beeferer-
I will bring my comment over here too.

aimhigh"We have vacant houses all over Janesville either for sale or in foreclosure."

I agree this is all stupid. If it is a high traffic area and NEEDS a sidewalk then fine. Seems most agree hear and AGAIN our voices are NOT heard.

Oh I know - the new owner because it will go on that title paperwork as unpaid by seller.

Gravitylens Excellent first post! Thank you for your perspective, I agree with every word.

Gravitylens gives us a lashing on their 1st posting.

To some of the more vitriolic posters out there I would like to remind you of a few things that smart and successful communities realize.

1. Never begrudge improvements in infrastructure.

2. Never begrudge people who visit your community from another area.

I, for one, would like to congratulate the city council for finally correcting one of the errors of our grandparents. We turned our backs on responsible city planning decades ago and now it will take years of sacrifice on all our parts to set things right.

To all those who say this is the wrong move in our troubled economy, I would like to point out how this is the sort of thing the city should be doing to improve our local economy long term.

Listen, it's not the city's job to bring prosperity to this community. That's up to all of us. The city's job is to provide safety, infrastructure, sanitary services and public education. The city's job is to provide its residents with a safe place to live and work, grow and develop, and to pursue our own business and ambitions. And these are the things that will bring prosperity. GOOD companies will not come to this community for our tax breaks, or our cheap property values. They will come here for good infrastructure and good people. Good people will come here for safe neighborhoods and good schools for their families.

Let's all focus on that, rather than baiting the latest set of corporate crooks who will come here for cheap land, and cheap labor, and abondon both as soon as another down on its luck community presents it with a better offer.

I'll be glad to pay my sidewalk bill when the time comes. Anyone who would like to see this community become the kind of place that businesses and successful people will WANT to be a part of should feel the same way.

I find it hard to believe this council feels our economy is in the shape to handle this. As someone posted before 9 miles is $1,188,000 per year. We could certainly use that money for mortgages food and to stimulate the entire local economy and not just the concrete business.

70,000 people in janesville. At no time will you EVER see 10% { 7,000 people} using sidewalks. In fact you will NEVER see "ONE" %{700], using sidewalks. Drive around, and take a look. No ONE USES SIDEWALKS. This is the 21st century. Sidewalks are a throwback to mid 20th century.

Sorry, I should have capped NOT !

Anyone want to start a petition going to not ALLOW the city to start this sidewalk project until lots of jobs are created in order to afford this project! If so, let me know because I am definitely in!!!

janesvillean- You are absolutely correct! I totally agree with you on that. I am just trying to point out that a lot of people who had something to say have already vented. Now their comments and valid points are buried. The people who now read this expanded version of the story are missing those very pertinent bits of information.

beeferer, this story is in the "news" directory. That means it's the same as the version in the print paper. The one you're pointing to is in the "weblogs/latest-news" directory, which means it's one of the updates posted throughout the day. It isn't some kind of super secret hail mary to make sure that nobody reads what you wrote yesterday.

The "wealthy subdivisions" comment is just more sensationalism from the Gazette. There are several average subdivisions without sidewalks that are getting along just fine. I see two issues. The bully approach that results in things like the silly stretch of sidewalk by Walmart that is never used but must be maintained, and the second which is the environmental impact of the incredible amount of space that is covered in concrete.

wOOps - almost forgot to praise and thank PASTAMOM for her excellent comment about the exemptions from 50 years ago - well done. Also - hope that you are a whole grain pasta mom - very healthy.

ErIc - Regarding the sIDeWalK issue - please LEVITT it alone. We lost GM and related biz. The economy is such that this is not a time to force this on many who cannot afford it. Same with the IcE ArEnA - how about NO shEEts of ICE. In other words - get smart(not the tv show/ movie)and don't build it. A family budget or city budget can easily be set up into --> 1. Necessities 2. Luxuries This is the the time that we need to focus on the necessities of life.

I'd like to know which two "wealthy" sub-divisions asked for exemptions to sidewalks 50 years ago. Anyone know?

Sidewalks benefit the general public and should be part of the general tax levy. The cost should not be fully paid by affected property owners. While some people continue to walk in the street instead of on the sidewalk, most people do use the sidewalk, if available.

We will be revisiting this issue every year until the council gets some "balls" and puts sidewalks on the general tax roll along with all basic city infrastructure such as streets, curb and gutter.

This is ridiculous! People are having a hard enough time staying in their homes let alone shelling out $2000+ for pointless sidewalks. What are they doing with my $4500 in property taxes I pay every year? How about we use the sidewalk resources to hire more cops to ticket all the obnoxious, crazy-driving f.i.b's infesting the area.

OK people- they did it again. They revised a story and posted it without retaining the comments. The link to the original story and its comments : http://gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-ne... Here's my take, again- This whole sidewalk issue obviously strikes a nerve in a lot of people. Living in a subdivision near the city limits, I have seen the impact of newly installed sidewalks that were mandated against the property owners' wishes. School children, dog walkers, joggers, and all other pedestrians continue to walk in the street. The only benefit I have seen from the newly installed sidewalks appears to be a little extra cardio-exercise in the winter for the owners. But you must ask yourself this- how many treadmills could a person buy for the cost of installing a sidewalk?

No sidewalks when there are NO JOBS.Postpone this issue for 5 to 10 yrs. Then see where we are as a city. We have got to proiritize and sidewalks and bike paths don't make the cut. The storm this issue creates isn't worth the councils time. It is a waste of the councils time everytime it comes up. Take the city survey and tell them what you think.