The sidewalks in downtown Portsmouth are fine as they are
September 9 – To the Editor:
I must comment on Councilman Andrew Bagley’s proposal. trying to reconfigure our historic city center. He says it’s something he’s wanted to do before he was even elected to public office. It was as unreasonable and ridiculous then as it is today. Strollers and pedestrians have no room to pass each other. Has he ever heard of slowing down and yielding? The sidewalks in a very old and historic city are more than adequate to accommodate pedestrian traffic.
Look at Boston, where I walk most of the time. Boston’s sidewalks, founded in 1630, have a hundred times the foot traffic and are not being redeveloped. Portsmouth has come along some twenty-six years later, and the sidewalks downtown are well maintained and quite well designed for walkers and pedestrians. People have to slow down, pass each other, and use space wisely.
Councilman Bagley is proposing something that is so costly that it will surely impact our tax rate, shut down businesses, create public safety issues, and a host of other contingencies that he has not even considered. We have more serious and pressing issues in this city than the reconfiguration of Congress Street to Maplewood Avenue. Why not put the new public safety (police) building on a parcel of the community campus instead of ruining the campus landscape on Junkins Avenue? Why not address affordable housing, foster downtown growth that is more than just more hotels and unused office space? Councillor Bagley, why not consider that safety services such as the police and fire are perhaps the most important things right now, given the rapid growth of Portsmouth and the fact that we are not a city of 23,000 people, but 75,000 people in one day?
This proposal is wrong and is not in the best interests of the city, the taxpayers and the character of such a historic gem.
T. Stephen McCarthy
Portsmouth
Kamala Harris embodies the true values of law enforcement
September 7 – To the Editor:
As a retired police chief who served in law enforcement at every level over his thirty-year career, it is shameful that last week the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Trump for president. Their motto is “The Voice of Our Nation’s Law Enforcement Officers.”
It is utterly hypocritical for a law enforcement organization to support a candidate who threatens our democracy and freedoms. It also illustrates the clear connection to the deep distrust of police in many communities and the continued need for police reform.
Kamala Harris is the candidate who represents the values that all law enforcement organizations should embrace.
Janet Hadley Champlin
Bartlett
Kamala Harris’ Rally: Both Inspiring and Boring
September….
