State won't fix road, so residents do it.

[Johnlodge]

Well here's one Batson is going to like.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/09/haw...rss_topstories

Kauai residents don't wait for state to repair road
Their livelihood was being threatened, and they were tired of waiting for government help, so business owners and residents on Hawaii's Kauai island pulled together and completed a $4 million repair job to a state park -- for free.
Polihale State Park has been closed since severe flooding destroyed an access road to the park and damaged facilities in December.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources had estimated that the damage would cost $4 million to fix, money the agency doesn't have, according to a news release from department Chairwoman Laura Thielen.

"It would not have been open this summer, and it probably wouldn't be open next summer," said Bruce Pleas, a local surfer who helped organize the volunteers. "They said it would probably take two years. And with the way they are cutting funds, we felt like they'd never get the money to fix it."
And if the repairs weren't made, some business owners faced the possibility of having to shut down.

Ivan Slack, co-owner of Napali Kayak, said his company relies solely on revenue from kayak tours and needs the state park to be open to operate. The company jumped in and donated resources because it knew that without the repairs, Napali Kayak would be in financial trouble.

"If the park is not open, it would be extreme for us, to say the least," he said. "Bankruptcy would be imminent. How many years can you be expected to continue operating, owning 15-passenger vans, $2 million in insurance and a staff? For us, it was crucial, and our survival was dependent on it. That park is the key to the sheer survival of the business."

So Slack, other business owners and residents made the decision not to sit on their hands and wait for state money that many expected would never come. Instead, they pulled together machinery and manpower and hit the ground running March 23.

And after only eight days, all of the repairs were done, Pleas said. It was a shockingly quick fix to a problem that may have taken much longer if they waited for state money to funnel in.

[rb336]

Nah -- if it were a privately owned road, it would still not get fixed and those who tried would get thrown in jail for trespassing

[ccbatson]

It wouldn't get fixed unless the owner of such a private road chose to fix it. Why would they do that? In order to attract customers and make a profit. It is called reinvesting in a company and competition, and it works fabulously well.

[ejames01]

It would not get fixed if the owner of that road had no other business interests that would be served by the road.

[ccbatson]

Then there would be no point in owning the road and they would either sell it, or develop a financial interest in it.