Decades ago, developers installed sub-standard asphalt on residential streets in Omaha, with the understanding that residents, not the city, would maintain them.
The Associated Press tells the story of a controversy roiling the city of Omaha, where the city recently unpaved roads, leaving only dirt roads, on miles of its residential streets. About 10,000 houses now line the dirt roads, and residents aren't happy.
The article traces the roots of the controversy (an agreement between the city and developers many decades ago) and the public outrage over the current condition of the city's streets.
Meanwhile, the city and neighborhood groups still have yet to find the funding to cover the estimated $300 million bill to fix all the substandard streets in Omaha.
The whole story serves as another example, with a twist, naturally, on a trend gaining strength around the country, where towns and cities are un-paving roads as an austerity measure.
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