Grand Blanc Township government is working on a roads and pathways proposal that the board and voters should take the time to fully explore before deciding against the plan, which could include a request for 1.5 mills from township residents.

I know, it’s a tough economy right now and Genesee County voters already approved a slew of millage requests last fall. But improving the roads is the first step toward growth (ironic how bulldozers and other construction equipment need smooth roads to get to uneven ground before they can flatten it) and stopping your CDs from skipping during the morning commute.

Last fall I voted, along with voters of similar thought, to approve a local road millage in the nearby township where I live. Only two months later and the crater-sized potholes on my road were patched with a substance I’m sure will last at least until January.

For Grand Blanc Twp. residents, however, the proposal would give the township much greater control over local roads, make the township, not the road commission, directly answerable to residents. And the cost is relatively cheap.

Over a 10-year period, the owner of a $200,000 home with a taxable value of $100,000 will pay about $1,500. That’s about the amount you’ll pay for new tires, shocks/struts, brakes and a hula doll on the dashboard over a five-year period. So, if the township can actually repair the roads (the road commission surely won’t) and make traveling smoother, you might actually save money in your jaunts around town.

If car maintenance savings aren’t enough to sway you, think about the image roadways send to people visiting the community. Good roads, like all good infrastructure, helps attract new residents, new developers, new businesses and new consumers. Then everyone benefits from the pouring in at the top and trickling down to outstretched palms.

I’ll leave you with one final thought on the roadway improvement plan and its potential impact: as one township supervisor (who always asks what he did to get his name in the paper, so I’ll let him remain anonymous, this time) said to me: “Roads are the gateway to your community — neglect them at your own peril.”

If you don’t believe me or the supervisor, visit much of Lapeer County, which seems content to allow itself to wallow in the 1950s.

• If you’re really in the mood for some informative, educational programs — and who isn’t — tune in to Comcast Channel 17 this Sunday. E.M. Tune Productions presents “A New Agenda for a New Michigan: Lou Glazer,” at 9:30 p.m.; “Genesee Institute — Restoring Prosperity, The Michigan Challenge,” with Dan Kildee at 10:10 p.m.; and “Restoring Prosperity” with Lou Katz, Brookings Institution, at 11:48 p.m.

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