I moved here seven years ago and was excited to plant roots in a progressive city with a great reputation among residents and visitors. As time goes on I can’t help but think we’re becoming a bunch of folks stuck in our ways and unwilling to take a chance to better our community. We need more housing units, but don’t build them near my house (I’m looking at you North Street neighbors). We need to encourage healthy outdoor recreation and safe areas for bikes, but I don’t want that by my driveway (hello Haydenville neighbors). Sure, we could make downtown safer for kids, elders, bikers and drivers, but not if it takes away my angled parking. What do those traffic engineers know anyway? Main Street is two lanes and you can’t convince me otherwise because I’m too busy blasting the Grateful Dead as I cruise through downtown. Remember when a pot shop was going to corrupt the entirety of downtown Florence? Good thing we stopped that. I knew they’d start selling to minors like all those shops in Northampton do (but they card me for some reason). The list goes on and on. As I read the complaints from folks high on their soap boxes it makes me miss the days of constructive discourse. Now it’s my way or the highway and it’s a real shame.
Mark Foelster
Northampton