We’ve heard a lot lately about road improvements and beautification schemes that merely focus myopically on the center of Tryon. These costly expenses serve the self-interest of a few government townspeople wearing blinders and who enjoy categorizing them as downtown revitalization.

Witness the bump outs causing great consternation, being more cumbersome than helpful as shown by the scuff marks on their curbs, plus the loss of Main Street close-in parking spots for people whose access to stores is limited by their mobility.

Note as well the phony brick crosswalks which will be lost if the State ever gets to resurfacing through town. Add in the wasteful wrought iron railings on each street corner in the center of town, and the digital walk signs which few know how to operate, plus that ridiculous white circle on Main Street which quickly appeared then just as quickly disappeared.

To top these all off, within a few hundred yards of the center of the Town lie some of the worst road conditions found in the entire State of North Carolina. Suffice it to say we are truly faced with a conundrum of monumentally ill-spent funds.

 A few years ago, Route 108 was paved going north from Tryon. Since then, nothing has been said or done to improve South Trade Street from the railroad tracks to the State line except a small piece in last Sunday’s Bulletin.

Why? The asphalt is crumbling, and the adjacent sidewalks are chipped and cracked. Carolina Drive has rotten underlying asphalt, growing potholes and sunken pavement causing cars to bottom out.

Is this the kind of image the Town wants to convey to residents and visitors now and during the 2018 Equestrian Center events? Why hasn’t the Town partnered with the County or State to resurface these roads sooner? I have read in the Bulletin that the State and other agencies are going to resurface 176 South from 108 to the State line. If true, this is already years overdue.

It’s simply another case of arrogant selfishness, negligence and careless disregard on behalf of our wasteful Town government. Small wonder, when the Town Manager’s office has a revolving door and embezzlement runs rampant. Truly the mentally challenged hierarchy is counterintuitive and needed road repairs a blinding glimpse of the obvious. Put our money and that of others to a more productive use rather than this continued frivolous and fanciful downtown window dressing.

Tiny Kingdom, get with the program. 

Pieter K. Terwilleger, Tryon, N.C.