Despite massive tax increases the past two years, Greensboro isn’t spending enough money to maintain its streets to the same level as similar municipalities in the state that have lower and, in some cases, much lower property tax rates.
According to a report given at the Greensboro City Council work session last week by the Greensboro Department of Transportation, the pavement condition of the streets in Greensboro were rated according to the Federal Highway Administration methodology at 61 which is listed as “Poor.”
Using the same federal rating system Raleigh rated 83, Winston-Salem rated 83, Charlotte rated 82 and Cary rated 81. This puts all of them in the “Good” category for street pavement condition according to the federal rating system.
Rated in the “Fair” category were Concord, Apex, Chapel Hill, Wilson and Hickory.
In the information provided Greensboro finished dead last and was the only city that had its streets rated as “Poor.”
According to the report Greensboro spends $3.8 million of vehicle registration fee revenue, $2.7 million of Powell Bill (state) revenue and $400,000 from water and sewer fees on resurfacing streets.
Many people don’t realize that a portion of their water bill goes to resurfacing streets, but in Greensboro it does.
According to the report, if the city continues to fund street resurfacing at the current level, streets are going to be in much worse condition in 2040. The report projects that at the current rate of expenditure by 2040 the condition of the streets will have dropped from 61 which is poor to 38 which is also listed as poor on the chart which lists 0-26 as “Very Poor.”
If the expenditure is almost doubled to $13.1 million a year the result will only be two points on the scale and the projected rating for the condition of Greensboro’s streets in 2040 is 40.
If the expenditure is increased to $16 million a year the projected rating in 2040 only increases to 57. So the streets would be worse than they are now, but not a whole lot worse.
According to the report currently in Greensboro 33.2 percent of the streets are rated “Good/Very Good” and 56.3 percent are rated as Poor/Very Poor.”
At the current funding level by 2043 the projection is that 13.5 percent of the streets will be rated “Good/Very Good” and 63.7 percent will be rated “Poor/Very Poor.”
Keep on voting for the same crowd and keep on expecting better results!
Blame the ignert and apathetic electorate, especially those who don’t bother to vote.
The streets in Guilford Hills are an embarrassing patchwork mess and an eyesore. What a shame.
But we have more sidewalks and bike lanes. Ever see them used?
The streets are poor and getting worse because our tax dollars are going to Cure Violence. And that’s getting worse too.
I was under the impression that the annual $30 Greensboro Vehicle Fee was to be used primarily for street repair and resurfacing. Perhaps we need to ask how much is acquired by this fee and where is the money going? I smell a rat.
Apparently, the problem is money; there is not enough of it going toward street maintenance. People driving with expired tags, driving without proper registration, or driving without a driver’s license, should be given a citation, and be required to pay a fine. The fine should go toward street maintenance. Committing either of the above-listed infractions is flouting the law, and whoever is guilty should be required to pay for their actions with a fine.
Increase the hiring of traffic-control officers to catch speeders, running yellow lights, etc. and raise the penalty to take care of expense of salaries, street repaire AND increase the safety of law-abiding drivers!
Never in my 77 years as a resident of Greensboro have I seen a worse city government. Years ago they plowed the streets when it snowed, had garbage pickup twice a week. Picked up the leaves in the fall, andpatched the streets, going so far as tarring cracks in the pavements to keep water from infiltratimg and causing potholes, whenpaving was done, the didn’t just cover up the bad pavement and paving over the gutters. On top of that the police department is decimated and non- law enforcement alternatives like “Cure Violence” has seen an even higher rate of murder and mayhem.
Greensboro has lost so much in the name of “progress” and taxes are at an all time high. So what happens with all this, yhe City Council for Life vote themselves a pay raise for all yhe wonderful things being done.
Has it gotten bad enough for you yet?
100% on that.
Well said Dave.
It’s all about the priorities of our city leaders and obviously roads are not near as important as some other ridiculous programs funded by the city budget.
So….not a single penny of my of my $6,000 tax bill goes to fix streets! What a waste of my tax dollars!!
Who is running this city?
I’m sure there are thousands of people in Greensboro who drive to work and they (we) all have to swerve right or left to avoid the dips in the streets, or manhole covers that are 2-3 inches higher then the cover, or pot holes which have already been patched, but not nearly enough to fixt it. Then you need to add they also haven’t repainted the street lines and cross-walks either, so what does that tell you? All for naught, since the council will continue to give out our tax dollars to companies to move here. . . . and become one of us that hates the streets.
A perfect example of how poor this city council is. A score of 61 may be overly generous. I have lived in my residence for the past 25 years as of this month. This spring, a few of the streets in this neighborhood were repaved. I believe they called it the main arteries were getting repaved. Well, all this new pavement gave us a bumpy ride. The old road was smoother, just full of patches and holes. I guess the EDI method of picking the paving contractor was enforce. A turd of a job at best.
Yes, the streets in Greensboro suck
Would be interesting to know if the streets where council members live have been resurfaced.
The city is spending its money on the wrong things.
Publish a year end report of what the money is spent for.
Transparency is part of the answer. The rest of the answer is a different city council.
Don’t fret, what they want is fewer people having a car, or being able to afford one.
There goes another freedom.
Well, the 2040 plan for Greensboro sure sounds like they’re shooting for a 15 minute city….
Look at the bright side. The bike lanes will probably be worn out less than the rest of the roads even before the traffic-calming benefits of the new leaf mismanagement fiasco are felt, and so the roads will only be worse for drivers, not pedestrians. And who knows? Maybe some of our endangered native species of plants will thrive in the unfilled potholes, fertilized by rotted leaves that fail to find their way to Buffalo Creek and beyond…
The problem is not the city council– it’s the fools who keep voting for the same incompetent control freaks that have already shown their disdain for we, the people.
‘poor streets’ is the problem ? POOR PEOPLE on the streets is the problem ! housing is the answer – not how easily r petty can race thru our town.
The city council needs to quit throwing money down the drain for special interest groups and spend it where it is needed. In other words, take care of the needs of the citizens as a whole.