Paving gravel roads and the city's issues

To Editor:

I am all for paving gravel roads in Poplar Bluff. As was mentioned during a recent Council meeting, they are a blight on our City's image. I'm not sure what this would cost, or where the money would from. But it is a worthwhile project.

With that said, I disagree with some of the arguments raised by the Mayor and the new City Manager.

First is the assertion that living on a dirt or gravel road is somehow unhealthy. This is ridiculous on its face, and merits no further attention.

Second is the idea that they are less safe than paved streets. Most of the gravel roads in town are straight shots with few intersections. Any benefits gained in vehicle handling will be offset by the increased speeds at which drivers will travel.

Third is the effort to paint this as some form of intentional socio-economic prejudice. All the areas with gravel roads started out as empty lots and/or new subdivisions owned by one person. When that person sold the lots or developed the neighborhoods, he or she made a conscious decision not to pave the roads. I think Greg West touched on this when he mentioned that the City should expect a developer to pave streets in a new development before assuming ownership of them. This was simply not done when these areas were 'developed.' Again, we can correct a prior mistake at the same time we ensure it isn't repeated. It's just unfair to say that the City has willfully mistreated the poor.

Pavement is expensive. Historically, I think there has been some resistance (on the part of voters and taxpayers) to unreasonable redistribution of wealth on a local level. In this example, property owners in a few very small areas of town declined the City's offer to subsidize paving of their streets. Now the citizens of Poplar Bluff have elected a new council, whose agenda is some form of 'social change;' part of which apparently includes a form of socialization. This is a "New Direction," but it doesn't mean that the previous line of thinking was evil.

Residents in the affected areas will repay at least some of the cost of paving their roads. I would expect that paving the gravel roads will have an extremely positive effect on property values and (by extension) assessed valuations and property taxes. I will be surprised if developers don't start building new houses in these areas, and perhaps even tearing down old homes to build new ones. Property taxes and rent in these areas could increase quite a bit.

This brings up a final point. I have no way of determining this; but it seems reasonable to think that many homes on gravel roads are probably not owner occupied. Paving these streets could lead to significantly higher rent; which will strain budgets of these households, and may displace many of the people currently living in these areas.

Paving of gravel roads in Poplar Bluff is long overdue. But it should be done without assassinating the character of City Council members who selflessly served over the past sixty years.

J. R. Smith

Poplar Bluff, Mo.