More on the Operation Green Light "little friend"

The N&O had more to say in this weekend's The Durham News about the new "Operation Green Light" mascot we featured here last week.

In 2005 and 2007, voters approved $26 million in bond issues for street paving and resurfacing. By the first of this year, according to Public Works Director Kathryn Kalb, 23 miles of city streets had new pavement; by summer 2009, the total should be up to 35, out of 686 miles of city streets in town.

Nevertheless, assistant city manager Ted Voorhees told the city council last week, "You probably don't know a whole lot of people around town who are saying you're doing a great job with resurfacing."

But the city has a plan: "Operation Green Light: Smoother Roads for Durham," a street repaving public-information campaign to "inform the public ... that the city is making progress," said city spokeswoman Beverly B. Thompson.

According to Jim Wise's reporting, the mayor pushed for the program as a way of highlighting the progress being made with local street repaving. (We here at BCR will consider us on a schedule for real progress when we find ways to fund routine street repaving out of our city operating budget, and not bond bucks, but that's neither here nor there.)

Look for a web page with status reports on paving activities plus more media releases on the work the City is doing around repaving.

And look for the little green light guy to get a name. "Now, he's just 'Our Little Friend,'" according to City spokeswoman Beverly Thompson.

Comments

[Dave W.]

So we are going to get a whole 12 more miles of road paving completed between now and summer 2009?!

Gosh, that is a whole mile per month...

...to bring us to 35 miles from $26 million in bond funds.

I voted yes for both bonds but have to say I don't feel good about doing so.

We clearly have some of the worst roads in the state, yet our city staff can't seem to get on the ball to improve things at a rate that shows this to be a priority (and that our money spent for the survey to inventory and prioritize the streets needing work was a smart investment).

Disappointing. Hopefully a new city manager can do something about it.

[Seth Vidal]

So did that just say "Say hello to our little friend"? Did the city then decide to take out everyone with a machine gun?

[Todd]

Good point, Dave - a mile per month.

So with 653 miles to go, at a mile per month, Public Works will be all done in 54 years, 5 months. AKA March, 2063.

[Todd]

Please note, March 2063 is an estimated date. Construction may be delayed if it rains.

[Bull City Rising]

Apparently (according to a city source) the 35 number did not mean 12 new miles of street this year, but 35 _new_ miles in 2009. Sounds like a misprint in the original source?

[weege]

Who cares about timetables? We have a new, adorable, penis-shaped mascot to distract us. So if this week or 54 years from now, you hit a pothole so hard that you end up biting your tongue, just think of our mascot and everything will be OK!