To the editor:
Everyone is familiar with the domino effect - what happens when one event sets off a chain of similar events.
Sam Park's proposed Gloucester Crossing project is seen by a number of residents as a good idea, and by many city officials as a source of much-needed tax revenue.
On the other hand, the project has generated considerable controversy. Local merchants see it as a threat to downtown businesses. Some wonder just how much real tax revenue it would generate. Others simply oppose the traffic light.
Most agree that Gloucester Crossing would increase traffic flow on the Route 128 extension. One can certainly sympathize with Mr. Barletta in Jonathan L'Ecuyer's article (The Times, Jan. 21) when he states, "Rockport is trapped, it has water on three sides and Gloucester on the fourth, there's no other way out."
Something needs to be done. But a bypass road is not the answer. Paving over the Old Rockport Road will destroy one of Cape Ann's oldest roads and could compromise the Babson Reservoir (see figure). Recall this summer, with the West Gloucester reservoirs offline, we depended on the Babson and Goose Cove reservoirs for our water supply.
Connecting the Blackburn Industrial Park with Pond Road may not be the answer either, although it would seem to make sense, one day, to join these two areas, concentrating the industrial sector in one place.
What if, instead of building Gloucester Crossing, we focus on re-building the downtown area - developing the waterfront, renovating old buildings like the Maplewood school, building a hotel that could generate significant tax revenue, and others. With more people going downtown and less traffic at the lower end of Route 128 and Eastern Avenue, a bypass might not be needed at all. Perhaps someone (other than Sam Park) should study this option.
If Gloucester Crossing is built, it would create a domino effect that would cost the city money it does not have and could adversely affect the quality of life on the island.
Is it really worth it?
MARK J. CARLOTTO
Gloucester
