Mowing GA Highways

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by cityrover

back in the day before perdue worked hard to ruin this state, the medians were golf turfs!

no more though. they are diverting all funds repaving good roads, like 575, which was repaved last year. Why? There was nothing wrong with it

sadly unmowed medians are what people see. i had friends from canada come down last year and thats the one thing they commented on outright. and considering that half the seaboard drives through GA to get to FL, thats a lot of comments you dont really want to get

I won't go into your "ruin this state" comment, as it's more baseless political vitriole.

As for the substance of mowing the medians...again....we were in a sharp recession. States all over the country are trimming budgets as tax collections dip and the more shortsighted ones are borrowing and raising taxes. When you have priorities to decide, and you have to make a choice between mowing medians for purely cosmetic reasons and laying off employees or cutting real services, to me it's a no brainer. As mentioned, do you not think states like FL are making these same decisions?

[mike7586]

So I just drove to Charlotte to visit my parents and the overgrown medians have gotten out of control in Georgia. Both South Carolina and North Carolina still mow their highways (and both states had freshly mowed highways during my trip). I was also up I-75 in Cobb and Cherokee Counties and gosh, it looks terrible. It just makes me sad that our state looks abandoned and unkempt - just gives people a negative perception.

[Ollie1946]

Unfortunately, mowing tends to reveal the amounts of litter along our roads. Awful! And pick most any highway and it is there in large amounts. I guess the weeds cover it up. Maybe our state does deserve a negative view. It surely has been trashed.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by Ollie1946

And pick most any highway and it is there in large amounts. I guess the weeds cover it up. Maybe our state does deserve a negative view. It surely has been trashed.[/b]

No more than any other state. I've driven all over the country, and I wouldn't rank GA any worse on that front.

What I do find interesting is why you see many more shredded tires in this part of the country than in others. Road debris, especially blown out truck tires, is much more pronounced here than in other places. Don't know if it's climate related, regulation related, inspection related, etc.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by neil0311

No more than any other state. I've driven all over the country, and I wouldn't rank GA any worse on that front.

What I do find interesting is why you see many more shredded tires in this part of the country than in others. Road debris, especially blown out truck tires, is much more pronounced here than in other places. Don't know if it's climate related, regulation related, inspection related, etc.

In many northern states, the snow plows get rid of that stuff year after year.

[mommaroo]

In SC, especially around Charleston, the prisoners maintain the medians. Yes, South Carolinians actually make their prisoners work for their keep! Drive along Hwy 17 in Mount Pleasant and you'll see trees and shrubs are pruned, grass cut, and no debris or litter. Charleston also is strict on littering. Litter, and be prepared to pay a hefty fine!.....Now why can't we do this in Georgia?

[cityrover]

GA uses plenty prison labor, but most of it is actually part of community service sentences. I see them all the time bagging the garbage.

Mowing requires operating and maintaining heavy equipment which requires trained personel and is also a liability with "criminals" for a variety of reasons.

But of course, it just costs money to mow grass and currently money is better spent on election campaigns