Saturday, September 14, 2024
The recent Daily Sentinel editorial column “Waste Not, Want Not at the Pumps” struck a nerve.
The common sense solutions offered are things we all can do to reduce our spending on gasoline.
Yet I see things the City of Rome could do that would make a much larger impact.
Every day, I drive the city streets and sit at red lights, with not a single car aside from mine at the intersection.
This happens routinely all along Turn Road, between Chestnut Street (near Hannaford) and James Street, as well up and down Jay Street, Madison Street, George Street, and Washington Street from Turin Road to the downtown Dominick Street corridor.
I understand there are residential neighborhoods along these roads, and there is a need to control the speed of drivers in these areas.
Main thoroughfares with appropriate stop signs are just as effective as traffic lights, and result in far less time spent in a car idling at an intersection with no other vehicles in sight.
As for Turin Road, there is ample space for a series of roundabouts, including one at Chestnut Street, one at Jay Street, one at Madison Street, one at George Street, and one at Washington Street.
Keeping cars moving results in fewer tailpipe emissions, which is a win for the environment.
But it also results in less money going into the fuel tank and out the tailpipe — money that could be spent at the The Balanced Chef, or Bowl Boss, or B-52 Bagels & Deli, or Coppercinos, or Copper City Brewing, or The Copper Easel, or Crust Kitchen & Bar, or Franca’s Wine Room, or The Franklin, or Spressos, or The Vigneto, or Vine and Fig, or any number of other local establishments that would love to have more business.
We all have only so much in the “discretionary spending” part of our personal budgets.
It would be great if our city leaders considered the simple changes they could make to help us put those limited funds to use growing the economy instead of polluting the environment.
— Michael Rescigno, Rome
