Frank Castiglia Jr.: Best Kept Secret

To the Editor,

This letter was posted back in 2019 and I felt after seeing some posts on social media about the lack of safe places to walk in the city I thought it’s time to post it again.

Fulton has the Best Kept Secret and it is a Sidewalk System. Yes there is a Sidewalk System that runs from Seneca St. all the way out to the College on both sides of Rt. 481. Now this Sidewalk System is what some would call a Groundhog Sidewalk System. You know it goes away in Nov. and comes back in May. It is used from May to Nov. by the walkers and shoppers. But in Nov. these users are relegated to using Rt. 481 as their means of getting from any businesses on that Rt.

There is also one that runs from Cayuga St. on Holly Dr. connecting with E. Broadway and continues across the bridge to the Fulton War Memorial. Not all is cleared and it should be.

Now these users may not all be direct taxpayers but, some are and that means they should have the Sidewalks cleared for use from Nov. to May. Having the Sidewalks cleared is a service that should be supplied by the City of Fulton. This service is a benefit to not only the Walkers and Shoppers but it makes our City of Fulton look inviting to potential home buyers.

Why hasn’t the city taken it upon its self to clear these avenues of travel? Money, Money, Money! Is what they will say.

Yet they have money every year to do Remodeling of Tax Foreclosed properties. They should get out of that business and supply the services that taxes should be used for.

They could hire Part-Time seasonal help to clear the Sidewalks on all the main thoroughfares in the City.
Our DPW already is over worked and undermanned and would not be able to handle these added tasks.
Let’s not wait for someone to get hurt because the Sidewalks weren’t cleared for them to use.

Now I know there will be people out there that will say “Why pay to clear the sidewalks, people don’t use them”.
To them I say “Everyone has to have a choice, and we must do our best to give them the choice to use either the Sidewalk or the Street.” When there isn’t any other choice but the Road, we haven’t done our job.

We use to walk in the roads back when I was a kid but it was the side streets. Not the main roads.
Wake up Fulton and make our Groundhog Sidewalk System an endangered species.

Frank Castiglia Jr.

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