I guess I thought wrong.
I had hoped to have moved away from incessant street, road and highway construction when we relocated this past spring from Amarillo to Fairview.
Silly me.
The midterm election this week included a three-part bond issue for Collin County residents to consider. Two of the parts called for expenditure of several hundred millions of dollars to improve and build new streets and highways in the county. The third part seemed at first blush to be somewhat counterintuitive: It calls for parks and open spaces to deal with expected skyrocketing population growth in Collin County. Why might that be counterintuitive? Growth means more housing and need for housing space; not necessarily room for parks and open space.
Collin County voters approved all three measures … and by comfortable margins at that!
I won’t complain about the highway construction. We’ll just have to find ways to navigate around it once it commences.
I do want to comment briefly on the parks matter.
I am a big believer in parks and open spaces. Thus, I am glad that voters have seen fit to approve that part of the county’s ambience.
My wife and I have noticed already on our travels through Collin County an abundance of parkways. Many thoroughfares are beautifully landscaped with grassy medians and plenty of trees. Indeed, we live on a parkway that cuts through Fairview. We enjoy driving along it and enjoy walking along the parkway with Toby the Puppy.
I don’t yet know where the county will develop its new parks and where it will set aside the open space. Collin County already has no shortage of beautifully manicured parks. There will be more.
County officials’ intent is to make Collin County more attractive to future residents. Well, it worked on two new residents: that would be my wife and me.
The road work? We’ll just have to suck it up. Besides, we’re already used to it.