Arkansas Blog

boondoggle....

website is being done by Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods....no telling how much that cost...hope they got it donated....yeah right

A Big Dam Offensive Name. Say it isn't so!

I'm told a kayak-launching ramp is nearing completion at the tip end of Two Rivers Park.

Thank god for the county. The city has spent all its parks money for things like the park out west that proved so full of bedrock it's good for nothing except a scraped-clean site for something or 'norther at some futrure date.

Since the county can't pay its sheriff's deputies and keep the jail open...but can put out dollars for this boondoggle, why not chain prisoners to the bridge and let the walkers and bicyclists monitor their activities? EVERYBODY'S HAPPY!

I'd call it the Big Dam Bird Nest, judging from the millions of swallows that appear to be inhabiting its lofty environs.

Every time I pay my quarterly state & federal income taxes, I think of stuff like this and I get sick! A total waste of my tax money. Those bycicle freaks with the dorkie helmets should have to pay to use this puppy and give that money back to us! Thanks Buddy, Jeeze

Isn't Buddy Villines' daughter running for a JP spot?

ARK. BLOG No.

It might be called Big Dam.,but it's damn big waste of taxpayers money.

Then what is she running for?

Time for a bicycle race ... the Tour de Rock.

Okay, I've suspected this for a while, but this confirms it. Anonymous is just a paid prick. His job is to monitor this blog and write stupid, asinine comments just to get a reaction. I went to school with a guy like this. I believed his name was DICK!

Villines' daughter is running for Pulaski County Quorum Court

ARK. BLOG No, she's not.

Your name may be Earl but you are really Socialist Sam. My name is Trish and it is not anon as you call everyone on this blog that is not a commie.

Hey Earl...Did you pay any taxes to help pay for this boondoggle? You think it is a good use of tax money when the deputies were fired?

I think a vibrant city needs all sorts of things for is citizens. Yes, certainly police, fire, roads, etc. But as they say, man can not live on bread alone. I personally don't care for the symphony, but others do, and I'm glad they have that choice and opportunity in our city. I don't use the soccer fields, but I know other do and it's good for our kids. With only infrastructure, a city is not made. A city is it's peoples, working and playing.

The federal and county money allocated for the bridge is only available for transportation projects such as trails, roads and yes, bridges. The designated money is not and would not be an option for your deputy friend to get his job back. Had the Judge not used the federal funds at the time they were available, they would have gone back to DC and likely to some other non-Central Arkansas project.

I have no children in school, but I pay taxes to support the schools. Just because I don't plan to bicycle across the river doesn't mean that it isn't a good thing for our area. It's easier to keep well-rounded residents in a well-rounded community that has something for everyone.

Who is Anonymous?, you are exactly right about the federal funds. I've seen other towns lose the money because they couldn't decide how to spend it.

Who is Anonymous?

point taken well.. however it is still a boondoggle, just because it came from appropriated money doesn't excuse the wastefulness..

we have troops who got sent into Dubya's sick vision of Apocalypse Now and are getting short changed by this Administration and Congress because we are broke.. we are broke because of tax cuts and irresponsible appropriations like this.. did Haliburton build this bridge?

Who is his daughter? Dawn Vandiver? She is running for a QC position.

Detractors of the bridge use the same tired old lines. "Waste of their money(actually our money). "Make the cyclists pay for it". "Buddy this, buddy that" It's all been argued and it's all been shotdown in past blogs.

If they don't have the time to censure the lack of facts in their statements about taxes, levels of funding and proven contributions that recreational/alternative transporation projects across the country provide to a community, I sure as heck don't plan on wasting time on telling it to them again. Their bliss is their ignorance.

There are plenty of taxpayers that are going to spend their leisure hours enjoying the DAM BRIDGE and the trails it connects. I think it is a shame that people feel that improving the quality of life for the citizens is a waste of money. No one is happy about deputies being fired, but resorting to calling the people who will use the bridge and the 17 miles of trails it connects is no argument. It just shows that you have nothing constructive to say. Are you one of those epople who thinks that if you don't have kids you shouldn't have to pay school tax? EVERYONE can benefit from the bridge, the trails, the parks. Those who use them will be healthier and won't require YOUR tax dollars to pay for health care for obesity related health problems.

When I am out on the trails, I see many, many people out there walking running, roller-blading, cycling and ENJOYING themselves in the outdoors. This is part of the quality of life in any city.

I invite all those who are bemoaning the bridge and it's cost to put on some althetic shoes and take a walk. Maybe we'll pass each other on the trail! I'll be the freak on a bike with the dorky helmet! :-)

we have more bridges per capita than amsterdam.. we could have used one for a bike path before building a new one

plus the view of pinnacle mnt now ruined from east of the dam

Dawne Vandiver is running for Quorum Court. As far as I know she is Villines daughter.

ARK. BLOG She's not

Those who use the bridge should pay for it via tolls. When you tax the poor like we do in Arkansas, it's wrong to use that money for anything but necessities. This is a luxury that the poor should not help pay.

soccer fields? what soccer fields? oh yeah, that's over in NLR this weekend. Thank goodness for NLR who has the foresight to build fields that'll bring in money rather than pulling it out.

The cyclists in their dorky helmets pay tax on their bicycle fuel every time they shop for groceries at Krogers (now 9% here in NLR). At least now on Sept.30th they'll have something to show for it & to be used by thousands to get out & enjoy the outdoors for many many years into the future. Thanks Buddy for a project well done!

She ain't Villines' daughter. She's Buddy Benafield's daughter.

"we have more bridges per capita than amsterdam"

Change that to read

"we have more car bridges..."

and I doubt they've ever been to Amsterdam.

"we could have used one for a bike path before building a new one"

I assume they're talking about a car bridge again.
That's already being done with the Broadway and Main st bridges in downtown LR/NLR. And complaints arise from that too.

"plus the view of pinnacle mnt now ruined from east of the dam"

Yeah, a real eye sore

http://static.flickr.com/44/153895658_9689c060bf_s.jpg

BTW, it will carry more than just people it will also carry several large utility lines across the river. A further attribute as to the tremendous foresight judge Villines had with this bridge.

Dawne Vandiver is not Buddy Villines' daughter. They went to college together and are about the same age. Dawne is the daughter of J.W. "Buddy" Benafield's daughter.

Ever try crossing one of the other bridges on foot or on a bike? If so, did you enjoy the trip? It seems that people that are upset about this bridge are also the ones who get ticked off when a cyclist is in front of them on the road. I've read the blogs enough to know that cyclists certainly are not welcome on the roads with many drivers out there, and many drivers don't want money spent so we can ride elsewhere. I, for one, don't think it's feasible to take my child out biking or waling across the Broadway or Main Street Bridges, nevermind the only other two options, I430 and I30...ahhh the exhaust!

correction: Dawne is the daughter of Buddy Benafield. Not the daughter of Benafield's daughter.

Bite me

It must be awfully difficult to be a person who gets upset at progress. It must be awfully difficult to be a person who can't enjoy that other people can enjoy certain things. It must be awfully difficult to be alive when you are really dead.

Since when are Federal Dollars NOT tax dollars? The bridge will have to be MAINTAINED and POLICED and LIT UP and CLEANED by somebody!!! Who pays for repairs, replacement, etc.? US! US! US! We the people!

I can't believe that Buddy V is still around in political office. Is Pulaski County that hard up for leaders.

He used to be in a country band. Did he give that up and decide to run the county? Poor Pulaski County citizens.

[quote]Time for a bicycle race ... the Tour de Rock.{/quote]

Already been there... CARTI's Tour de Rock was run on June 10, with more than 400 riders.... It'll be back on the same weekend next year...

Every highway, street and road that you drive on is paid for by tax dollars of some sort. That is the way it works. Period. Tax dollars are used to pay for things that are done for the common benfit of the citizens.

By the way it's US, US, US, that can choose to reap the benfits of the bridge instead of complaining about it!

Maybe, maybe, when the weather is much cooler than it is likely to be September 30, I'll walk the Big Damn, er, Dam, Bridge. But right now, I'd like to know specifically who came up with the name. I'll bet there has been a lot of snickering going on.
And just so you Rockers know boondoggles happen, good old Pine Bluff is working on a short fat pier on Lake Pine Bluff. Originally envisioned as a drive-on Farmers' Market (since we don't have enough solid ground to build on), it's now going to be an apparent two-story "multi-purpose complex" duplicating many amenities now available within a mile or so of the complex.
Once completed, the PB Parks Department will be responsible for it's upkeep -- the same department which is so financially stretched, it hopes neighbors near small city parks will maintain them.
Don't you love our priorities?

How many beds did we give up at the Pulaski County Jail to get this? How many criminals run free because we paid this money? How many crimes have been committed by criminals running free because there is no room at the jail? How many Pulaski County Sheriff's Deputies were laid off to make this possible?

Here's the thing....it's the LONGEST/LARGEST pedestrial bridge in the world...

This thing is going to attract people from all over the nation. It's a good thing...progress is a good thing...adding icons to the community is a good thing....

Take your family, walk across the bridge at sunset, soak up the nice views...and APPRECIATE your state and what new additions such as these will do for it.

Didn't Buddy have a third cousin who ran for mayor of some city or another?

pork, pork, pork.... If this walking trail were anywhere else in the state AT would decry it as pork.

Don't spend $400K on street improvements and lighting in Bigelow, but a cool million plus on a walking trail bridge in L.R. is all good....hypocrits.

And when they built the arch in St. Louis I imagine there were other small towns that needed light poles too....

The two have nothing to do with each other...

Can you ride/walk on the bridge now?

I think they overdid it a bit, which seems to be easy to do when you're spending government money, particularly federal. But the whole concept of recreational facilities is you have a mix. You have golf courses and tennis courts and softball fields and not everyone plays. You have playgrounds and not everyone has children.

Bicycling and foot traffic are illegal on interstate bridges (and highways) and would be very unpleasant on any of the other automobile bridges.

So I think it's good to have a way for pedestrians and bicylists to get between the two cities. In the milder times of the year, Murray Park and Burns Park willl both benefit from traffic from the other.

I do think this is going to make it harder for them to raise money for the bridge downtown. And they seem to be really vague about how they're going to pay for it.

Is it really 100 mile long?

Yea for the Bridge!!! From a 75 year old Grandma. May many come for the fun, exercise, and scenery. What a balm for the soul. I'm pleased to have lived to see this kind beautiful expression of man's abilities.