What if the experts are wrong

Background: Farmington wants to spend $3.2 million to narrow the intersection of Grand River and Farmington Road - a major intersection in the city. They want to create a "walkable" downtown which they claim will improve downtown business. Hank Borgman (an acquaintance) disapproves of the plan and gathered enough signatures to get it on the ballot for approval.

As a former Farmington resident, I’ve watched the streetscape debate with some interest and a recent letter from Farmington business owner David Cornwell prompted my letter.
As I understand it, Hank Borgman believes the project is a foolish waste of more than $3 million in taxpayer money and wants voters to have the opportunity to weigh in on the decision. Given that Farmington’s street fund for 2006-07 amounted to $1.4 million, the streetscape project is a pretty hefty amount for a small town. Borgman is absolutely right that voters should be consulted.

Cornwell says Borgman’s successful petition drive tapped into a general distrust of government. I wonder if that distrust of government was enhanced by the city council itself. Shortly after Borgman started collecting signatures, the council withdrew the streetscape proposal, made minor modifications, and re-approved it in its new form. This invalidated Borgman’s original petition and forced him to start over with his signature gathering. I would hope everyone would distrust an elected body that tries to thwart a citizen’s right to petition.

Cornwell attempts to ridicule Borgman by facetiously calling him a "self-proclaimed" expert on city planning and traffic. Seems to me Borgman presents some common-sense arguments against the plan to create a traffic bottleneck. Personally, I avoid the Grand River and Farmington intersection whenever possible. Even without the newly engineered obstacles, the intersection is too jammed. Meanwhile, "experts" tell us a traffic jam will make downtown Farmington a more pleasant place to visit.

Also, Cornwell attacks Borgman for presenting a vision from the 1950s when the automobile was "king". While that’s a little before my time, I’m pretty sure we rely more on automobiles today than we did back then. Perhaps, Cornwell and the experts would prefer that society reduce its reliance on cars, but that’s not the trend.

Finally, Cornwell accuses Borgman of preventing "the revitalization of downtown Farmington." Really? Downtown Farmington is dying? Didn’t Farmington just spend a chunk of money "improving" the downtown parking lot? Wasn’t that promised by the experts to be downtown’s salvation? If it worked, why the hyperbole about a dying downtown? If it didn’t work, can the experts guarantee they’re right this time?

[Letter to the Editor - Farmington Observer. Submitted 04/25/2008.]