The Popcorn Stand: The road not so well traveled

I love Porterville and I’ve state many times I see this community as a sleeping giant that doesn’t know just how great it can be. But like everyone else I do notice the problems of our community. Every morning when I drive to work I take Westfield to Old 65/Orange Belt/main whatever you call it and I notice that intersection is kind of bumpy. Actually it has all kinds of bumps on it.

But coming home is when I really notice when I turn off of Old 65/Orange Belt/main on to the westbound lane of Westfield. I take it really, really slooooooow as to say the westbound lane at that intersection is kind of bumpy would be an understatement for sure.

I notice other cars take that turn awfully careful as well which could be sort of dangerous because the Old 65/Orange Belt? main southbound lane can be kind of busy for those trying to navigate that obstacle course of a turn.

The westbound lane at that intersection looks like a beaten up and bruised fighter after a fight asking “Wha happen?”

And yes over the years as I have come and gone from Porterville I’ve noticed the wear and tear of our roads. Of course the maintenance of our roads — and pretty much anything else comes down to one thing — money. MONEY.

My guess is just to maintain the roads to sort of a minimum acceptable standard would cost a pretty penny. And of course human nature is to be honest we really don’t want to pay for that cost. My guess is any effort by the city to pay for the upgrade of our roads through say some kind of bond measure would be resoundingly turned down.

Or if the city was to come up with a proposal to raise the tax on a gallon of gas to say $30 cent a gallon and spread over 10 years so the tax would go up 3 cents a year, that would be resoundingly turned down as well.

Or raising the sales tax or any kind of tax would likely be turned down would be my guess. But there is the old say, you get what you pay for.

The condition of our roads does concern me. I do think about what visitors to our community think when they have to drive on some of our roads. Especially if they have to navigate that turn on to the west bound lane at the intersection of Westfield and Old 65/ Orange/main.

Like anything else there’s no easy solution to upgrading the status of our roads because again it comes down to money. MONEY.

But fixing the intersection at Westfield and Old 65/Orange Belt/main would be a good start.