Driving keeps getting more expensive, and it isn't just the gasoline in our tanks - it's the road maintenance we pay for through taxes. This morning's Journal examines local responses to a doubling in the cost of blacktop over the last two years, on top of increases in diesel fuel and other materials.
I don't think we're at the point yet where people will tolerate drastic change in how we use and maintain roads, but I've written about some options for maintaining roads when energy and materials prices climb beyond what taxpayers are willing to tolerate over at TCLocal.
There's a map in the print edition showing where the county will be repairing roads this summer. For Dryden, it's Irish Settlement from Ferguson to 13, Ringwood south of the midline intersection, and Ellis Hollow, getting repairs from Thomas Road to Game Farm Road. Work on Game Farm Road will continue intermittently through June.
(Update: And via Dryden Daily KAZ, this from the New York Times on gas prices and rural areas. Ouch!)
And yes, it's way too hot. The Journal calls for "mid 90s" today. On the bright side, strawberries will be ready soon. And I enjoyed getting caught in a downpour at Taughannock Falls yesterday - except that my cell phone perished in the deluge.
Posted by simon at June 9, 2008 8:09 AM in Ithaca Journal , roads, traffic, and transit , weather
For a list of roadwork planned on town roads, see Dryden Highway Department.