A sign marks part of the Cross-City Trail in Wilmington. (StarNews file photo)
It would be difficult to travel a great distance through any city without crossing some kind of road. And, according to city of Wilmington spokeswoman Malissa Talbert, there are expenses to consider.
“Obviously, to cross the city, the trail has to cross a few major roads or it would not be feasible to construct — it would have to run through many more neighborhoods and be much longer, which would mean significant additional expense,” she wrote in an emailed response. ”However, as the map shows, there are only a few major crossings because the city has tried to find other alternatives where feasible and additional safety features are incorporated when possible. When completed, the trail will be approximately 15 miles long.”
Date posted: April 19, 2011
User-contributed question by:
Seth
That would answer my question if I found it inconceivable that a trail going through a metro area would intersect a major road.
The Trail and Independence both run North/South, when planning the Trail why cross Independence at all? Thus exposing pedestrians to more traffic.
The answer sounds like someone running for office. The question was simple, “Why does the path cross Independence twice?” When you get such a rambling answer makes you wonder if there is something to hide? Who are the land owners? What was paid? Poor Planning? The way the city has operated in the past and this answer does bring up trust issues. Maybe nothing is wrong at all. Could it be you asked someone that doesn’t have a clue that just wants to sound important?
Agree with Stanley. More generally, although I agree the X-City Trail is nice, saying it helps America recover jobs is deceiving. Actually, projects like this require either collecting more taxes or borrowing more money. Higher taxes take money from businesses who, therefore, cannot hire as many new workers. Borrowing places a burden on future generations & reduces business’ confidence in our long-term economic security. Both place a wet blanket on hiring.
The answer is: there is not enough right-of-way in front of the mall to accomodate the trail without removing a portion of the roadway or encroaching into the parking lot of the mall, which would have been very expensive. Very simple answer.