The Citizens Have Spoken – No Taxes For Paved Roads

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By Bob Steiner

The election of March 2nd  in Edgewood is now history.  The voters have spoken and rejected  a  bond issue that would have initiated a municipal road program   that would have established a schedule for maintaining and improving the town’s streets.  I’m certain that current economic conditions had a lot to do with the decision of the electorate. Still there are some acute needs within our town’s roads system , that need to be addressed.

At the March 3rd town council meeting, a citizen who lives on Range Road, just North of I40, stood up and spoke to the meeting regarding the total disintegration of her road.  It seems there is no crown,  drainage, hard gravel , or any visible markings to define just where the edges of the road  end.  This really  complicates driving in this area because  the least bit of rain or snow turns the road bed in to a sea of mud that is sometimes not even negotiable with  four-wheel drive.  Even during the dry season, residents who live on the road find it difficult to convince merchants to attempt  the most basic delivery service  in this area.

The council was very attentive to the citizen’s comments and one of the councilor’s brought up the fact that conditions on  Palomino  Road were much the same as Range Road and might also warrant some additional attention by our road crews.  Councilor Hill suggested that the town  compile data on other similar road situations in the community and that the town look into providing some relief to those residents who are affected. Look for the town to hold a special meeting on this subject sometime in the near future.

Now, for those readers who are disappointed that they don’t have pavement on their road, I suggest you take a brief ride down Range or Palomino.  Once you see what other residents are having to contend with, You may appreciate your gravel road a lot more!

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3 thoughts on “The Citizens Have Spoken – No Taxes For Paved Roads”

  1. Always interesting items, Chuck … but I guess the first question I’d ask is ‘why doesn’t the road have a crown … was it never there, or was it the road crews who bladed the crown and the gravel into the bar ditch?’ I haven’t driven Range, but I’ve seen that circumstance elsewhere.

    • John,

      I didn’t write this article, but rather than be flippant about your questions, I would say that it is probably a little of both on some roads. As to Range and a couple of others that the Town has tried to improve, they were never up to “standards” and probably never had a crown.

      I hope that whatever the reason, the Town can work to improve all the roads. It probably will not be easy and it probably won’t be quick. Keep in mind that many of the roads are school bus routes that the Town maintains out of a spirit of cooperation and the need for safety of the students. Some of those roads, if not all, were never maintained by the county on a regular basis.

      Thank you very much for your comments and concerns.

  2. Similar problems have been seen on much of Hill Ranch Road West. That road did once have a crown and identifiable swales along most of it, but as time has gone on those features have deteriorated. The result is often a muddy mess that is very difficult to navigate. The Town might actually save money by restoring the road to its proper condition, as grading would not likely be required as often.

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