It was good to see “Buy Local” in effect in Hanover last Friday, with Main Street parked up for the first time in a while. But that’s not the present “vision” of the town’s Bike Walk Committee, which imagines removing 40 parking places, eliminating turning lanes, and creating sidewalks suitable for skateboarding and super seniors on tricycles.
This is the group that screwed up Lyme Road a few years ago by stealing from the breakdown lanes to build a bikeway. Five feet could have been taken from the golf course, a section of which was already defunct. Instead, to stay on the road and avoid pedestrians, cyclist are now forced into the travel lane.
An online survey provides insight into where this vision of Main Street Disney World comes from. “Do you live within four blocks of Main Street?” (I do.) I guess people who do not have no good reason to be there, apparently because they went there by automobile. This is followed by a push poll designed to validate, not gauge, opinion: “Do you like trees, benches,” etc.? Yes, of course we do, all of which currently exist there.
The plan’s fundamental weakness is the same as we’ve seen in other Planning Department offerings, like that dead-on-arrival rezoning of North Park Street and around Occom Pond for multi-unit housing. It’s a solution in search of a problem.
There used to be a safety issue at the Hanover Inn corner: Drivers turning right didn’t notice highly placed “No Turn” signs. Neither did the committee, but somebody (I wonder who?) suggested an electronic walk light. Since that installation, the street has worked well, on foot, bike or behind the wheel.
What we have here is lily gilding by people with time on their hands, a common phenomenon in wealthy communities where leaving well enough alone frustrates those who would wish to take credit for their version of perfection. My vision for Main Street is restaurant and retail health, not Mickey and Minnie. It works, so let it be.
DICK MACKAY
Hanover
As every schoolchild knows, there are three branches of government in the United States: the legislative, the executive and the judicial. Every day I thank God for the judicial branch.
The rule of law is all that stands between us and despotism. And it is why, whether the current president concedes the election or not, we will have a new president on Jan. 20.
BARRY WENIG
Lebanon
It’s time for us to begin to heal, unite and move forward. We have been through tumultuous times, including a difficult election and all the hardships of COVID-19.
For me, as a parent and now a grandparent, one of the most important issues we have to deal with is child care. I’m seeing parents who are stressed to the limit, working from home while trying to take care of their children, and parents who have quit their jobs because they need to stay home with their children who are now schooling remotely. These parents simply can’t find affordable, good-quality child care for their children. It’s just not there.
Even before COVID-19, child care centers were on a very tight budget. According information from the Save the Children Action Network, roughly one-third of these centers have shut down since the pandemic started, enrollment has dropped an average of 67%, and those that have been able to stay open have seen their costs almost double. Further, child care workers are so underpaid that many rely on public assistance. Since the pandemic, 200,000 of these workers have been laid off and 4.5 million child care openings could soon be lost.
Child care is essential — for children, their parents and the economy. The new Biden administration should offer financial support to child care providers and work with Congress to promote investment in the child care industry.
BARB SOUTHARD
Bradford, N.H.