A certain person thinks that he-she can make all kinds of stupid comments and try to pass them off as the
beliefs of another person.   All he-she is doing is proving how ignorant he-she is.  

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Since the Dems began running the County Leg ...
GE is investing in its Schenectady plant and adding jobs
downtown is becoming a destination place again
and the future looks bright.

More revisionism. Under the REPS, Metrograft was established and the only jobs worth talking about State jobs came to Schenectady. That got some non-street people over there. GE was never leaving town and the current battery plant is a Federal green program.

     The local DEMS have increased taxes, hired incompetents, refuse to address Countywide crime and gang issues, and can't even site a County nursing home THAT THEY HAVE BONDED! The sooner we eliminate this idiotic County Legislature and move to a Board of Supervisors-the better.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

A certain person thinks that he-she can make all kinds of stupid comments and try to pass them off as the
beliefs of another person.   All he-she is doing is proving how ignorant he-she is.  

People who don't own homes and don't pay taxes won't understand this.  

But when you own a house and the house needs things, e.g., repair/replace a furnace, replace a roof, put in a new driveway, those things are necessities and those things get done before you put in a pretty trail in the back yard.   In a bad economy, you simply do not put that trail in the back yard (or deck, patio, pool, etc).  A trail is nice, but what happens if you spend money on a trail instead of replacing your roof?

Likewise, when the taxes are high and the government is in a big debt, a bike trail is NOT a necessity, there is not even the remotest need for a bike trail.  It's "nice" but the state is in major financial problems.

Unfortunately, people who don't pay the bills figure there is an endless supply of money.  Classic analogy, many years ago you could find apartments "with heat included" and how many tenants never thought twice about turning up the thermostat.  People who live in another's house and don't have the National Grid bill in their own name, don't care about how much money it costs, they are not paying, thus they don't think twice about jacking the thermostat up to 75.  When people pay their own heat, then they cut back.  

Another good analogy.  People on medicaid will usually go to the emergency room for cuts and scrapes and fevers of 100 and go in the evening and weekends.  (true even when they can be enrolled in a plan with which they have a primary care doctor to call during the day).  Since they are not paying the ER visit, since they don't even so much as have a $50 co-pay for going to the ER, they don't think twice to mis-using the tax dollars.   Using the ER costs several hundred dollars where going to the doctor may be less than $100 for visit.    Those of us who pay premiums and have deductibles and/or co-pays might have a fever of 104 and we will think, "its' going to cost us" so we intelligently and wisely choose to call our primary doctor's office and go there  and pay our $20 co-pay.  We know the value of the dollar.  

THose of us who pay taxes and see the HUGE financial crisis the state is in, we know that there are necessities that must be paid for and that there simply is no money for bike trails.  

I wonder where people think that the money is supposed to come from to pay for bike trails??????  Where is the money tree???    

And are bike trails going to reduce crime in the city?    Is spending tax money on bike trails going to reduce the high property taxes or the high taxes in the state?  Is spending money on bike trails going to result in better maintained watermains in the city?   Etc.

Since I own property, pay taxes and pay for maintenance and repairs -- I understand the situation.

Now -- back to the multi-modal trails -- they enhance the quality of life for residents by providing opportunities
for exercise and socialization.    I am greatly looking forward to the day when the multi-modal trail along
the river in Rotterdam Junction is completed and when additional trails off it are running all throughout the
Town of Rotterdam.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Since I own property, pay taxes and pay for maintenance and repairs -- I understand the situation.

Now -- back to the multi-modal trails -- they enhance the quality of life for residents by providing opportunities
for exercise and socialization.    I am greatly looking forward to the day when the multi-modal trail along
the river in Rotterdam Junction is completed and when additional trails off it are running all throughout the
Town of Rotterdam.

I hardly think you're one to talk about getting "exercise" - or for that matter, socialization.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Since I own property, pay taxes and pay for maintenance and repairs -- I understand the situation.

Now -- back to the multi-modal trails -- they enhance the quality of life for residents by providing opportunities
for exercise and socialization.    I am greatly looking forward to the day when the multi-modal trail along
the river in Rotterdam Junction is completed and when additional trails off it are running all throughout the
Town of Rotterdam.

Tax moeny must NOT be used to fund exercise and socialization.  People can go to the mall and do those walking things and it does not cost tax money.  People can pick up their phones, talk on their computers, attend events paid for PRIVATELY by organizations they belong to, or go to family reunions (funded PRIVATELY), etcc.  

Consider this.

1.  City residents pay taxes to maintain the infrastructure
2.  City fails to maintain infrastructure
3.  Heavy rains, basements are flooded because city failed to maintain infrastructure
4.  Thousands of dollars damage to the taxpayer's home
5.  City will not pay for damages.
6   Taxpayer must pay for the damage caused by the city.

Why does the taxpayer have to pay taxes to the city?????    

Now, how good is the quality of life for the taxpayers in the city?

Gosh, talk about socialization?   Most of Christmas Eve and all Christmas Day, we did enough socialization to last us a month at least.  NO ONE on the face of this earth needs a bike trail AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE in order to socialize with others or to get exercise.  

But some people think the financially struggling people of the city should pay taxes, and then when the city does not perform the services they paid for with thei taxes, they should pay for the repairs to their homes (and not get a refund on taxes paid for no services) and then they should pay for a NON ESSENTIAL bike trail.

Typical response from people who don't pay taxes in Schenectady thus have NOT A CLUE what people are going through.  And the only people who get paid for spending their days posting on message boards day and night (and otherwise playing on the computer) are people living off others (often the taxpayer), i.e., welfare or unemployed - and they do not pay income taxes

The City can't maintain existing parks and trails. At last thing anyone needs is more property off the tax roll that the City must maintain. Metrograft and the County redevelopment efforts have been a total failure. Not one new factory, not one new job creator. Unemployment keeps going up-revenues down. That's why all the blarney about idiotic trails that no one gives a fig about. Instead of getting down to brass tacks, cutting taxes and laying off County lobs the DEMS keep talking about trails, outdoor movies in freezing weather and summer day camps.

     Multi-modal is another crock. The last time we heard this buzzword was for the train station. That still stands as it was when Metrograft was created. $100 MILLION ago. Maybe someone will come down the trail on stilts? There's no there there.

bike/hiking trails is not an 'evil' idea! It is a stupid one if you are talking about schenectady. Schenectady can't maintain the roads. Can't get a handle on the ever increasing crime. Can't lower taxes. Can't handle the never ending line at the dss building. Can't get a handle on finding slum lords. And they think they will be able to take care of and handle biking and hiking trails? I hardly doubt it!

Wasn't there talk of pedophiles in central park? Something about a 'peep hole' in one of the bathrooms? How long did it take for that 'peep hole' to be closed off? And how are the pedophiles doing? Just askin'.

Let someone go down to the dss building, the bethesda house, city mission etc.... and ask those folks what they think of a new bike trail. Ask them if they have tickets to the Lion King. Ask them how those wings are at bombers. Ask them how those canoli's taste from villa italia. Ask them how the movie was at bow tie. Ask them how they enjoyed their meal at cornells, or italian ice from civitellos. Ask them how well their kids are doing in the schenectady school system. Ask them if they are thinking of living in one of those condos proposed at the old alco site. Ask them how they like having a 'job'! Ask them how 'working together' works.

Yeah....a bike/hiking trail....it's almost laughable in schenectady!

Multi-modal trails are a great idea and certainly worth the investment of taxpayer dollars.   They enhance the
quality of life and encourage folks to exercise and visit nature areas.   With the rising price of gas (caused
by the GOP oil hogs),  making our communities more "bike friendly" and "walker friendly" is a great idea.

I would rather taxpayer dollars be spent on multi-modal trails and parks than on vacations to Hawaii and
Disney World for Hugh Farley.    Let see -- he cost us $80,000 just for those 2 trips -- and the public has
nothing to show for it.

At least with money invested in the multi-modal trail system, we have improved recreational opportunities.

With the rampant crime in the City, trails through Vale cemetery are not a very prudent idea. Let's not open a trail in a persistently dangerous area, that's just completely negligent.

Again, money should be spent to CLEAN UP the neighborhoods and improve the safety and upkeep where taxpayers live. Trails are not the answer and they are unnecesary in this fiscally difficult economy.

It must have been Bush that keeps banning drilling in the gulf area, Bush must have been the one prevents any more drilling in Alaska, and Bush must have been the one that just reversed his own decision to allow drilling for oil where it had been previously banned.

Quoted from rachel72

With the rampant crime in the City, trails through Vale cemetery are not a very prudent idea. Let's not open a trail in a persistently dangerous area, that's just completely negligent.

Again, money should be spent to CLEAN UP the neighborhoods and improve the safety and upkeep where taxpayers live. Trails are not the answer and they are unnecesary in this fiscally difficult economy.

The fact is that similar projects in other urban areas have led to REDUCED crime.  

The trail through Vale offers great benefits ---
#1)  the trail replaces a greatly detiorated road sytem in the park,  
#2)  as the trail is being built a drainage system is being installed that will ensure that the new
rail/trail system will be around for many years to come,
#3) it will allow good, decent people to USE THE PARK ... and Vale is not just a cemetery but a park .. it
was originally designed to function as cemetery and park.    Many studies have shown that the more people
use an area ... the crime rate drops.
#4) Vale Park/Cemetery  abuts at least 4 neighborhoods --- so cleaning up and improving safety in Vale
IS helping to clean up and improve safety in the neighborhoods

The Vale multi-modal trail is not just prudent .. it is a great idea.

Hey, when is the last time you actually went INTO Vale? The trail is far from being "greatly deteriorated".  It is in a very usable condition now, to walk, bike or drive. If you used it, as many do, you would know. I will go ahead and venture to say that any "true" nature
lover would be against blacktop.

Any disturbances to that area will not only risk ruin to many gravesites that are literally within a foot or two of the trail, it will also negatively affect the delicate ecosystem that exists.

How will a trail of blacktop allow "good people" to use the park? They can use it NOW. If they do, that will help in deterring the
"bad people" from using it as you pointed out. I use the park during the day and have never encountered any problems. Night time is a different story, I'm sure, as it is in any area of any city.

Vale is a beautiful and peaceful park that more people should value and utilize.

And Central "Pervert" Park? The perverts are still at it, during the day.

Quoted from Ididntdoit

And Central "Pervert" Park? The perverts are still at it, during the day.

Thanks! That is exactly what I heard.

Quoted from Ididntdoit

Hey, when is the last time you actually went INTO Vale? The trail is far from being "greatly deteriorated".  It is in a very usable condition now, to walk, bike or drive. If you used it, as many do, you would know. I will go ahead and venture to say that any "true" nature
lover would be against blacktop.

Any disturbances to that area will not only risk ruin to many gravesites that are literally within a foot or two of the trail, it will also negatively affect the delicate ecosystem that exists.

How will a trail of blacktop allow "good people" to use the park? They can use it NOW. If they do, that will help in deterring the
"bad people" from using it as you pointed out. I use the park during the day and have never encountered any problems. Night time is a different story, I'm sure, as it is in any area of any city.

Vale is a beautiful and peaceful park that more people should value and utilize.

And Central "Pervert" Park? The perverts are still at it, during the day.

I have been into Vale in the past year --- I have seen where the roadway is deteriorating --- that is
why the work is being done.   You can also go to city hall and look at the plans --- along with the
supporting documentation to show the poor condition it was in BEFORE the work started and what
it will look like when completed.  

I