When are Community 'Improvements' not Improvements...

...when the residents of a community don't want or need them...

'Improvements' such as road widening, intersection upgrades, destruction of parks and Township owned vacant land (that are well used by community kids to play in), and some tax payer funded new and expensive facilities that don't always improve the lives of the community, and have to pay for forever.

In fact road widening (such as proposed for 40th Ave.) for the most part just improve the lives of commuters and residents from other areas while destroying the character of a community that residents love. Also making it harder to get from point A to point B due to new medians, barricades and blockages, and shaving off and fencing off parks and school grounds just so people driving through the area can have a passing lane, when many residents just want some sort of traffic calming through the streets they call home.  You are just destroying communities while you think you're 'improving' them.

Imagine a four lane highway going past YOUR front yard on 52nd with a major intersection at 248th St.  I bet that wouldn't feel good...

I call it Politician 'Bronze Plaque Fever' or 'Surreyfication' - look at what all the sprawling 'Improvements' have done for that city.  You have a good example of what not to do just to the west of us, if only you would stop listening so much to the developers and instead honestly listen to the community residents BEFORE the survey tape goes up.  After all we are people you must respect and not just planning board markers.

You can't call it 'improvement' when you're shoving it down people's throats...

Have too much tax money? Put it towards building sidewalks traffic calming and maintenance, or study what basements do to a community given the probability of illegal suites and the attending stress on utilities, and congestion.  Just a suggestion there.  :)

Better yet, these days while the Township is gorging themselves on property tax, put the windfall into investments so you can actually gives the residents a Tax Break when a recession next kicks in again instead of raising the taxes like you did the last time.