Editor:
Re: Paving project proposed from Grand Forks to Christina Lake (story, Dec. 5 issue of the Grand Forks Gazette)
Paving the railgrade trail, huh? But isn’t pavement a little harder than dirt?
A few questions:
1) What about joggers? Isn’t there more shock to the bones of feet and legs when running on pavement?
Don’t they prefer to jog on dirt and/or grass? And the same goes for simple hikers and walkers, I think.
Most find pavement hard on the spine and hips.
2) What about horses? Isn’t pavement a lot harder on them for the same reasons?
Or do we increase the cost even more by grooming a separate parallel bridle trail?
3) What about cyclists? Isn’t the reason for the fat knobby tires so that they can run on dirt and grass trails?
Isn’t that, in fact, what mountain bikers prefer?
4) What about cost?
Anyone’s who’s ever paid his or her own money to pave a simple driveway can attest to the cost of asphalt.
Or doesn’t it matter when it’s going to bring in (genuflect here) free money from government grants?
But isn’t the government financed by ALL of us? Aren’t there better uses for government money than fishing for kickbacks from paving contractors? Such as our hospital, our schools, our rec centre, etc?
So the final question remains, why?
Well, it appears to this reader as a simple case of “the grant-getters are at it again!”
Still dreaming that grant money isn’t real money and thus can be spent for whatever project, no matter how frivolous it may be.
But this latest one takes the cake!
Pete Snidal, Grand Forks