I’m pleased to see the main article from May 25 addressing the street quality of Fountain Hills. For motorists, these poor streets are just an annoyance. For avid cyclists like me, they’re downright hazardous.

I’ve had the pleasure of cycling in 16 countries. Of those, I’d rank the U.S. about thirteenth. The poor roads in Belgium or Hungary are from decades of neglect. The U.S. has poor roads because of poor cost-cutting engineering or maintenance; I can see lateral cracks forming in as little as two years.

The street I live on, Blackbird, was resurfaced about two years ago; compared to the condition of other roads in town, it really didn’t need it. Boulder was worked on about a year earlier. It was as if they just spray-painted it black; this only made it look better. The lateral cracks on Palisades, Fountain Hills Boulevard, Sunridge and many more are just letting those streets become third-world wonders.

On a positive note, Saguaro, seven years later, seems to be holding out better than I had expected. I urge this committee to focus on getting it done right over any quick, cheap fixes.