The Payson Roundup / Bureaucrats make life miserable

Archive for Friday, September 18, 2009

September 18, 2009

Editor:

We are all happy that the Water Wheel Fire is under control, and hope that the perpetrators get caught. But what is this three-week closure of the road to Whispering Pines, Verde Glen, Rim Trail and Washington Park? The official reason is that some of the guard rail supports got weakened by the fire on a tenth-of-a-mile stretch of the road between Beaver Valley and Whispering Pines.

Please, spare me. There is no reason why close to a thousand people should be subjected to a 20-mile detour on dirt roads for that reason.

Just as they are doing on Route 87/260, they could have, in that short stretch, closed the lane next to the guard rail and made it one way in alternate directions at five-minute intervals. And don’t give me that nonsense of “no resources available.” There are now four sheriff’s deputies making sure, round the clock, that no one sneaks through.

This is a typical instance of bureaucrats seizing an opportunity to revel in their power to unaccommodate others. Tell the Forest Service how you feel about that.

Bodo Dieh