Hutchinson Leader - County Politics - Comments

Hey terri, what about the

jamiemarxa — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:55:32 -0600

Hey terri, what about the over-size loads that cannot make it thru the round a bouts anymore? Big waste of diesel and manpower to be routed around just because they were built to small, i also never said there were any major accidents or anything, I just said they needed to be fixed, How many times have people had to slam on their brakes just to avoid a accident because someone coming into the round a bouts never bothered to yield to traffic already in the round a bout? What about the winter times when they have to go round and round with sanders just to make sure they are perfect to prevent accidents from ice on them? It seems to be a waste of man and materials when a stop light would have done the job so much better and cheaper for that matter.
I agree with you on the 7/15 interection and the bluff/7 crossing, they make signs that have flashing yellow litghs that warn of lights changing, they could do longer yellows, Who knows what else they could do. But they are both deadly intersections, that is for sure. Maybe they should try traffic cameras that send out tickets at those intersections, they are well known to stop people from running the yellow and red lights.

Minnesota, along with many

star-ann — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:48:33 -0600

Minnesota, along with many other states, is having financial problems. Yet, there will be bonding money designated for trails? Could this "money for trails" be redirected so it can be used for more practical purposes? Spending the money just because "it's there" isn't going to help balance the state's budget. I believe this is how states got into financial problems. "Special projects", such as the Luce Line Trail, should be put on the back-burner until our economy improves.

I agree with the concern of

anneneedsmorecowbell — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:29:23 -0600

I agree with the concern of moving trees on the trail. The trail is quite nice as it is, a parallel trail would be problematic in a lot of spots. I think if it is not a practical option, then the trail should remain as it is so that everyone can use it. I am not sure how many stables are along or in close proximity of the trail, but there are several from my understanding. I have talked to a lot of horse people that use the trail often, and even selected their property because of the close proximity. A lot of people would be unable to use a paved trail. As is, only rollerbladers are unable to use the trail, as someone said previously. Paving it and not having a parallel trail would close it off to too many other users.

My concern is that adding a

itsjustme — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:51:16 -0600

My concern is that adding a second parallel trail will require removing a lot of trees. The stretch between Hutchinson and Winsted is surrounded by trees on both sides creating an canopy effect. It would be a shame to see this taken away.

Are there many stables on

Terry Davis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:53:03 -0600

Are there many stables on the section of trail from Winsted west to Cedar Mills targeted for the paving, or are most of them east of Winsted in the Watertown area that would not be paved?

I can think of a couple of residents near the trail west of Hutchinson that have horses, but I don't think they are commercial stables like the ones east of Watertown.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)

My worry is where the

anneneedsmorecowbell — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:22:08 -0600

My worry is where the parallel trail will go. There is a lot of low land near Silver Lake. I used to support the paving, but at the meetings I went to it sounded to me that the parallel trail would not be made right away, and in some places would not be possible to make. In that case, I would hate to see the trail paved and the number of people able to use it would decrease. Several stables are built along the Luce Line, and the trail would become inaccessible to them, affecting their business. I would like to see more details about the parallel trail and when it will be built before I would support paving the trail. I'm all for sharing the trail and making it accessible to as many enthusiasts as possible, but not at the cost of making it inaccessible to many of us who have used it for years.

Part of the paving plan is

Raymond Norton — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:30:30 -0600

Part of the paving plan is to run a parallel unpaved trail.

http://www.hutchinsonleader.com/news/opinion/editorial-luce-line-upgrade...

Is paving the luce line

fishman20 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:13:19 -0600

Is paving the luce line going to "stimulate the economy?" I bet people from Silver Lake and Cedar Mills will be coming in droves to Hutchinson. There are a lot of businesses along the trail which depend on snowmobilers and if the trail is paved, many will not use it. It is already paved in town which I have no problem with, but leave the trail alone outside of town

What's to fix on the

Terry Davis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:45:00 -0600

What's to fix on the roundabouts? I don't have exact numbers for the one on Highway 15 in Hutchinson, but anecdotally (and since I usually get the police reports on all crashes within city limits) I don't recall any major injury accidents in the past 12-18 months it has been in place.

While at the same time, we continue to have serious, and potentially serious, crashes at signaled intersections such as Highway 7/15, Highway 7/Bluff (there have been crashes at both this year in which a car was flipped), Highway 15/South Grade, several at Highway 15/Edmonton, and just Monday at Highway 15 and South Grade. Most have been dangerous T-bone-type crashes in which someone has run a red light or failed to yield while making left turns.

A recent one at Highway 15 and Edmonton could have been deadly had the elderly couple, who allegedly turned left on a red arrow, not been wearing their seatbelts and driving a new vehicle with a full complement of front and side airbags. They essentially walked away from it.

So what is the price of saving a life?

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)

Imagine that, PORK projects

jamiemarxa — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:18:14 -0600

Imagine that, PORK projects at a time when there is no extra money to be had. Maybe they should try to take that money and fix the "dam" they just had to have in hutchinson or maybe they should try and fix those round a bouts they thought would be so good. There is so much more they could do with the money BUT that will never happen, squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Wow, $2.5 million to pave a

fishman20 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:56:59 -0600

Wow, $2.5 million to pave a trail that does not need any attention. Isn't there something better to spend $2.5 million on? The only people who can not currently use the trail are rollerbladers. Bicyclists, horse back riders, snowmobilers, and walkers can already use this trail as is. I do not see how this could pass.

Phew ... I no longer have to

Jorge Sosa — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:26:00 -0600

Phew ... I no longer have to worry for your sanity..

Don't flatter yourself Mr.

jorges_no.1fan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:37:11 -0600

Don't flatter yourself Mr. Sosa... I am Jorge Posada's number 1 fan.

I recommend that anyone who

Jorge Sosa — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:25:19 -0600

I recommend that anyone who claims to be a fan of mine (much less my No. 1 fan) have their head examined.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)

The county board should hire

jorges_no.1fan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:34:35 -0600

The county board should hire a consulting firm to evaluate this situation. I say put about $2 million into it, then quash the whole idea and leave things they way they are. That seems to a be a going trend for this county board. Commissioner Nies is very eager to combine the positions so his buddy Cindy Schultz can make more money.