Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Wednesday, January 2. 2008

Vermont Roads

I drove to southern New England from Waitsfield, Vermont last night.  Wish we skiied, 'cause the locals said the new year entered with the best snow since whatever. 

Well, anyway, the Massachusetts flatlanders had to, we mean HAD TO, get their pups back for a Jan 2 school opening, and good old crunchy, stupid Vermont doesn't salt its roads, nope!  Might harm the environment.  Near killed the flatlanders.  Dumb bastids drive too fast anyway...

Well, what harm can the 53 spin-outs do, anyway?  Locals pull them out and pocket Big Boston Bucks.  However, how about the 29 serious damage accidents Gwynnie saw?  How about all the gasoline and lubricating oil -- and yes, flatlander blood -- that will seep into Vermont's interstate medians tomorrow?  How graphic can it be that the Greenies don't give a damn about people.
 
Cross the Massachusetts border and all-of-a-sudden, roads are safe!  (Sorta).  Ice is gone;there's still a lotta snow, and we needed to be careful, but it was snow, not ice. 
 
Lemme see -- Vermont gets money from farming and tourism. Help us -- anything else?  Farming's dead and so are many tourists -- help us figger out when there will be something that makes one of the world's loveliest places work financially -- if only for the locals without flatland trust funds.
Posted by Gwynnie in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 10:37 | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0)

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Yessiree. When you have a beautiful place (one of the few left on this continent) you do whatever works to keep most of the folks outside. Typically that includes leaving the major arterials to minimalist tourist attractors in lousy condition. This guarantees that only a few and generally only those with money will make it through--deposit, enjoy, and leave please, thank you. Clean up those roads and you loose Vermont's beauty--just a reality.
#1 apple pie on 2008-01-02 15:04 (Reply)
When I lived in Connecticut and other states it always struck me that the roads were not high on the priority list of the state or local government. At the same time I was of the strong opinion that the first and last duty of government was to FIX THE BLOODY ROADS. Do that and all else will follow.

Vermont will improve when it makes that a priority and cuts any budget item that gets in the way of FIXING THE BLOODY ROADS!
#2 Gerard Van der Leun (Link) on 2008-01-02 15:54 (Reply)
When I drive from NH into MA I notice a deterioration in road upkeep. When I travel from NH into VT I notice a precipitous deterioration.

apple pie is correct, but that strategy is rather like putting twenty sap buckets on a single tree. Few tourists want real rural charm (if they did, they'd visit Moldova more often), but a faux rusticity that's easily accessible.
#3 Assistant Village Idiot (Link) on 2008-01-02 16:33 (Reply)
The problem with improving the quality of the rustic experience for tourists is this: It makes them want to come and build their second, or third home there. Then you no longer have rustic--you have suburb! Cute suburb--but suburb nontheless!
#4 apple pie on 2008-01-02 20:55 (Reply)
Grew up in a great suburb. Am a big fan of garages. We kids used the garage for everything, from tea partys to motorcycles.) Dads started to park the cars there once kids were old enough to drive.

I wish good roads were always a first priority and for government in snow country that is pricey. If sand and gravel are used a number of cracked and broken windshields is the result. Then municipalities also sweep it up in the spring. And sand and gravel make things dusty when dry.

I am talking off the top of my head but I think the 'salts' used to melt snow and ice are calcium based now. Can still do some damage to concrete, and steel etc. but not as much environmental damage. In my experience upstate NY does a pretty good job of taking care of the major roads and I think that is what they use. But even so, under some weather conditions, it does not work very well and the best thing is to stay off the bloody roads.

RE: Few tourists want real rural charm (if they did, they'd visit Moldova more often), but a faux rusticity.

Some tourist towns do look a bit like movie sets now.
#5 Patina on 2008-01-03 09:06 (Reply)

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