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Originally posted by GarlicQueen

We have neither the politicos who can bring the money in nor the land owned by the state to expand that way. . .

Which is the point made in that Inky report on the Schukyll Metro - why it will not happen. An MBA attitude so prevalent on the East Coast. Finally the Delaware Valley Planning Commission had to collect Phoenixville politicans to avoid a default that would have destroyed credit ratings for all Philly area municipalities. With ostriches who crave power, how can any growth happen? Cited are some new homes South and West of Phoenixville. That home growth is near zero in growing regions of the country. It is considered high growth in a state that has negative growth comparitively.

That is the point. Having lived in the Philly region, you don't understand that Philly region is in negative growth compared to America. "I've grown accustom to the decay". Essencially no home growth in Phoenixville region and much growth along the Route 422 viaduct - in areas safety away from Phoenixville.

How poor is PA growing? Allentown is a suburb of NYC - not of Philadelphia.

Some builders during the booming 1990s withdrew development plans along Routes 724, etc because of lack of interest. On the east side of Phoenixville was some strong demand new home - but then those homes are east of the problem.

Considering that the Schukyll Expressway follows the Schukyll River on one side and a rather significant granite ridge on the other, just how would you propose expanding it?

You have just defined perfect foundations for expaned expressway. Convert the existing highway into all lanes in one direction. Build 4 more lanes adjacent or above. IOW you have bought into the "We fear" attitude by crying there is no room. It is there as you have noted. There is no money. It is spent where politicans bring home the pork and the area has long term plans.

Only the myopic would fear granite. We consume so much granite that mines exist in great numbers all through the Philly surburbs. Fly the puddle jumpers into Philly. Look at all those holes! (MBA types can't be bothered with window seats since they don't understand how to constantly learn.) What is removed from those holes? Granite. Granite along the Expressway is contruction material. Granite is only a problem to the myopic MBA types.

I keep harping on the same point since The Cellar Mark I. Push out the envelope. Stop thinking like an accountant, MBA, or political appointee (America's version of communist thinking). The Schukyll widening would have been a done deal 20 years ago IF region leaders were leaders - not myopic cost controllers. PA even was so stupid as to fear auto emmission regulations - and lost highway funding that left a Blue Route uncompleted for how many decades? In a state that has growth, such events would result in wholesale election disasters to every incumbant. But since too many think the near zero growth around Phoenixville is a housing boom, then fat, myopic, overpaid MBA educated politicans are protected.

We have met the enemy and he is us? Yes - look at the car dealers in Phoenixville. Phoenixville residents are so anti-American as to buy Pontiacs and Chevys. That is what you find from dumb consumers.

Blue Route - another classic example of a regions that is its own worst enemy. Show me one sign that says Blue Route. "Blue Route" is reported in the news and in personal directions. But a 'communist' mentality insists it is I-4xx or Mid-County Highway - what nonsense. It is the Blue Route. Label it as such. Signs should make Philly easy to transverse. Ahhh - but in a region where trivial housing growth in Phoenixville is called a housing boom - just forget having a highway properly labeled.

Can't do that -- the lumber yard is owned by a family that was actually using the property for contractors. They are rebuilding the site, just taking forever to do it.

If Borough Council wouldn't take the steel property by eminent domain (which was owed back taxes for more than the property was worth!), you certainly can't expect them to condem a active business site! :-0...

I got right down to the issue with a traffic engineer in a coffee shop. He sites Phoenixville as a classic morass. The lady in the Chamber of Commerce promotes Phoenixville as 'historic'. They spend $millions to restore a 1910 Quonset Hut with no idea for its use. It is an expensive eye sore - and in a flood plain! It should have been the new parking lot for a revitalized shopping district. Presently you can't get into the business district. Bridge Street must be doubled in size plus additional room for parking. But instead, all those crap buildings downtown - Phoenixville had them declared historic. No business district expansion is possible. No intelligent retail business would ever open in downtown Phoenixville. Only room for traffic and parking is to instead be filled with offices? MBA mentalities.

A Phoenixville viable business is an abandon lumber yard on their main business street - storage for construction equipment? Yes that is what most of the town is good for. Even a movie theater is subsidized because there is not enough parking even to bring in movie goers - let alone difficult roads and congested intersections. But stupid business leaders want to protect an obsolete technology - a movie theater. Communism survives in Phoenixville.

Try walking or riding a bike under that Mont Clare RR bridge on Bridge Street. Its not asphalt. Its rubber. Why? Roads are so poor that cars must careen out of control, shredding tread, to get into Phoenixville. And that is a newly rebuilt road. Its much easier to go shop in Collegeville. Do the powers that be or the residents understand this? No. Because they are used to thinking 'preserve trash building', that a few developments constitute a building boom, and in an MBA mentality tradition - solve problems by building more office complexs - the infastructure be damned.

Ever been inside the Phoenixville Water Plant? Ride a bicycle. That plant alone explains why the town's intelligent levels are lower. I don't know how Phoenixville water meets any standards and I avoid even drinking coffee made from Phoenixville water. I think they use Chlorox to purify the water.

There is growth in Chester County - in a state that is in negative growth compared to the nation. However, look at where the growth is. Upper Providence, Montco County is an example of normal growth. Exton Area has growth. There is growth all around Phoenixville - where people can get out without going through Phoenixville. On that Route 422 growth map in the Inky - areas south and west of Phoenixville have the least growth - for obvious reasons - Phoenixville and its citizens mentality.

Phoenixville has classic MBA mentality. They horde cash like an MBA. They waste time and money on a silly, ugly adandon steel foundry in some mythical belief that it is pretty. They declare slums as Historic buildings. They are so myopic as to put those brown signs up that say Historic Buisness District and spend extra money for those silly street lights on the Schukyll River bridge.

Residents next to the City Council building had to sue just to get rain water drains rebuilt. The entire neighborhood would flood during heavy rains because the drains, dating back to 1800s, had collapsed. These MBA type town fathers could not unblock street sewers why? Because it cost money. Because a sewer cannot be seen? MBA mentality exists because it resident all but worship Wharton School thinking - until they have to sue to get basic infastructure installed.

BTW, the city computers are in such chaos that a water employee was only caught when the water bill showed the city owed him money for water - and only when an employee noticed the bill. I happen to know that all their software is DOS based AND is not compatible even with Windows 3.1 - because like all good MBAs - they purchased only based on price.