I have heard back from some of you about the weekly ( or so ) poll. And so I will post the results so that there can be a record to go back to. The question was
Q: Do you support spending 1.5M to make private roads public?
Only 1 person said yes
The clear majority said NO at 20 votes
and 1 was unsure
Thanks to all who participated and although this is definitely not scientific it will make the issue all the more interesting when it comes up to the council.
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12 comments:
It's very hard to make poll questions fair...this one was flawed...my answer is neither "yes" or "no"; it's much more complicated than that.
My gut is that strictly applying a clear definition of what is public and what is private would lead to a few private roads becoming public...not $1.5 millions-worth.
I agree that this pole is very unfair! The town needs to stop relying on the memory of Mr Cote which fades in and out depending on whether you are liked by the town or not. What the town needs to do is register an entire road map with 'type' designation at the registry of deeds. This way there is no wrangling about sub paragraphs in the state RSA's, because if there is a registered map things are black and white (maybe not right, but that can change because then there is also a clear process). Town rules could easily be updated and become clear. It would be a messy process, but relying on one town member is much much messier!
To the above anonymouses,
I agree with both of you that it is not as simple as a yes or no vote. We do have to take careful consideration for each and every request. However I think that you would both agree that it will cost all the taxpayers of Derry more money ( including those already on private roads )
The poll result DOES reflect the community desire, like it or not. Private road residents want public road status, ex post facto. Those residents must first upgrade to town standard. It is only fair. One more point, please do not give anyone in Derry politics the idea of conducting a "scientific poll" lest we get the same nonsense of 10K more dollars wasted like is about to be spent on a Manning Street study. It is as plain as day that Manning will be reconnected to take some pressure off of 102. There is much politics and deal making going on over Manning Street, just ask BC and the Bensons. The greater public good will not fall by the wayside due to the special interests of a single pol and a hardware store without hell to pay.
Annonymous 8:46,
Please don't speak for the rest of us Annonymous's --- you are wrong on the facts on both issues.
I don't favor spending $1.5 million as the poll asked, but I could very easily see spending a shorter amount to make a few private roads public IF AND ONLY IF they meet a strictly applied crieria. The stricter the crieria are, the more politics would be taken out of it.
Are you serious about Manning Street? Do you really think that making the intersection of Manning and Broadway much more active will alleviate traffic on Broadway????!!!!!
I see an additional line of cars going east on Broadway at rush hour - waiting behind a few cars looking to take a left hand turn onto Manning....or again at rush hour cars stopping in both directions on Broadway waiting for cars on Manning to turn on to Broadway.
Please explain yourself...and please include a related fact or two. You might also try to explain why Coyle is driving this waste of $80K of hard earned taxpayer money.
Well Anonymous 8:46, if it's facts you want, it's up to you to get them like I have (besides, you would not believe them coming from me judging by the level of hostility in your response.)
For instance, if you actually follow through you will find that there never was a Manning St. traffic study conducted, contrary to what is being put out there for public consumption.
Do yourself a favor, contact any number of relevant town officials, as i have over the years and ask whether in their professional judgement
openning Manning Street is a good idea or not. Be sure to fill us in on what you discover.
Also, do yourself a favor, go back, re-read and comprehend the "Roads" question BC posed carefully then respond to my position. It is actually similar to yours, except I want ZERO public funds supplementing anyones "grown up" decision to purchase on a private road. You want public road benefits?...use private funds to upgrade.
Finally, why on earth would you assume that I would attempt to explain Mr. Coyle's or any council townie position on ANYTHING? I will observe however that overall Coyle seems a straight shooter as opposed to the many other jokers we have suffered through over the years, but I digress.
Frankly, I have voiced concern about 102 congestion for years. Unless any and all traffic alternatives are implemented it can only get worse. Now, once you have actually done some leg work and retrieved facts of your own, as I have, I reflect back to you your own question "Are you serious?"
One more thing, the poll does reflect public sentiment...but you already knew that.
anonymous 11:37,
Sorry to burst your bubble however you stated that there was never any Manning Street traffic study done.
Simply put-you are incorrect! You may have gone to town hall and noboby could find one and you assume that because they could not, that one was not done. In my next post-you will have access to that report. And in that report it will undeniably state that it will not help any traffic on Rte 102.
BC ... the problem with your 1.5 million number is that it is what it would cost to upgrade these roads to Class V. A lot of these roads cannot handle becoming 'true' class V roads. Mainly width requirments. Roads can be class VI and be maintained by the town. However, it would take new town rules that would CLEARLY delineate what is the town's responsibility, versus the home owners. A perfect example would be plowing. DPW will plow if and only if there is through access or a turnaround of xyz size. There are many many roads in Derry that are not up to Class V standards and are maintained by the town. Take Nortonville for example. Show me a road there that meets the requirements. I agree that these roads shouldn't burden the town, but if they are necessary for the town, they need to me maintained to a minimum (which would be a new rule) standard. As I said before, an officail list needs to be registered at the county, so that deeds can be updated/correct to clearly state the status of the roads folks live on (mainly the private road folks). As a realtor, you should want/require this.
So Annonymous 11:37,
The traffic study has been produced that destroys your (and Coyles) position, will give up now?
No, no --- because yours (and your straight shooter Coyle - ha, ha -) is a political position you will never give up - but the facts again have exposed the motives as nothing more than political.
On the roads thing - to be clear - I don't know what the criteria should be, but my gut is that if a very specific criteria were applied, a few roads would end up becoming public - not $1.5 millions worth.
To suggest differently, as you have, is saying that ALL PRIVATE ROADS SHOULD REMAIN PRIVATE FOREVER, NO MATTER WHAT (Safty, economic development, the greater good - BE DAMMED! - those guys knew better!).
anonymous 2:55,
The 1.5M number came from public works that would be just to get these roads ( listed by the commitee) up to acceptable standards-which should not be confused with todays new standards. for example todays new road would have to be 24' wide. You are 100% right that some of these roads could never be that wide however bringing them up to acceptable standards could also mean that what is beneath some of these private roads ( base ) is no good and would have to be replaced. Also proper drainage issues would also have to be done.
I do agree that it would be easier if we had an "official roads list" and that could prevent some misunderstandings between home purchasers on private roads and thier real estate agent.
BC ... You hit the issue right in the nose. "Acceptable standards" is not a term used in the RSAs or in the town's ordinances. You (the town) are leaving it up to one man to decide what is 'acceptable'. To fix this, All roads need classified. A clear definition on what is a town road needs to be had. And knowing that Class VI roads will be considered town roads, the 'acceptable standards' need to be clearly defined. Sounds like a PB workshop to me.
anonymous 10:51,
We have to be very careful here. State law tells towns the definition or classifications of roads. Class VI is a discontinued road. Meaning it may have once been a class V ( public) but the towns have discontinued its use as public. The question becomes can a private rd or a class VI be subject to gates and bars- If so, who know controls the roads???
The term acceptable would mean acceptable to the town to become a class v ( public ) only. Town has no jurisdiction on other roads. This is why the practice of "winter Maintenance" or "emergency access" road classifications basically allows the town to do minimal maintenance on these roads. ( it does not accept any liability though. thats the big difference
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