Dallas promises 200 more police officers in the new city budget to fight crime. To pay for it without a property tax rate hike, the city manager is making cuts elsewhere. Street repair is one reduction.
Small concrete reconstruction work that does not require outside contractors would be greatly reduced along with deep asphalt repair. This is the kind of stuff city employees do themselves that’s more than just pothole patching. A total of $4.2 million would be eliminated. The city has tried to increase street repair money the past few years to improve the lousy condition of many Dallas streets.
They say the city will keep patching potholes as it has been doing. But it seems there could soon be more potholes to patch. City officials claim even with the reduction they will still be improving the condition of Dallas streets, just not as quickly.
While considering this reduction Wednesday, Dallas CIty Councilmembers complained the city should at least do a better job of looking after the private contractors who cut into perfectly good streets for utility work. Utility cuts often lead to bigger problems later if they are not properly patched.
In central Dallas where there is so much new redevelopment, it sure seems like the streets are always being torn up for one reason or another! What do you think about Dallas streets???
September 6, 2008 at 10:45 am
My heart goes out to the families of these young men. There life will never be the same and everytime they see a motorcycle they will think of their children and the tragic death.
Unfortunately, we must teach our children to accept personal responsibility and be accountable for their own actions. Experience is essential to making good decisions and unfortunately these two young men made some poor decisions that led to tragic results.