Moore has put himself in over the last year plus.
Don't listen to them.
Here is the truth on Tenth Street.
The council is fully in favor of making improvements to 10th St. Its actually been on their list of things to do for quite some time. Long before Julius announced he would run for mayor. Actually before the last election. And that has not changed one bit.
What the council has always been waiting on is matching funds from the state. Something that would save the city of Jeffersonville quite of bit of money. I believe (if memory serves) that those funds would become available after the next election. That's has always been the case by the way.
But see, that won't help Moore out in the election. So he has decided to try and move forward with the project early and use the cities TIF funds for the project. Thus breaking one of his campaign promises to "do more with less."
The city council, it seems, wants no part of spending extra funds on a project when a little patience would save the city quite a bit of money. Something Moore's core supporters pointed to during the last election. But now they are forced to look the other way for fear that Moore's dwindling support will not be enough to win him a second term.
And the truth also needs to be said about the productivity of such improvements. During rush hours, 10th street is always going to be busy. Whether you add a turning lane or not. While I don't drive tenth street much, I've driven it enough to know that it is light on off hours and heavy, but steady during peak travel times. That won't change with a turning lane. It won't even make turning easier. It will just make it easier for traffic going through to go around vehicle's that are turning. So this is not the answer to all the problems. There probably isn't one.
The most ironic part of all of this is that whenever Walnut Ridge is awarded a contract with the lowest bid, those same supporters seem cry foul and scream favoritism. Now that Moore is willing to use funds to try and improve 10th street, where many of the businesses supported him, they are looking the other way.
JAML, didn't I read that the funds the council wants to wait on won't be available for the project for a few years? Does waiting for these funds require another study be done, as the council apparently wants? Wouldn't the study be at taxpayer expense? While the project won't decrease traffic on 10th Street, wouldn't a dedicated turning lane enable traffic in the driving lanes to move more smoothly? And isn't it possible 10th Street business owners/frequent drivers would prefer to see the project move forward now rather than wait for years?
ReplyDeleteWell, I believe that I stated that most of these facts you present are true. As far as the study goes, I have no idea whether one would be required or not. But I highly doubt that it would overrun the "match" by the state, thus making it more fiscally responsible.
DeleteSorry for the delay in my response.