One of my constituents, Eileen Gordner, recently reached out to me at a town hall meeting and expressed her dismay with ‘sidewalks to nowhere.’ It’s crazy that in these tough economic times we would even think about wasting money when we have far greater needs with our infrastructure. I am urging our federal lawmakers to halt this ridiculous spending on ‘sidewalks to nowhere’ and mandates to upgrade street signs throughout the state.
Many of our local communities are now dealing with this “sidewalks to nowhere” issue. These projects will inevitably fall on the backs of local governments to maintain, while pushing governments on all levels deeper in debt.
Eileen initially emailed my office on the absurdity of sidewalks to nowhere stating, “This is just another example of government not being in touch with what’s really going on. We’re supposed to have checks and balances.”
Eileen went on to explain her frustration with mandates to upgrade street signs statewide that will cost taxpayers millions.
Hearing her aggravation with these wasteful spending measures, we could not let these problems go unnoticed.
The cost to install a handicap ramp on these sidewalks to nowhere ranges between $3,000 and $7,000. These sidewalks lead to rock gardens, empty fields and other areas hazardous to pedestrians. These sidewalks, funded by the federal stimulus bill, should no longer happen.
Worst yet, by 2018, our street signs throughout our state will have to be upgraded. This federal mandate poses huge cost concerns for both the state and local governments.
Both of these issues, which are wasting away hard earned tax dollars when we have far greater infrastructure needs, are not going unnoticed.
I recently sent a letter to Senator Casey, Senator Toomey and our local Congressmen urging action on these issues. You can view my letter on my website: www.SenatorArgall.com.
What do you think of “sidewalks to nowhere” and a federal government mandate to upgrade street signs?
Is this a waste of money or needed for our community? What examples of wasted tax dollars do you see in your local community? Send me a response as to what you think on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SenatorArgall, on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SenatorArgall or send me an email at dargall@pasen.gov. I look forward to hearing your suggestions
Contact: Jon Hopcraft
(717) 787-2637
(570) 773-0891