Another “green” scheme

Local politicians have bought into another central planning scheme under the “green” mantra. Wilmington Mayor Saffo and County Commissioner Ted Davis extoll the wonders of a “comprehensive greenway plan”—another strand in the web woven by multimodal spiders. (link)

The Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization joins the East Coast Greenway Alliance to gin up local interest in an East Coast Greenway from Key West, Florida to Canada; “one of the most ambitious trail projects in American history.” (link)

You bet. And likely one of the most expensive—probably not justified for the small number of Americans who travel by foot or bicycle. (For those who paddle to Wal-Mart in canoes and kayaks there will be “blueways.”) In New Hanover County we have sections of a cross-county trail that cost at least $100,000 per mile to build, and likely will be very expensive to maintain.

Mike Kozlosky, Executive Director of the WMPO, is soliciting public comments on a questionnaire that I found stacked at Halyburton Park on 17th Street. Most of the questions ask how one would use a greenway; what type of trails and amenities are wanted (a dozen suggested); and where should the trails take users.

This is one of those projects that benefit a few people at large expense to many other nonusers. Further, it’s a publicly-funded luxury that isn’t a priority in our transportation needs. The money used for multimodal projects diverts funds from much more useful highways and bridges.

We just can’t afford these “green” feel-good projects. But they will be foisted on us by central planners and supported by feckless, irresponsible politicians pandering to small political interest-groups.