Frontiersman Editorial

Three years of planning, studies, debate, public meetings, planning staff time and revising finally came to a head last week when the Mat-Su Borough Assembly met to decide on a final plan for the Bogard Road extension project. And that decision was …

None of the above.

Seems like the assembly has taken a cue from the Borough Planning Commission, which declined to recommend any of the route alternatives to extend Bogard Road to create another east-west corridor between Wasilla and Palmer. While the axiom is true that a person, or group like the assembly, cannot please all of the people all of the time, it is possible to serve all of the people. Short of building a new road that winds its way around private property or building a giant roundabout around the cities, there isn’t a magic bullet the Borough can fire to address our area’s critical need for more transportation alternatives while upsetting nobody.

Like navigating rush-hour traffic on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, the assembly needs to keep its eyes on the road. Either choose one of the routes shown by Borough staff as the most feasible or decide to alleviate our inter-Valley traffic congestion some other way. Count on any solution to be expensive and not to be the most convenient for all.

Planning Commissioner Mark Masteller makes a relevant point in his Spectrum piece in today’s newspaper. He explains how he believes the solution is to put our energy and resources into a mass transit system. This is a good idea, but one that puts the cross-town bus before the horsepower.

First, we have no information or reliable data that shows enough Valley residents would use public transportation to justify the expense of running and maintaining this service. Also, without assurances such a system would alleviate our overcrowded roadways by a certain percentage, such a plan would saddle the Borough and taxpayers with still looking at extending and adding thoroughfares in addition to any public transportation system that’s in place.

We are at a point with our roadways and growing population that we may need more roads or projects like the Bogard Road extension regardless of whether public transportation is in the equation.

Masteller also talks about the money involved, that there is no money now to build a Bogard Road extension or any other major thoroughfare. There also is no money to purchase and operate a fleet of public transportation vehicles, along with the insurance and liability involved. Either way, building new roads or building a public transportation system, it’s going to cost money — dollars that will come from us.

If the Borough Assembly and planners are truly not convinced Bogard Road is the most immediate project to help alleviate the traffic on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, then it’s time to move on. We find it hard to believe three years of planning and effort have been all for nothing. While making a final decision is bound to be unpopular with those it may directly affect, it needs to happen — now.