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posted by on Thursday December 08 2016, @04:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the good-for-multiple-types-of-cracks dept.

The Denver Post reports

At first glance, Littleton, [Colorado,] looks like ground zero for Halloween pranksters this year--toilet paper is strewn across street after street and block after block.

The messy look prompted a few irritated inquiries from residents on the city's Facebook page this week, like this one from Madison Lucas: "This is UGLY!! All over Littleton!!" Or from Stephanie Gregory : "My kids and I thought it was vandalism."

But the TP'ing scheme is actually the work of the city itself. Littleton is using bathroom tissue as part of an effort to seal the myriad cracks that plague road surfaces in this city. It is tackling 120 streets with this bottoms-up tactic.

[...] The TP, applied with a paint roller, absorbs the oil from freshly laid tar as it dries, keeping it from sticking to people's shoes or car and bike tires. With the paper's protective abilities, asphalt isn't tracked all over the city or splattered on wheel wells. And the biodegradable paper breaks down and disappears in a matter of days.

[...] Kelli Narde, a spokeswoman for Littleton, said the real benefit of using toilet paper is that it allows traffic to retake the road right after a crack is filled.


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @04:50AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @04:50AM (#438622)

    They don't have a lot of fast food restaurants in that section of Colorado, so sometimes nature might be calling and you might have to improvise. Well, one of the necessities will be right there for you.

    Of course, another problem is that they don't have any trees you can duck behind. No trees in Colorado, almost.

  • (Score: 2) by quintessence on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:06AM

    by quintessence (6227) on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:06AM (#438625)

    Eventually they'll start filling the holes with excess hemp, and the media will go nuts with STREETS OF LEMON KUSH GOLD!

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @01:38PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @01:38PM (#438715)

      I think "Super Glue" might work better.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by Thexalon on Thursday December 08 2016, @02:28PM

      by Thexalon (636) on Thursday December 08 2016, @02:28PM (#438729)

      No, of course not. They're obviously doing it to honor Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo, brainchild of one of Littleton's most famous sons Matt Stone. Well, that and to give the kids at Columbine High School something to make fun of other than nerds who wear trenchcoats.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
      • (Score: 2) by quintessence on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:49PM

        by quintessence (6227) on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:49PM (#438775)

        I would have figured it had more to do with Stone's libertarian bent, and the natural conclusion of libertarianism and roads.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by number11 on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:18AM

    by number11 (1170) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:18AM (#438626)

    Budget-conscious cities have been doing this for years to cover the tar sealant. The 2002 Minnesota "Asphalt Pavement Maintenance and Field Guide"http://www.mnltap.umn.edu/publications/handbooks/documents/asphaltfield.pdf [umn.edu] specifies either fine sand or toilet paper, while Michigan (1999) specifies "toilet paper, talcum powder, lime, sand, [or] limestone chips" http://www.deeryamerican.com/PDF/News_Library/Reference%20Material/manual_Michigan.pdf [deeryamerican.com]. But it's a fun hook for a story on a slow news day.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @07:54AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @07:54AM (#438661)

      Yeah. TFS was shortened a bit.
      The Original Submission mentioned a Nebraska town doing it previously.

      -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by Kromagv0 on Thursday December 08 2016, @01:26PM

      by Kromagv0 (1825) on Thursday December 08 2016, @01:26PM (#438712) Homepage

      Came here to say just that. Last summer my kids asked me why there was toilet paper on the road and I explained it to them. Later in the summer they saw a road crew sealing some cracks and saw a guy with the roll applying it over a freshly patched crack.

      --
      T-Shirts and bumper stickers [zazzle.com] to offend someone
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 09 2016, @02:30AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 09 2016, @02:30AM (#438974)

        Because TP and cracks just go together.

    • (Score: 1) by toddestan on Saturday December 10 2016, @12:00AM

      by toddestan (4982) on Saturday December 10 2016, @12:00AM (#439494)

      I was about to say they have been doing this for years where I live (Minnesota). I had assumed this was fairly standard practice everywhere but I guess not.

      The real news to me is that it is actually toilet paper they lay down. I had somehow convinced myself that the paper, while looking exactly like TP, was actually some special paper used for sealing cracks and not actually TP.

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by AthanasiusKircher on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:20AM

    by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:20AM (#438627) Journal

    Some journalist had way too much fun writing this article. The summary is bad enough: "toilet paper... cracked roads," "bottoms-up tactic," etc.

    But then I went to TFA and experienced more of this... "Littleton is not the first to take this approach to wiping out cracks" -- are you serious? Then "a number of cities across the United States that have already spun the center roll," "crack-closing campaign," "rip from the roll when it comes time to blot the crack." We even get a little toilet-humor alliteration: "Littleton’s lavatory-linked labors."

    I just had to stop at "CDOT feels that clean cracks help improve the smoothness of everyone’s experience."

    The scatological pun was mildly amusing the first couple times, but come on... I first thought this story meant Soylent was becoming "news of the weird," until I discovered it's just a bored reporter performing some other self-pleasuring bodily function.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @08:17AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @08:17AM (#438667)

      You need to smoke a joint.
      That's legal in Littleton, btdubs.

    • (Score: 2) by inertnet on Thursday December 08 2016, @12:50PM

      by inertnet (4071) on Thursday December 08 2016, @12:50PM (#438703) Journal

      But what if those shitty roads are a joke?

  • (Score: 3, Troll) by aristarchus on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:21AM

    by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:21AM (#438629) Journal

    Out of all the pending stories, including one of mine, that the editors could have picked, Colorado toilet paper road repairs makes the cut. Seriously, I am loosing faith! Their may be some raisons for this profundicatory prodiscanation, but I do not see it. Maybe if I were to hit a flaw in a Colorado Highway, I might appreciate this. But since no one cares about Colorado (it is the one state with a Spanish name!), I guess it doesn't matter. De nada, el editores!

    • (Score: 4, Funny) by AthanasiusKircher on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:29AM

      by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:29AM (#438635) Journal

      Seriously, I am loosing faith!

      Watch out -- you might hit somebody with an errant faith.

      It's all fun and games until somebody looses faith?

      Sorry -- I'm sure you can still be able to save faith...

      [Actually, true apologies. I still feel dirty from the pervasive buttcrack paronomasia inflicted upon me by TFA.]

      • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:44AM

        by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:44AM (#438639) Journal

        It has become common practice to insert (pun intended) typos and egregious misspellings in order to cater to the less educated Soylentils. This is especially the case when correcting someone's spelling and/or grammar.

        Point taken, however. A loose faith, a belief in things, more or less? Or perhaps, a loose faith meaning that it denounces perverse sexual acts, but regularly partakes of them? Or, and this is the one I am after, a loose faith is someone who will believe almost anything, since their faith is just bouncing around at random. And the internet makes this worse. I just had to endure an explanation of how the whole Sandy Hook Massacre was a fake. When faith attaches itself to fake news, it is no faith at all, it is naivete, it is ignorance, it is being really stupid. Errant faith, synonym for moron. As in, the Angel Moroni, of the Latter Day Morons. Keep your faith tight, people!
         

        • (Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Thursday December 08 2016, @06:54AM

          by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Thursday December 08 2016, @06:54AM (#438651) Journal

          I had actually noticed your tendency for deliberate error, so I wasn't actually correcting. :)

          I was just taking the opportunity to make a few bad puns, at least following on the spirit of the article... Not out of inspiration by the article, mind you, more like a kind of traumatic bonding with it akin to Stockholm syndrome.

          • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Thursday December 08 2016, @07:04AM

            by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday December 08 2016, @07:04AM (#438654) Journal

            Beee the TP! That is what I always say. But on the other hand, I might appreciate some asphaltum in my wheel well, since the manufactuer's anti-corrosion stuff does not always seem to do the job. Deliverate Error? What are you talcing about?

            • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday December 08 2016, @12:40PM

              by MostCynical (2589) on Thursday December 08 2016, @12:40PM (#438701) Journal

              Butt what if you can't think of a pun?

              --
              "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
              • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday December 08 2016, @01:15PM

                by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday December 08 2016, @01:15PM (#438709) Homepage
                It doesn't have to be a good one, any kind of cheeky humour will crack people up. I'm sure there will be piles of groaners that brown people off.
                --
                Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @08:19PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @08:19PM (#438841)

              stop talking to yourself ari

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:40AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:40AM (#438638)

      Because another Trump story is exactly what we need.

      • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:54AM

        by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:54AM (#438641) Journal

        It is not a Trump story, it is a "Republicans are stupid" story. You got a problem with that? No, it is about the respect for science, something I have an extremely long relation with. You may think it is partisan, but science is the discovery of objective truth, to the extent this is possible for humans, and I for one, think this is always of the utmost importance for the survival and furtherance of humanity. But, we should not be lobbying for articles that are in the hopper, since that is almost the same as grousing about a rejection. My apologies to all and sundry.

        • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Sulla on Thursday December 08 2016, @06:12AM

          by Sulla (5173) on Thursday December 08 2016, @06:12AM (#438643) Journal

          As someone who was more happy with Trump than Hillary, I am very happy with all of the negative press he is getting. A lot of the stuff he is being slammed for is common practice that was very mildly covered during previous administrations. The absolute best thing Trump can do for our system is bring the corruption to light because the majority is willing to talk about it when it is being done by Trump's people. There is a definite problem with there being so much of it, but its a farse to think that this is new or that he is going out of his way to do things that all of the other politicans have been doing previously.

          --
          Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @09:33AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @09:33AM (#438676)

            While interesting, I do worry about outrage fatigue and that the press is distracted with trivialities ("Ohmigod, Trump's twitter") while serious concerns ("Ohmigod madam President") gets ignored.

            I mean they haven't been batting a thousand lately now have they?

            I'm also a bit concerned that the left will become an even bigger pariah (Trump is Person of the Year. "So was Hitler."), which will taint any serious criticism of Trump ("you're just a hypocritical lefty who's sore Trump won"). I mean I would like details of the Carrier deal discussed, but I guess discussing that here is more complex than "HitlerTrump!!!111!!.

            And of course there is the problem that the left looks even more hypocritical, as most of the stories discussed here were also issues under Obama, which makes it more likely Trump will be largely unopposed.

            Gotta say I'm not too pleased with the new editors either.

            • (Score: 1) by charon on Thursday December 08 2016, @09:42AM

              by charon (5660) on Thursday December 08 2016, @09:42AM (#438678) Journal

              Gotta say I'm not too pleased with the new editors either.

              Care to share why?

              • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @11:04AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @11:04AM (#438689)

                "Standing Rock Protester May Lose Her Arm Because of Police Grenades"

                Well no, it was under investigation. None of the sources were remotely non-biased, and 5 seconds of googling came up with a different story altogether.

                (admittedly that wasn't under your watch).

                "Trump, Cabinet Could Avoid Millions in Taxes Thanks to a Little-Known Law"

                Well no, that was all cabinets, and it was mentioned in-thread that maybe the story should have been reflective of that instead of wading through the thread.

                "Corporations Make Nice With the Donald"

                Well no, that was a single letter from Rometty. There was also the letter from Sorenson

                https://skift.com/2016/11/11/marriott-ceos-open-letter-to-president-elect-trump/ [skift.com]

                and an open letter from various other CEOs that was far from making nice

                http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/an-open-letter-technology-leaders-donald-trumps-candidacy_us_5787996ae4b03fc3ee4f6be2 [huffingtonpost.com]

                to which I have to wonder about "but at the pessimistic end it could be taken as a warning to IBM's employees and business partners to keep their mouths shut" didn't apply in the HuffPo piece. Do we really need a thread that is little more than speculation about IBM's blog?

                You see a pattern here? Inflammatory, inaccurate headlines, poorly sourced stories, and if "the editorial team does read, and discuss, every submission"; you'd think a few minutes of referencing to put things in context would be a part of that.

                The obvious retort is that counter stories could be submitted. No, I'd rather not turn this place into more of a pissing match than it already is.

                • (Score: 5, Informative) by charon on Thursday December 08 2016, @12:47PM

                  by charon (5660) on Thursday December 08 2016, @12:47PM (#438702) Journal

                  I don't have time to fully engage here, since I am at work, but I have a few responses I would make on your points.

                  "Standing Rock Protester May Lose Her Arm Because of Police Grenades" Well no, it was under investigation. None of the sources were remotely non-biased, and 5 seconds of googling came up with a different story altogether. (admittedly that wasn't under your watch).

                  It is true, another story was offered by police about how the protester was injured. My personal editorial philosophy is to do as little to the submission as possible to make it coherent and discussion worthy. We could have duelling links but that inserts my own opinion into someone else's story. Also, do you think the websites that report only the police's explanation are more or less biased than the sources for this article? Why?

                  "Trump, Cabinet Could Avoid Millions in Taxes Thanks to a Little-Known Law" Well no, that was all cabinets, and it was mentioned in-thread that maybe the story should have been reflective of that instead of wading through the thread.

                  The summary mentions that the law has been in place for many years, strongly implying that other cabinets have been subject to it. I don't necessarily feel a story about a current event is improved by, "He did it too."

                  "Corporations Make Nice With the Donald" Well no, that was a single letter from Rometty. There was also the letter from Sorenson https://skift.com/2016/11/11/marriott-ceos-open-letter-to-president-elect-trump/ [skift.com] and an open letter from various other CEOs that was far from making nice http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/an-open-letter-technology-leaders-donald-trumps-candidacy_us_5787996ae4b03fc3ee4f6be2 [huffingtonpost.com] to which I have to wonder about "but at the pessimistic end it could be taken as a warning to IBM's employees and business partners to keep their mouths shut" didn't apply in the HuffPo piece. Do we really need a thread that is little more than speculation about IBM's blog?

                  The title of this story could have been better. It was speculation from one article which the submitter wished to discuss. Note the several questions in the second paragraph which indicate desire to enter a dialogue. The HuffPo article you provided, which was not part of the sub, is dated July 14. Yes, many many people were unhappy that Mr. Trump was the candidate. The sub we are talking about is from November 30, when people have decided they must work with the man who will be president.

                  You see a pattern here? Inflammatory, inaccurate headlines, poorly sourced stories, and if "the editorial team does read, and discuss, every submission"; you'd think a few minutes of referencing to put things in context would be a part of that. The obvious retort is that counter stories could be submitted. No, I'd rather not turn this place into more of a pissing match than it already is.

                  As has been noted before, and will be noted again, we are dependent on you for our stories. If you want to discuss something, please send us a submission. I will play as fairly with your sub as I do with everyone else's, i.e. keeping your intent and only changing in order to clarify. Of course we make mistakes, but I appreciate the criticism, as well as the opportunity to respond to it.

                  If you wish to continue this exchange, I'd be glad to do it. Either in this increasingly off-topic thread or via email. My email is [my username] @ [this site] should you wish to contact me directly.

                  Cheers, Charon.

                  So much for not fully engaging...

                • (Score: 4, Informative) by FatPhil on Thursday December 08 2016, @01:20PM

                  by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday December 08 2016, @01:20PM (#438711) Homepage
                  Editors are not supposed to introduce their own political bias into the stories, and in all these examples, they haven't, they have merely slapped the submission into a readable shape. You're permitted, even encouraged, to disagree with the articles themselves.

                  Complain about the submitters if you must, but don't do that unless you're prepared to make submissions yourself, ones that have your preferred bias in them if need be.
                  --
                  Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
                  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @01:50PM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @01:50PM (#438720)

                    What a strange world where attempting to maintain objectivity is considered bias, and keeping any editorializing for the discussion instead of the presentation of the story itself.

                    Might as well scratch the "News" and change it to Soylent Opinion, where if I bother to find even the most half-assed "story" that reflects my bias, put forth a misleading title, it's a-okay in your book.

                    And if those stories originate from Stormfront, the Drudge Report, or Democratic Underground, it matters not, just as long as they are accepted like everyone else.

                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @03:28PM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @03:28PM (#438746)

                      You get what you pay for.
                      That's not a joke.
                      You can't expect the editors here to behave like editors at a real newspaper.
                      I mean, it would be great. But they've got lives and have to make a living.
                      I think the best we can expect is they do a simple google to verify the story isn't obviously fake.

                      Maybe if they were called submission herders instead of editors that might be more palatable.

            • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday December 08 2016, @12:35PM

              by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday December 08 2016, @12:35PM (#438700) Journal

              While interesting, I do worry about outrage fatigue and that the press is distracted with trivialities ("Ohmigod, Trump's twitter") while serious concerns ("Ohmigod madam President") gets ignored.

              I mean they haven't been batting a thousand lately now have they?

              I'm also a bit concerned that the left will become an even bigger pariah (Trump is Person of the Year. "So was Hitler."), which will taint any serious criticism of Trump ("you're just a hypocritical lefty who's sore Trump won"). I mean I would like details of the Carrier deal discussed, but I guess discussing that here is more complex than "HitlerTrump!!!111!!.

              That's why it's important to be precise. When you paint with too broad a brush, you only end up discrediting yourself. More than that, it's counter-productive and strengthens the hand of those you mean to criticize.

              Clever people wrap lies in truth to goad their opponents into attacking the whole. Bystanders see the opponents contradicting the part which is clearly true, which then predisposes them to give the part that's a lie more credence.

              Target the lie only, or you'll lose in truth.

              --
              Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 2) by jelizondo on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:13PM

      by jelizondo (653) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 08 2016, @05:13PM (#438768) Journal

      Colorado (it is the one state with a Spanish name!)

      Of course, FLORIDA doesn't count and what about CALIFORNIA or ARIZONA or MONTANA?

      Kids these days don't learn' nothin' at school!

      • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Saturday December 10 2016, @05:09AM

        by aristarchus (2645) on Saturday December 10 2016, @05:09AM (#439576) Journal

        Montana? Are you a Snow Goose, by any chance?

        And, I just want to say, the arc of modding is long, but it tends toward justice.

        • (Score: 1) by jelizondo on Saturday December 10 2016, @05:25AM

          by jelizondo (653) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 10 2016, @05:25AM (#439585) Journal

          Montana comes from the Spanish word "montaña", literally meaning mountain but used in context to mean mountainous, as in the region now known as Montana.

          And no, I'm from the south even though I do enjoy the colder northern climate my (ex) wife and children don't like cold climates.

  • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by aristarchus on Thursday December 08 2016, @07:08AM

    by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday December 08 2016, @07:08AM (#438655) Journal

    Oh, crap, my submission actually was accepted. Great! Not about toilet paper, though.
    But this doe mean I need to find some other really interesting news item to submit, as do all we Solylentils, in order to keep our site up to date and interesting to peruse, unlike some of those "other" news aggregators.

    • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by aristarchus on Thursday December 08 2016, @07:57AM

      by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday December 08 2016, @07:57AM (#438663) Journal

      Ha! This was downmodded as offtopic? After all the other totally off topic stuff that was posted in this thread? Ha? I can only assume you are Francis, or as stupid as Francis, and have nothing to do during this quadrant of the UTC. We will be back for you, AC, when you least expect it.
      .
      .
      At least it wasn't Colorado Springs, because they would need extra Jesus repellant TP for this to work. "I don't care if rains or freezes, long as I got my plastic Jesus, sitting on the dashboard of my car! I don't care come hell or high water, I'm gonna do what Jesus say I otter, sitting on the dashboard of my car!." There are some versus about the Madonna, but we will skip them for the Protestant Heretics in the audience. You are all gonna burn it hell. But you are still nice people, mostly.

      • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @08:23PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @08:23PM (#438849)

        What, now you're doubling down on the Offopic?

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by charon on Thursday December 08 2016, @08:36AM

      by charon (5660) on Thursday December 08 2016, @08:36AM (#438671) Journal

      After reading your reference here, I took another look at and accepted your submission. As I'm sure you know, our volunteered time is limited. Sometimes in order to keep the queue full, we editors choose subs that are "easy" to edit. Your submissions and comments have a distinctive style, which sometimes (well, pretty much always) comes across as difficult to understand and wrangle into a coherent shape. I have no doubt you know what you are talking about, but we non-immortal-Greek-philosophers are not as wise as your good self. Rest assured, the editorial team does read, and discuss, every submission. If it is sitting in the queue for a few days, that merely means no one has summoned up the energy to do battle with it.

      Thank you, and please do continue making SoylentNews better.

  • (Score: 2) by KritonK on Thursday December 08 2016, @09:58AM

    by KritonK (465) on Thursday December 08 2016, @09:58AM (#438680)

    Bathroom humor aside, judging from the photo in TFA, they didn't do a very good job of patching the road. There is a long, unpatched crack in the road, right between the two main patched cracks.

  • (Score: 1) by Atatsu on Thursday December 08 2016, @02:19PM

    by Atatsu (4251) on Thursday December 08 2016, @02:19PM (#438726)

    Huh. I'm from the midwest (SD... yay?) and have grown up seeing cracks in the asphalt treated in this way for the entirety of my life. I never stopped to consider that it wasn't the status quo.

  • (Score: 2) by darnkitten on Thursday December 08 2016, @10:38PM

    by darnkitten (1912) on Thursday December 08 2016, @10:38PM (#438898)

    In my town, they are UNpaving town streets--two this year and more to come. When finished, the town will only have four paved streets: Main Street (also a state highway), the main cross-street, and the streets that serve the schools and the hospital. There's also a paved county road, but the Town is only responsible for the parts they dig up...

    It's become too costly to keep the asphalt in repair and repairs rarely last through more than a couple of winters. Dirt roads can be graded and sprayed a couple of times a year to keep them in shape, using Town employees rather than hiring outside contractors, with all the hassle that entails.

    The sad thing is that it's an improvement (at least on my street).

    The downside, of course is seasonal mud, which is a pain for habitual pedestrians like me. And, of course, the impression that we are regressing--I had a dream a couple of years ago:

    Cloud and pillar cities right off of an old SF magazine cover in the distance, and hover cars zipping through the town with the riders gawking at the cattle being driven up the dirt roads.