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Paving roads is part of progress

We liked our lime rock road | Aug. 28 letter

Paving roads is part of progress

Maybe the letter writer did not do her homework if she never wanted the road paved. Maybe she should have contacted the county and asked what would happen if the road should be paved in the near future.

We moved from Pinellas County and we looked at homes on her road and it was too busy for my visiting grandchildren and my dog. The writer knew she was buying on a busy street and now she whines.

She is upset because she ended up paying for something she did not want. Well, guess what? You are paying for many things you do not want or use in this bad economy. If you ask where the school impact fees went when the building was going on, you might be told they went to the new schools that were just built. Do you use the schools? I know we don't, but we are paying for them and that is okay.

Maybe you should have bought land farther into Royal Highlands and built there and not be on a busy road and have no hope of getting the road paved. Too bad you did not do your homework. If the people living on the lime rock roads want to pay their portion, that's too bad for the vacant land owners. This is what progress is all about and they just need to deal with it. And later on they will appreciate the paved road when they decide to sell or build. Take a ride and open your eyes on sod being laid and road work being done. Who is paying for this? We are!

Kathie Williams, Brooksville

Sign clutter has gotten absurd

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that our roads are so cluttered with signs they read quite like a book that could be titled Driving for Dummies?'

Sure, we have useful signs. The big blue H to help you find the hospital. Or the one for the Humane Society. It's also good to know what the speed limit is, and of course, which street is which.

I'm talking about the signs that tell you there is a sign ahead — especially when you can see the sign it is warning you about. And then there are the series of signs that tell you the same thing over and over and over. There is an eight-tenths of a mile span of State Road 50 near Interstate 75 which has 11 signs that read "no parking on the right of way." And several of those are accompanied by rows of posts that would keep you from doing that even if you chose not to obey the sign.

There are the two behemoth signals on SR 50 recently erected to warn drivers that the light at the intersection of SR 50 and Spring Lake Highway is about to change to red. Could be a good idea, except that the folks most likely to blow that light will have already passed the warning signal before it ever comes on. Crosswalk signals were installed there as well. I've been driving through that intersection for the past 20 years, and I've yet to see a pedestrian crossing the roadway there.

A few weeks ago I spotted a crew on U.S. 41 just south of town painting a series of symbols along the edge of the roadway indicating where folks on bicycles should ride. I've driven that stretch of highway for 25 years, and I'm sure I could count on one hand the number of bicycle riders I have encountered there.

I have no idea how much it costs to manufacture, install, and maintain (did you know someone actually washes them periodically?) a simple road sign, but I'd bet the number would cause a few jaws to drop. Think of the tax dollars that would be saved if just a tiny bit of common sense were used in making sign decisions! Not to mention how much more eye-appealing our environment would be.

Teri Reeves, Brooksville

New role after confrontation | Aug. 23 article in Tampa Bay

Act stains student not the teacher

Tell me, what gives a student in any public school anywhere the freedom to act in such a manner? The real issue in this unfortunate occurrence is that there was at least one other student taking a video and not coming to the aid of the teacher.

If the student did that at school, he more than likely has done something similar at a mall or another location, perhaps even at home. His parents must be so very proud.

Teachers are whom we depend on as parents to direct our children into their adult lives. They spend more time with them than parents do during the course of the day. The parents of that student should be held equally responsible for his actions. The actions of the teacher should not be taken as an assault. It seemed self defense, plain and simple.

It's equally refreshing to know she'll have a new environment to continue her craft as an educator. Too bad some inconsiderate punk had to ruin her run at that particular school. Thanks to the Hernando County school system for giving her a new start.

Robbie Bond, Tampa

.Your voice counts


Paving roads is part of progress 08/30/11 [Last modified: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 8:51pm]
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