Why Philadelphia has no money...

[Papa Deuce]

You folks who live there know how broke they claim to be. Well today I saw a big reason why....

3 weeks ago, a street in Manayunk called Umbria St, was fully repaved. It really needed it and it was very nice to have it completed, for sure.

So today I was driving on Umbria Street and they were ripping up the street to do work on all of the manhole covers. Every single manhole cover had orange markings on it, and now the street needs major repairs.

So, now you know why your city has no cash..... they do dumb stuff like this.

 

[kwelch10377]

I miss hearing all the dumb stuff the Philly does on a regular basis......

 

[JR6ooo4]

You folks who live there know how broke they claim to be. Well today I saw a big reason why....

3 weeks ago, a street in Manayunk called Umbria St, was fully repaved. It really needed it and it was very nice to have it completed, for sure.

So today I was driving on Umbria Street and they were ripping up the street to do work on all of the manhole covers. Every single manhole cover had orange markings on it, and now the street needs major repairs.

So, now you know why your city has no cash..... they do dumb stuff like this.

they are using the old way of repaving. remove all the manhole lids and frames. grind the pavement, repave, then dig up the pavement and reinstall the manholes and frames. then patch the asphalt/concrete around them. also after it is all nicely paved, cut lines into the new asphalt for the traffic signal sensors...

now, around here, they remove the maholes, grind down the surface, patch bad sections of the base, then reinstall the manholes at the designed two inches of new asphalt cover. then pave to match the manhole rim heights. they also put the traffic signal wires in the road before the final asphalt paving. now there is no cutting into the fresh new asphalt coat giving it the best chance to survive.

Mikeeee

 

[LuvOrlando]

It might not make sense but if these redundancies use up stimulus dollars to keep people working then on with it I say! Think about the impact those working men& women have on the surrounding area's hoagie shops and coffee shops, water sales and doughnut sales. Its a mini boom to the neighborhood, then the workers go home and pay bills or spend on groceries etc. other than the inconvenience to locals caught in traffic this is a win-win for the workers and the immediate community. At least thats how I see it

 

[shortbun]

I see stupid stuff like this done all the time here too. It's unbelievable isn't it!? This week, they are paving our alleys as part of a neighborhood beautification project. WTH? We've laid off police and firefighters but for some reason, alley paving takes priority. Stupid!

 

[vt_disney_fan]

It might not make sense but if these redundancies use up stimulus dollars to keep people working then on with it I say! Think about the impact those working men& women have on the surrounding area's hoagie shops and coffee shops, water sales and doughnut sales. Its a mini boom to the neighborhood, then the workers go home and pay bills or spend on groceries etc. other than the inconvenience to locals caught in traffic this is a win-win for the workers and the immediate community. At least thats how I see it

And it's this type of thinking that gets us deep in debt as a nation. If these "redundancies", as you put it, keep people working, then do it? Where does the money to pay for these "redundancies" come from, might I ask? Have you thought of that? This so-called stimulus money MUST come from somewhere - it can't just be created out of thin air and never paid back. We can't, and don't want to, just print money. Know what happens when that is the case? Every single dollar in existence is then devalued. Ask Germany and the Weimar Republic how that worked out for them.

But it's thinking like this - spend money we don't have, doing things inefficiently, just to keep people working, so they'll spend further the money we didn't have in the first place - that keeps us drowning in debt. Thanks.

 

[Golf4food]

And it is for reasons like these that having the government involved in anything just screws things up worse more times than not...

They do the same thing around here all the time - pave a road now for #XX million dollars then a year later rip it up, add a lane, repave for $XXX million dollars, then a year later rip it all up, install drainage pipes, repave for $XXXX million dollars when they could have done all of it up front for millions less in the long run, but beaurocracy wouldn't allow common sense to prevail, so instead we waste millions year after year.

 

[Papa Deuce]

they are using the old way of repaving. remove all the manhole lids and frames. grind the pavement, repave, then dig up the pavement and reinstall the manholes and frames. then patch the asphalt/concrete around them. also after it is all nicely paved, cut lines into the new asphalt for the traffic signal sensors...

now, around here, they remove the maholes, grind down the surface, patch bad sections of the base, then reinstall the manholes at the designed two inches of new asphalt cover. then pave to match the manhole rim heights. they also put the traffic signal wires in the road before the final asphalt paving. now there is no cutting into the fresh new asphalt coat giving it the best chance to survive.

Mikeeee

See, now that makes a heckuva lot more sense, eh?

BTW, to the poster talking about jobs, not much of a boom. They have about 6 people working on the job, and not much in the way of shops there... but they do have a few bars.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

It might not make sense but if these redundancies use up stimulus dollars to keep people working then on with it I say! Think about the impact those working men& women have on the surrounding area's hoagie shops and coffee shops, water sales and doughnut sales. Its a mini boom to the neighborhood, then the workers go home and pay bills or spend on groceries etc. other than the inconvenience to locals caught in traffic this is a win-win for the workers and the immediate community. At least thats how I see it

But my tax dollars are paying for it! I'm sick of all the waste! Our taxes go up and up each year due to poor planning. The money for these projects has to come from somewhere, and it's coming from the public's pocket...problem is, people are being laid-off, hours & benefits are being cut, but taxes are going up.

 

[sbell111]

See, now that makes a heckuva lot more sense, eh?

BTW, to the poster talking about jobs, not much of a boom. They have about 6 people working on the job, and not much in the way of shops there... but they do have a few bars.

Those six people get to work as well as any other support people that you didn't see as well as the various suppliers as well as people that all of these people pay money to, etc.

Lots and lots of people benefit from these projects. As a bonus, the street got paved.

 

[sbell111]

But my tax dollars are paying for it! I'm sick of all the waste! Our taxes go up and up each year due to poor planning. The money for these projects has to come from somewhere, and it's coming from the public's pocket...problem is, people are being laid-off, hours & benefits are being cut, but taxes are going up.

I don't see the need for political angst over this. Tax dollars paid for a street that really needed paving to be paved.

 

[TEENEE]

If their goal was to create jobs they could have done it in a better way. How about fix the road the right way the first time then move on to another road that needs repair. Oh wait, they can't do that, that would make sense.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

I don't see the need for political angst over this. Tax dollars paid for a street that really needed paving to be paved.

Sorry..I wasn't trying to be political...I just think they should do things once, and the right way, so they don't have to go back and re-do it, as in this case..that is a WASTE of $$.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Those six people get to work as well as any other support people that you didn't see as well as the various suppliers as well as people that all of these people pay money to, etc.

Lots and lots of people benefit from these projects. As a bonus, the street got paved.

Just do the job right the first time.... and then move on to the next needed project.

BTW, I think you have the "Bonus" part backwards. The street desperately needed paving. It looked like it was ready to collapse.

 

[sbell111]

If their goal was to create jobs they could have done it in a better way. How about fix the road the right way the first time then move on to another road that needs repair. Oh wait, they can't do that, that would make sense.

As you may have noticed in JR60004's post, there is more than one way to fix a road 'the right way'. Perhaps, the way they did it is cheaper and still gives an acceptable result.

 

[sbell111]

Sorry..I wasn't trying to be political...I just think they should do things once, and the right way, so they don't have to go back and re-do it, as in this case..that is a WASTE of $$.

Just do the job right the first time.... and then move on to the next needed project.

BTW, I think you have the "Bonus" part backwards. The street desperately needed paving. It looked like it was ready to collapse.

Seriously, did no one else on the planet read post #3 in this thread?

 

[Papa Deuce]

Seriously, did no one else on the planet read post #3 in this thread?

I did... and the 2nd paragraph makes sense.

 

[Chuck S]

They do the same kinds of things here, not just in Philly. They are basically doubling the footprint of our hospital, but taking out the entire parking lot. Then, after the new building is finished, they will begin work across the street on a new parking lot...so in the meantime, there is no where for visitors or even employees to park, except on the residential streets surrounding the hospital, or taking the limited parking from nearby businesses.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

Seriously, did no one else on the planet read post #3 in this thread?

Yes...he described a much more logical way to do things. Why pave a street, and then have to tear it up gain because you didn't fix the manhole covers and traffic light wiring first?

 

[Papa Deuce]

Yes...he described a much more logical way to do things. Why pave a street, and then have to tear it up gain because you didn't fix the manhole covers and traffic light wiring first?

I think we both read it and understood it fully, don't you?