Fast action appreciated

To the Journal editor:

I want to thank the Gwinn Snyder Pharmacy and the Forsyth Township EMS for their kind and capable care on Dec. 14.

Their calm and quick action got me to the Marquette hospital. If not for them, the outcome may have been different. Our communities are there to help us if needed.

Thanks again, you were a blessing.

CAROLYN A. ANDERSON

Gwinn

Listen to the people

To the Journal editor:

Lakeshore Boulevard is closed for the winter because the lake damage is too much to keep up with, we’re told. The lake is 10,000 years old. The road was granted to the city of Marquette by Peter White over 100 years ago. Thirty-five years ago, the former Cliffs Dow site was sold to the city for $1. The city has a plan to sell the site as well as move the road.

Mayor Stonehouse was quoted in a Mining Journal article Dec. 16 about the road: “Our focus now is to get it fixed, elevated, moved and saved.” He goes on to say “whatever we do now will be a variation of that theme.” What variations?

I remember in the early 1990s a similar proposal was pitched. That solution was to move the road inland enough to allow a private developer direct beach access and thereby limit public access. The absence of specifics in the mayor’s observations makes me wonder if some version of that plan is again in the works.

It seems to me the city has a pattern of replacing the unique with ordinary. The recent sale of the Heartland property, which had developed into a trail bikers’ destination, is a good example. Remember the trestle over Front Street that welcomed you to town? That is gone as well as the city government (that) authorized its removal.

The road to island is quite unique; almost nowhere else can one see the lake up that close from a vehicle. If marketed it can be an attractive tourist draw. There are similar attractions in the world, one in Havana another in Mazatlan.

So what exactly is the plan in the works? What exactly are the alternatives? The city is theoretically run for the citizens but historically sometimes it seems the city government serves a small group of developers. I wonder if the not specified variations are a plan to reroute the road behind condo developments?

Again to block the lake views, by replacing the unique with the ordinary. The view is now extraordinary, the backs of condos not so much. If the road is moved, please have it so the lake is not obstructed by new construction.

The city commission and government are good people. My hope is they poll the opinions of citizens who put them in their positions of service and not just listen to each other.

JAMES HERON

Marquette