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Dear Editor:
Regarding Mayor Jensen’s comments in Friday’s edition …
That the mayor sees the need to defend the decision to proceed with the Pleasant Street extension just confirms how bad an idea it is. Most of us who oppose the idea had already conceded that the road is going to happen and have moved on to improving the route. But the city is moving ahead with a route first conceived some 30 years ago as if nothing has happened in that time to change our priorities.
This route may have received the blessing of federal and state authorities, but it’s hard to see how it “limits the impact on existing homes and businesses.” Of all the proposed routes this one had the GREATEST impact on existing homes and businesses. Some of the proposed routes had NO impact on them.
It’s easy to find advocates for roads in government. It’s harder to find neighborhood advocates. We depend on our elected representatives for that, but they didn’t step up here.
A project like this reveals a community’s true sense of values. Do we prioritize established neighborhoods and businesses, or do we prioritize traffic flow? I think the wholesale clearcutting currently going on speaks volumes and shows exactly where Noblesville stands. If the route had been adjusted (reimagined) just a bit we could have saved dozens of homes and businesses while adding a little time (minutes) to the trip across the city, but those suggestions were rejected.
As for trails, I’m in favor of connecting the ones we have, but having a trail next to a road is the second worst place to have it. The first worst is IN the road. Considering the increasing number of pedestrian and bike collisions with cars, people don’t feel safe running, walking or biking just a few feet away from speeding cars, and I don’t blame them. With just a little “reimagining” we could have a much better trail solution than one we’re getting here.
I haven’t seen the study that projects a $1.6 billion economic impact and 7,000 new jobs as a result of this road, but on the face of it, that is laughable. This project is taking property OFF the tax rolls. Roads don’t generate wealth; they simply provide the means to move people and things from one place to another. They’re a necessary liability. This road isn’t opening any new land for development (except perhaps a short distance on the far west end). It’s simply widening a road that’s already there.
It seems like we’re being asked to be grateful that the administration decided to “bet on Noblesville” and prevented us from becoming an economic backwater by plowing a 100 feet road right-of-way through our city, demolishing dozens of homes and businesses in the process.
But I’m not grateful. This is not progress. This is unhealthy ambition gone amuck, and I am not pleased that I’m being forced to pay for it.
I was not a fan of the previous mayor, mostly because he lacked ambition. But he at least had the sense to delay a project when the gains didn’t justify the losses. That sense seems to be missing here.
Mike Corbett
Noblesville
Agreed Mike. This, along with the US 37 project, are a great waste for the little, if any, gain. To alleviate traffic by running traffic through the center of town is insanely stupid, but hey, I don’t remember being asked my opinion.