|
| |
 |
|
09/01/06
The Bridges
|
Dear Honorable Mayor Miller and Dallas City Council:
This is to call your attention to an article in the
Dallas Observer:
Eye
Candy regarding the
proposed 3 bridges for the Trinity River.
Aside from the fact that they are over budget (a
condition the architect is famous for), I am
concerned that even when they were proposed to the
city that the likelihood of their being over budget
should have been foreseen.
With the $ Billion plus bond proposal for the
2006 election in November, I am also concerned
these new moneys would be used to help push through
the completion of this project and not the "improvements" that the
bond monies are allegedly tagged for. From what I've
read, this is a bridge project that will benefit only
a few high rolling developers who hope the
completion of this project will benefit them financially.
I would also opine that when the Trinity project was
approved by the voters that the mandate was not an
overwhelming majority but the slimmest margin of the
electorate, AND DID NOT INCLUDE THE BRIDGES.
A project as large as this
should have more of a mandate -- a 65% or so majority
to be considered for passing.
I am reminded about the farmer's definition of
contribution vs commitment. The chicken makes
the contribution with the eggs for breakfast, where
the pig makes the commitment with the bacon.
As taxpayers, we are the
pigs making the commitment with our tax monies whereas the powers that be
and developers are merely making contributions.
Perhaps, my jaundiced opinion is the result of past
actions by the city where respectively
Reunion Arena with the Regency Hotel
and a refurbished Union Station were to be the
"centerpiece" of Dallas. Less than two decades
later, the city needed a new
centerpiece (American Airlines and Victory).
This lack of commitment and failure of planning concern me and haunt me as
I look not only at the bridges but the upcoming bond proposal and the
projects they are allegedly tied to.
Respectfully,
David W. Tuthill aka "Chicken Little"
| |
|
