Dear McCrabby,
Peeving in Portage
So, my request to the state of Michigan (not Michissippi) is please fix the roads, and then, hold the contractors accountable for their work (I've seen the same section of road worked on, patched, re-paved for three straight years, starting the year after it was completely torn up and newly paved - are the contractors that bad??).
I'd like to keep my nine-year-old car, with 126,000 miles on it, for a few more years, but if I hit too many more like the Middlebelt Crevice (McCrabby named that one), I'm afraid my car won't make it.
There is a follow-on post to this story (http://t.co/FZJRm5N), where we find money to fix the roads. Feel free to drop by there to be enlightened...
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McCrabby can be reached by email (mccrabby@humantransitions.com)
I heard you once talk, in your workshop, about how much you like being in Michigan. With unemployment going rampant, and services being cut, what is your biggest pet peeve about this state?
Peeving in Portage
Dear Portage Peever,
McCrabby has a few, but a couple of them have to do with "roads." McCrabby will give you one "roads" topic today, but please come back because we have a signage issue that needs to be dealt with, regarding our roads, and we're going to blast somebody; it'll be coming up soon.
McCrabby
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| This is what we should be known for |
McCrabby's OPEN LETTER TO MICHIGAN'S NEW GOVERNOR:
I love this state. I love the beauty of the Great Lakes, the forests up north, Mackinac Island and the Bridge, the terrific universities, Frankenmuth, the sports traditions, spectacular sand dunes, the U.P., winter sports, summer sports, and a progressive attitude and spirit that continues even in critical economic times. We even have Hell, Michigan, and it's a nice little town.
I love this state. I love the beauty of the Great Lakes, the forests up north, Mackinac Island and the Bridge, the terrific universities, Frankenmuth, the sports traditions, spectacular sand dunes, the U.P., winter sports, summer sports, and a progressive attitude and spirit that continues even in critical economic times. We even have Hell, Michigan, and it's a nice little town.
However, there is one area of this state that is far from competitive. There is one area that does not compare with surrounding states, or measure up to the expectations of Michiganders. Can someone fix the darn road
I almost had an accident last night, driving home from a church meeting, when I swerved to avoid the biggest pothole I've ever seen. In fact, I've heard that people have started naming potholes in this state, and some are counting them as tourist attractions..
Many of Michigan's residents are having a tough time, as evidenced by our double-digit unemployment numbers that don't seem to get any better, and we can't afford to fix our cars, that rattle, blow out tires (Mrs. McCrabby blew a tire on her car a year ago on 8 Mile Road in Northville) and simply disintegrate from the abuse they get on Michigan roads.
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| And, this is what we go through every day |
Many of Michigan's residents are having a tough time, as evidenced by our double-digit unemployment numbers that don't seem to get any better, and we can't afford to fix our cars, that rattle, blow out tires (Mrs. McCrabby blew a tire on her car a year ago on 8 Mile Road in Northville) and simply disintegrate from the abuse they get on Michigan roads.
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| Yeah, guys... That'll help... |
How can this state, once considered to be so progressive, with all it's beauty and resources, have roads so bad that we're dodging potholes to get to work (if we can find work)? Our cars are falling apart from the abuse of our roads, and with the economy here, we can't afford it. I love Michigan, and It hurts when I hear our state referred to as Michissippi. And, no disrespect meant to Mississippi, but we aren't used to that here.
On a recent trip to Indianapolis, I was struck by site of beautiful roads. In fact, a major topic of conversation in the car was that the roads were so nice-looking, and not only were they smooth, they had no bumps that make your car go rhythmically "ker-bump" every four seconds (why do we have that?), and they actually looked nice because they didn't have different colors of patching throughout. In fact, there didn't seem to be any patching. Hmmmm.
I've heard that we let heavy trucks on our roads, which breaks them up more quickly. My question would be, do those trucks drive off into the woods when they hit the Ohio or Indiana border? Because you can feel the smoothness as soon as you pass the state line. Where did those trucks get off the road?
And, who came up with the idea of a road crew throwing in a pound of hot asphalt into a pothole, thinking that will "fix" that pothole? I've done a personal study on that technique, and have found that 20 per cent of that asphalt ends up on the undercarriage of my car, immediately upon my driving over the patch, leading me to believe that once five cars go over patched area, the hole is re-opened in all its splendor. The road crew is usually just one pothole down the road by then.
On a recent trip to Indianapolis, I was struck by site of beautiful roads. In fact, a major topic of conversation in the car was that the roads were so nice-looking, and not only were they smooth, they had no bumps that make your car go rhythmically "ker-bump" every four seconds (why do we have that?), and
I've heard that we let heavy trucks on our roads, which breaks them up more quickly. My question would be, do those trucks drive off into the woods when they hit the Ohio or Indiana border? Because you can feel the smoothness as soon as you pass the state line. Where did those trucks get off the road?
And, who came up with the idea of a road crew throwing in a pound of hot asphalt into a pothole, thinking that will "fix" that pothole? I've done a personal study on that technique, and have found that 20 per cent of that asphalt ends up on the undercarriage of my car, immediately upon my driving over the patch, leading me to believe that once five cars go over patched area, the hole is re-opened in all its splendor. The road crew is usually just one pothole down the road by then.
So, my request to the state of Michigan (not Michissippi) is please fix the roads, and then, hold the contractors accountable for their work (I've seen the same section of road worked on, patched, re-paved for three straight years, starting the year after it was completely torn up and newly paved - are the contractors that bad??).I'd like to keep my nine-year-old car, with 126,000 miles on it, for a few more years, but if I hit too many more like the Middlebelt Crevice (McCrabby named that one), I'm afraid my car won't make it.
There is a follow-on post to this story (http://t.co/FZJRm5N), where we find money to fix the roads. Feel free to drop by there to be enlightened...
McCrabby can be reached by email (mccrabby@humantransitions.com)
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