Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I figured it was a state road but wasn't sure. Seems like everything is a state road around here!
Pretty much, that's true. Only the smallest neighborhood streets are city or town responsibility. One of the reasons our state gas tax is higher. We have more roads to take care of.
Of course, cities like Raleigh and Cary do tend to improve state roads all the time. They usually get out of the money back eventually, but it can take a while and the road improvements are usually well overdue even with them being accelerated.
NCDOT just widened NC55 and Davis Drive within the past 5 years, and Green Level Church and Yates Store are works in progress. All of these are 45-55mph roads that parallel the NC 147/NC 540 tollways that will be fully open by the end of the year.
Chances are the growth down there will be explosive over the next 2 decades. Bigger roads will be needed to handle this. The tollway alone won't do the job.
NC55 widening was a multi-generational project, methinks. It seemed like it took 10 years of construction to finish. Planned for a long time, even when 540 seemed to be halted.
Cary put up money to widen much of Davis Drive, or it would not have been done.
The proximity to RTP was the driving force for those two projects.
The SE Extension of 540 is in planning, with a timeline, and it seems logical to not widen a rural road, which carried 15000 vehicles at 1010/401 in 2009, if much of that traffic can be diverted to a freeway to lessen the load.
Why not take their time and pay cash? This country is going down the tubes because of credit. A bond is just a municipal credit card. The Town of Cary has a budget surplus from overcharging residents. They should pay as they go.
They have a budget surplus precisely because that's a much better option than running a deficit and because they slashed nearly all capital spending. That's arguably okay for the short-term, but simply unsustainable over the long-term...Cary has a high-priority list of roughly $200 million in capital spending, with a total wish list of $1 billion.
Municipal bonds are a solid, low-cost way to pay for infrastructure needs. Waiting until "cash is in hand" from revenue sources delays projects and drives up costs. As long as debt ratios are kept reasonable, there's nothing wrong with financing things through bonds.
The SE Extension of 540 is in planning, with a timeline, and it seems logical to not widen a rural road, which carried 15000 vehicles at 1010/401 in 2009, if much of that traffic can be diverted to a freeway to lessen the load.
One can expect that the presence of S 540 will open up a lot of the land down there for development. Chances are, it will be explosive, and will begin in earnest the moment it looks like construction of the S 540 extension is a sure thing. Larger surface roads will be needed to accommodate it. If at least some of the roads down there aren't upgraded in advance of or soon after the completion of 540, the traffic jams will be epic.
This is just my prediction: If anybody hopes the coming of the 540 extension through south Wake will help to reduce traffic, preserve the rural character of the area and help the 2 lane country roads to stay as 2 lane country roads for longer will find themselves mistaken, and far sooner than you might think.
They have a budget surplus precisely because that's a much better option than running a deficit and because they slashed nearly all capital spending. That's arguably okay for the short-term, but simply unsustainable over the long-term...Cary has a high-priority list of roughly $200 million in capital spending, with a total wish list of $1 billion.
Municipal bonds are a solid, low-cost way to pay for infrastructure needs. Waiting until "cash is in hand" from revenue sources delays projects and drives up costs. As long as debt ratios are kept reasonable, there's nothing wrong with financing things through bonds.
Bonds help spread the expenses to newcomers, too.
A common complaint is development without adequate infrastructure. Paying cash means deferring infrastructure until more years after growth is in place.
When bonds are cheap as they have been, they are a good tool to develop infrastructure and recover some of the costs from future residents, as well as folks who currently foot the bills for Cary impact fees.
One can expect that the presence of S 540 will open up a lot of the land down there for development. Chances are, it will be explosive, and will begin in earnest the moment it looks like construction of the S 540 extension is a sure thing. Larger surface roads will be needed to accommodate it. If at least some of the roads down there aren't upgraded in advance of or soon after the completion of 540, the traffic jams will be epic.
This is just my prediction: If anybody hopes the coming of the 540 extension through south Wake will help to reduce traffic, preserve the rural character of the area and help the 2 lane country roads to stay as 2 lane country roads for longer will find themselves mistaken, and far sooner than you might think.
SE Wake environmental considerations will help to control development.
They have a budget surplus precisely because that's a much better option than running a deficit and because they slashed nearly all capital spending. That's arguably okay for the short-term, but simply unsustainable over the long-term...Cary has a high-priority list of roughly $200 million in capital spending, with a total wish list of $1 billion.
I have absolutely no doubt that they have lots of ways to spend money.
Quote:
Municipal bonds are a solid, low-cost way to pay for infrastructure needs. Waiting until "cash is in hand" from revenue sources delays projects and drives up costs. As long as debt ratios are kept reasonable, there's nothing wrong with financing things through bonds.
Well, of course, that's your opinion, and it's probably the majority opinion. Then again, the majority of people in this country have credit card balances, car payments, and the like. Some of us prefer not to spend money until we have it. The mantra of "build now before the price goes up" is just fallacy. The price always goes up. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book.
Well, of course, that's your opinion, and it's probably the majority opinion. Then again, the majority of people in this country have credit card balances, car payments, and the like. Some of us prefer not to spend money until we have it. The mantra of "build now before the price goes up" is just fallacy. The price always goes up. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book.
I don't have any of those debts and still think well-managed municipal bonds are a terrific tool for building infrastructure. I'm certainly glad I didn't need to wait to pay cash for my house.
The price doesn't "always" go up, although that's of course the general trend. Financing at record low interest rates and having qualified contractors looking for work competing more fiercely for your dollars during economic downtimes can save a significant amount of money.
There's nothing wrong with credit when used responsibly. My feeling is that Cary generally does a very good job managing its money and making efficient use of the resources at its disposal.
In a town growing as rapidly as Cary has been, it's a tremendous challenge to keep building out infrastructure at a pace to support that growth. You simply can't do it by waiting until cash is in the bank.
Well, of course, that's your opinion, and it's probably the majority opinion. Then again, the majority of people in this country have credit card balances, car payments, and the like. Some of us prefer not to spend money until we have it. The mantra of "build now before the price goes up" is just fallacy. The price always goes up. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book.
Have you ever had a mortgage on a home? If so then you're just as guilty of spending money that you don't have as anybody else.
Without responsible use of capital borrowed from others few companies would exist and we'd still be pounding metal into plows to pull behind animals. Cary has been responsible in the past and until they do something crazy I see no reason to accuse them of that now. If anything they were too conservative the last few years and are behind, but that is definitely better than the alternative, I'll agree on that much.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
