The roads are the purview of the state. Some claim this is because transportation infrastructure is so complex that the market couldn’t handle it. Of course this claim is bullshit. But the fact remains that the state will use its capacity for violence against anybody who tries to involve themselves in transportation infrastructure improvements.
A Massachusetts selectman got sick of the road repair teams not fixing the faded crosswalks in his town. Instead of impotently pounding his fist on a desk he actually decided to go out and fix the crosswalks himself. Now he’s facing criminal charges because, even though he’s an agent of the state, he didn’t respect the bureaucracy:
George Simolaris, a selectman in Billerica, about 25 miles from Boston, said he was tired of constituents asking when the white paint would be freshened up, so he fixed the problem himself. He said he bought cans of green paint, the town’s official color, and spent the weekend painting over six faded crosswalks.
“All I’ve heard for months is: ‘When is this going to get done?'” Simolaris said. “I got sick of it.”
Police and town officials said painting the street without authorization was illegal and charged him with two counts of destruction of property, according to Billerica police spokesman Roy Frost.
As if that wasn’t enough they are also planning to coerce him into “repairing” the “damage” he created:
He added that Simolaris would be required to repay the $4,000 cost of cleaning up the paint, which he said chipped and smeared.
Even though many of the crosswalks in question are going to be torn up as part of a pedestrian safety project:
Town Manager John Curran said the town was in the midst of a $400,000 pedestrian safety project that requires digging up the street including some of the crosswalks in question, which are slated to be repainted once construction is complete.
So he’s facing criminal charges for painting faded crosswalks that were slated to be ripped up anyways and he’s being criminal charged for it. I think this shows just how ridiculous the “justice” system in this country is. At most I’d say he could be demanded to pay for removing the paint if the crosswalks weren’t going to be ripped up anyways. But they’re going to be ripped up so I don’t think any grounds exist for punishing him in any way.
Either way, this story shows that the state will violently enforce its monopoly on transportation infrastructure. If people are willing to repair roads and the only thing stopping them are government guns then I think the entire claim that the market can’t handle transportation infrastructure has been rendered laughable.