Just about anyone familiar with the Buffalo Valley Trail knows what a great asset it is too many of our local communities and the central Susquehanna Valley in general. It serves people of all ages and for many different reasons. Retired people have a place to go and enjoy the outdoors without having to drive a great distance. I like to ride with my wife on rail trails because she has trouble with hills. Kids have a safe place to ride their bikes and families can take a safe and easy ride. Mothers with young children in strollers can be seen every nice day. Longer trails such as the fabulous Pine Creek Trail are also great economic assets that bring people from all over to ride the trail.
Since we both retired, my wife and I have traveled throughout Pennsylvania to ride many of the extensive number of trails in our state. Everywhere we find that these trails are great assets to all the communities they serve. Now though, Pennsylvania’s Senator Toomey is doing all he can to prevent other communities throughout our state and the country from having the chance to enjoy the benefit of these trails.
Senator Toomey has submitted an amendment that would essentially end all funding for Transportation Alternate Funding. He is both narrow in his viewpoint and “penny wise and pound foolish.” Some might argue that highway funds should only go the help the drivers on our highways. This viewpoint is too limited to see that rail trails help make driving safer. In urban areas special trails and overpasses help make it safer for both drivers and walkers. Trails serve those who wish to commute on bikes thus taking cars off highways. They serve plain residents who do not drive cars.
Senator Toomey is always looking for ways to cut spending that helps the average person. There is no hesitation in spending hundreds of millions of dollars on weapon systems and planes that are outdated and the military doesn’t even want. He certainly would not cut subsidies for big oil. He and his fellow conservatives never see an area of the world that we should not be spending massive amounts of money dropping bombs or other military actions. But spend a little to help communities throughout our country is just money he believes we can’t afford to spend. Money spent on infrastructure returns many times over its original cost. Once a bomb is dropped there is no economic return. Maybe we should retire Mr. Toomey his next election so he can travel around the state to enjoy the great assets that alternate funding has provided.