Parkway can be an asset without housing development

Editor,

In response to article: Comeback Orleans – Open up Parkway to boost tax base, population.

It would be nice if someone polled the residents of Orleans County with regard to the Lake Ontario State Parkway. Mr. Rivers also wrote a column in the Batavia Paper suggesting we close the north portion and ‘sell off’ sections for home building to increase the tax base.

The LOSP is not a ‘mistake at the lake’ Mr. Rivers. It is another prime example of a great idea that our state government failed to complete.

How about instead of tearing it apart, we fund the completion of the LOSP to the Robert Moses Parkway like it should have been in the first place…

Orleans County is not going to be hauled out of being poor by erecting, what will surely be, a few gi-normous homes built by folks from Toronto and Rochester as places to ‘summer.’

Our county is rich in heritage and rich in opportunities. Walk down Main Street Medina and see all the fabulous specialty shops that people drive here to shop in. Ale in Autumn & Wine in Winter pack the streets of our little town and give folks the opportunity to see these stores. These two events also draw many out-of-town people.

Attend the Festival of Lights in November and see an awesome turn out which also includes many out-of-towners. Come to Point Breeze to see the throngs of fisher-people on vacation who come HERE to charter a boat to go fishing.

We need to bring the tourists to Orleans County – not sell off our land. People who drive the Parkway from Rochester continually comment what a beautiful ride it is – but complain about the bumpy part. Let’s Fix It!!

Let’s give our neighbors to the East, West & North to Toronto a beautiful way to get to us. Orleans County is a great place to visit for a day trip or a week!! We have shopping and history and heritage and fishing and boating and swimming and camping and state parks and farm markets and wineries and quilt shops and candy stores and fabulous places to dine and a whole lot more.

If we build it and fix it – they will come.

Stop trying to tear down our Parkway.

Michelle Stanton Jones
Kent