This blog printed on 100% recycled electrons.
Specifically, the City will approve yet another letter of support for the four-lane-ification of Highway 34 from Madison to I-29. "Of course our major concern is safety," writes Mayor Gene Hexom. Safety, indeed, because there are all those trucks that the rest of us just can't slow down for.
Mayor Hexom also embraces Obamanomics to make the case that the state should pour us some more concrete:
According to the Obama Administration, for every $1 million spent on capital improvements, approximately 30 jobs are created. We should feel the effect of 720 jobs created.
Once again, Madison's Republicans love the stimulus package... when it justifies their claims for pork.
And in the howler of the month, Mayor Hexom claims we've almost succeeded in our Forward Madison job creation goals:
In the past 36 months, Madison has created nearly 400 new jobs. Although the recession has slowed this rapid growth, the future looks extremely positive for Madison.
WHAT?!?! In the 36 months since the Forward Madison program announced its goal of creating 400 new jobs over five years, Madison has lost jobs. As of December 2009, there are 420 fewer jobs in Lake County than there were when Forward Madison started. Fewer.
Mayor Hexom, check the negative signs on the LAIC's spreadsheets.
It would make more sense to expand Highway 34 from Madison to I-29 to four lanes, from a safety standpoint, based solely on average daily traffic count, than to spend $10 Million on US Highway 18 between Oglala and Pine Ridge, a far less populated and traveled highway than our own Highway 34.
ReplyDeleteSenator Tim Johnson secured the $10 Million in federal stimulus funds for the improvements to US Highway 18. According to Senator Johnson's release, "The funding will be used to reconstruct a 15.6 mile segment of US Highway 18 beginning in Oglala and continuing to Pine Ridge, an area of South Dakota’s highway system that has an accident rate of more than 2.5 times higher than other areas of the state."
Is that stretch of highway 2.5 times more dangerous, even with its lower daily traffic count, because the road has deteriorated, or are there other law enforcement issues such as speeding, reckless driving or alcohol consumption followed by driving that contribute to the high accident rate on that stretch of road?
Perhaps throwing $2 Million toward tribal law enforcement expansion along with blacktop or chip sealing would reduce the accident rate for that stretch of US Highway 18. That would free up money to widen a much busier Highway 34 and make both highways safer.