September 16, 2005
Letter to the Editor Herald Palladium Today
Pat Gaston waxes poetic in today's Herald Palladium:
When did South Haven hit the jackpot?
Editor,
Who knew?! The city of South Haven is rolling in dough. Last week the city council passed an item funding a 10-foot-wide bike path across the I-196 Phoenix Road overpass, to the tune of $400,000. And it appears that South Haven Township is in the money, too, because the city manager said that the city could depend on the township for between $40,000 and $60,000 of that cost. Hopefully, that means that the township has the funding in place to buy the beach property for a park.
For the record, the Michigan Department of Transportation will be redoing that overpass in the next couple years. The city has an opportunity to put in a 5-foot sidewalk over the highway for approximately $60,000 or a 10-foot sidewalk/bike path for approximately $400,000. In a letter dated July 26 by city staff to the city council, it was noted that MDOT recommended the 5-foot option. The county Road Commission, which funds the maintenance of the trail through the sale of trail passes, is also not keen on the 10-foot sidewalk/bike path plan, as the more connections to the trail, the more difficult it is to collect that money. However, some on the council favored the larger project because they want to "connect" east to west. They reasoned that the highway is a barrier to people going to the college, Wal-Mart, etc. I suggest there already is a wonderful and tranquil connection less than a mile away. It is called the Kal-Haven Trail and it runs under I-196 just to the north, connecting east to west.
So there you have it. Remember this the next time you fall off your bike on the current city streets because of the huge potholes, or the next time you watch some pedestrian or handicapped individual struggle along major streets (think Aylworth or any street in your neighborhood) because there aren't any sidewalks, or your car needs a front-end alignment after traversing the city streets. Remember that Mr. King, Mr. Paull, Ms. Fahs, and Mayor Lewis feel that a bigger priority is to spend $400,000 so that you can ride, not walk, your bike on a sidewalk over the Phoenix overpass. I guess we really are in the chips!
Pat Gaston
South Haven
Posted by Elaine at September 16, 2005 09:28 PM