Talk about a snail's pace. How about cold molasses running up hill? I ask the powers-that-be in Cookeville: What is taking so long with the street improvements on Fairground Street?

There is a church that is severely affected by the seemingly snail's pace of the construction. It appears that virtually nothing has been done this spring.

Talk to residents of Green Acres Subdivision as I have done in the past few days and you'll find that nobody is happy about the foot dragging that appears to be taking place. The people are sick and tired of the rough access that they are required to drive over, around, and through to get to their homes. Most are also concerned with delays in access by emergency vehicles, not to mention the child safety factor involved with the greatly-increased traffic flow. In addition, a delay of only a few minutes in getting a fire truck or ambulance through could be catastrophic.

And what about the church traffic? It is unconscionable that people trying to get to church from East Cookeville have to cross all the way over to Willow Avenue to access streets through Green Acres Subdivision to access the church. The residents of these secondary streets really like the increased traffic!

Back last fall, the City poo-bahs told one and all that the project would be completed by this fall (2008). Now I'm not an engineer, but I seriously doubt that this project will be completed in 2008. Fall, 2009? Maybe there's a lot of utility poles--massive ones to be moved because major lines come out by the east end of the First Christian Church from the electrical substation that sits behind the south side of the same church.

It appears that there's a lot of foot dragging ongoing with respect to this much-needed street renovation.

Somebody or perhaps somebodies need to get themselves off dead center and get this project completed. Right now it appears to be at a complete standstill.

The people who depend on this street deserve better! Methusela must be in charge.

Steve Moore
Cookeville, TN