I guess somebody is not paying attention! The term "Bridge to nowhere" is now a laughable cliché. It's a very easy way to point out a political blunder when financing STUPID projects!

Bradford has the "Pine Street Bridge" project to be proud of! Our very own "Bridge to nowhere". A shining example of throwing much needed tax money being spent foolishly!

I do understand that we do have a steel girdered bridge crossing the Tuna at the end of Pine Street. BUT we do have TWO OTHER BRIDGES, one upstream and few feet and one downstream a few feet! BOTH BRIDGES HAVE PEDESTRIAN WALKWAYS ON THEM!

I don't know the total cost of making the Pine Street bridge operational again, but I read somewhere that the "engineering cost" was some $34,000. I really hope that is the total price tag of the whole bridge conversion. Apparently all it needs is some boards on the top of it and a guardrail! If it were my bridge, I'd get it done for $500 or so!

But hey, we are talking about that magical "free grant money" anyhow, not real tax money!

So Bradford can now have it's own "Bridge to nowhere" ..... even though we have not one, but TWO existing bridges that go to the same exact place!

"What would YOU have done differently with that bridge Stony"?

I'da pulled those two giant steel girder's up and cashed them in, and used the money to pave a portion of road that really needs it! Let the residents that NEED to cross the Tuna at that location walk the extra quarter block upstream or downstream to one of the existing bridges!








THREE BRIDGES in a one block span? Is this not overkill besides being stupid?

Wouldn't that area have looked better aesthetically with the middle bridge REMOVED and sold for scrap? (read: profit)

As long as I've lived in Bradford (10 years) those bridges have been there and they have NEVER been open to the public.. Why have them there at all and why build a new one to just block it from public use?

A critical pipeline crosses there, the beams are fairly new, and it was a footbridge for decades past.

Stony, it looks like you received several honorable mentions at last nights council meeting; "Riel noted that some people have been criticizing this project" and “It’s a worthwhile project,” Riel added. “The naysayers, the critics of it – they just don’t understand.” and "OECD Executive Director Sara Andrews said, “For every one naysayer there are two people that are in favor of it" In a way you took your buddy None Ya's advice and complained at a council meeting!

The foot bridge was there when I was a kid(way back when) the 50's. I can remember crossing that with my Mother, after being a Rich's Fish Market, Caruso's Shoe Repair Shop and the A&P Store. Brings back the memories.

Well, I would rather be called a "voice of reason" rather than a naysayer!


So, if the numbers I have are correct (please correct me if I am wrong), the "engineering study" was some $34,000 and the actual cost of building the bridge may be $257,000.00 on the low end? So we are talking about $300,000.00 or a third of a million dollars for a nostalgic bridge wedged between two other fully functioning walking bridges within a quarter block in either direction.

I'm all in favor of making the city more presentable to our residents and outsiders ..... and anybody else who is, can join me on my nightly walks and help me pick up garbage ...... but is there no better way to lipstick the pig than a redundant walking bridge that will cost $300,000.00?

Is there really no better use of that money that could make our city better? Can we get more bang for our buck that would still be within the allowed use of that same said grant?

It seems to some of us residents, us "naysayers" if you will (remember when our mayor was one of us?), ..... that we are beyond putting lipstick on a pig ..... we are using specific grants to put gold and diamond earrings on a pig!

So this is the attraction to "outsiders" and tourist to our area .... they get to step over scummers and baby carriages, push their way through smelly, tattoo covered, chain smoking, swearing thugs, to walk across the "third of a million dollar walking bridge". Is that it in a nutshell?

To be clear, I AM in favor of promoting tourism. I AM in favor of making our town look better or more presentable to not only visitors, but also the decent residents left in town, but all I'm questioning is ........ is this the best use of that grant money "they" (our city) can come up with?

And for the record, I AM also very in favor of the hiking trails that go through Bradford and the college. I use them several times a week myself! And I pick up litter on them very often. And I'm in favor of just about ANY hiking trail, urban or rural.

But in my humble opinion, I would have used that particular grant for something that would have better addressed Bradford's very serious "attractiveness issues".

Not to sound like a broken record, but Bradford won't be made more presentable by putting diamond earrings on a pig! (And to think ... I complained when we were just lipsticking the pig!)

I might be reading things wrong so please correct me if I am. But do you know how grants work? From the post above I do not believe you do. Usually when a local government is awarded a grant, it is supposed to be used for the purpose outlined in the grant and NOTHING ELSE. So from what you see as wasted money, it is how they are forced to spend it. You have to spend the money from the grant according to the grant.

NO, I believe I understand them better than you do!

Let's see .......

How about the grant that said "This grant is to be only used to build a stupid peninsula that juts out into Washington Street, AKA Rt 346 with the sole purpose of disrupting the traffic flow, creating a danger to pedestrians, and cyclists, and inhibit snow plowing in the winter".

I get it! I understand why that grant was used for that specific purpose.

But on that one, I can't remember if it was city, state or federal tax money that then removed the same said hazard?

Or was there a second grant that said specifically: "This grant is to be only used to REMOVE a stupid peninsula that juts out into Washington Street, AKA Rt 346 built with the sole purpose of disrupting the traffic flow, creating a danger to pedestrians, and cyclists, and inhibit snow plowing in the winter".

I'm understanding how grants work in this town!

Did I get that one right?

Wasn't there a grant forcing us to build flimsy street lights to be placed too close to the roadways also? LOL!

I do understand that grants are free money from the FEDERAL government and HAVE to be used only for specific (mostly stupid) projects!

That is how grants work!

The money is "free money" from the government that only those who pay federal taxes have to worry about.

If WE don't get the money to spend foolishly, Shellbyville will get it!

I understand grants quite well.

Correct me if I am wrong!

I will correct you then, If the grants come from the federal level why are you complaining about it locally. Shouldn't you be on some forum that complains about the federal government and be posting this there? Remember posting on a forum gets things done, so it does make sense to me for this to be posted on a forum that deals with more of the federal government. I bet Obama himself reads those forums and gets many of his ideas from them, but just won't admit it.

Perhaps I am the only one in Bradford, but I pay federal taxes. The more money the federal government spends, the more tax money they take from me .... and any others who pay federal taxes.








I do in fact post on other forums. And I do complain about federal tax money being wasted for stupid things also.

But this grant we are talking about IS being spent and used in Bradford and this is after all "Bradford Today". I'm in the right forum and on topic!

What this town needs is a monorail.

Who is writing the grant proposals for this stuff? I don't think that a check for this project just appeared in the mail with specific instructions for its use.

Maybe they could get grant money for something useful but they didn't request it.

I wonder if it's grant money that pays for a new GM pick-up ,the driver and the person riding in the bed watering all the hanging baskets aroun town?