Focus on poor roads

Our poor roads and the absence of stop signs are genuine safety hazards. They need to be addressed seriously.

I have to carefully pick my way around axle-busting chuck holes and ruts as I drive. I should be able to focus on traffic and pedestrians, not crumbling blacktop. Because I am elderly, this is especially distracting and distressing. Most side streets lack stop signs and few drivers obey the rules of the road.

Maintaining our roads and installing stop signs would provide much needed jobs and contribute markedly to public safety. The mayor, City Council and the public need to understand that some things are worth paying for, and road maintenance is one of them.

How about alley maintenance? We can’t continue to live off the fat left by preceding generations to avoid the curse of raising taxes. Instead of tackling real problems, we get “feel good” decisions on urban farming and elephant hooks which require little and solve less. Meanwhile, we waste money on city malfeasance surrounding our former police chief.

Leaders look for solutions to actual problems not for ways to duck them or to create new ones. The latter requires unimaginable genius.

David Webb

Spokane