While Shelby County is full of beautiful landscapes and nice neighborhoods, there are a few subdivisions dealing with roads that don’t match up with the beauty around them.

In this week’s “In Depth in Shelby County” story, “Ravaged roads,” City Editor Neal Wagner wrote about Chelsea resident Lynn Lang and Pelham resident Chuck Kitchen and the terrible roads they face daily as they make the treks to and from their homes.

Although most don’t mention good roads when talking about important attributes for a place to live, there’s no doubt what you drive on is just as essential as what you’re driving or where you’re going.

Although Chelsea, Pelham and Alabaster are three of our fastest-growing cities in Shelby County, the problems they’re facing with poor road conditions can only hurt property values and certainly won’t attract interested homebuyers.

Several city councils have already done the right thing by seeking legal action against neighborhood developers who refuse to fix bad roads.

We encourage cities dealing with such issues to take a tough stance. Although there are legal costs and major headaches involved, developers have a responsibility to fix these roads and fulfill their contracts.

If cities won’t force developers to own up to their responsibilities, nothing will ever be accomplished with subpar roads. Eventually, homeowners like Lang and Kitchen will stop buying houses in local neighborhoods, preferring instead to look elsewhere for a nicer place to drive.

The We Say is the opinion of the Shelby County Reporter editorial board.