Add My Name

Add my name to the list of citizens complaining about the Friendly Avenue Widening project.

I do not live near the Friendly Avenue improvement area but moving the utility poles and adding a median and turn lanes seems like a waste of taxpayers money to me.

Of course, I am always in favor of more sidewalks.

Putting utility lines underground as we widened the street would have been a better use of the money. I suggested this to some City Council members several years ago. The answer to my inquiry was that it is too expensive.

The utility poles are dangerously close to the street and this area is famous for losing power during snow, rain and windy weather. The beautiful trees that line the streets are trimmed without mercy but power is still out many times in the area.

I have heard many complaints about the trees being butchered in the area of these lines. The maintenance costs would be much lower for the power company if the lines were underground and, as a plus, we could keep more of our beautiful tree shaded streets.

There are many other ways to improve our streets. This is a safety factor as well as an aesthetic one.

Putting medians on busy streets seems to be a trend these days. And as with many so-called improvements to our streets in the past, this too will pass. And I hope it is sooner than later. I have read that some other cities have already decided to remove some medians because they make many streets more dangerous.

What do you think?