CHEERS
• ECHOTA NEIGHBORHOOD: It’s a nice example of how actively getting involved can improve the quality of life for your neighborhood. D Street resident Bob Miller went from watching thieves break into his car to forming a new block club in the city. Weeks later, representatives from several city departments — police, fire, inspections and neighborhood services — walked through the Echota neighborhood to identify trouble spots — from overgrown trees to streets and sidewalks to places criminals could hang out without being noticed. They were followed by city crews who trimmed trees that were blocking streetlights and cited homeowners that don’t maintain their properties. A welcome sight for residents and a quick turnaround for a beleaguered neighborhood.
JEERS
• THRUWAY TOLLS: How’s this for logic: In an effort to deal with slower-than-expected traffic growth on the state’s highway system, the Thruway Authority is planning to increase tolls by 20 percent over the next four years. Better yet, the authority is looking into lessening E-ZPass discounts or getting rid of the service altogether. Simple logic says any kind of increase will mean even less drivers on the Thruway, except for those that have no choice — hello, Grand Island residents. All for tolls that were supposed to disappear way back in 1996. Fortunately this won’t happen without a big fight, but its just another example of how ridiculous this state, and its many legally separate authorities, really are.
• FRUIT TREE PLAN: There has to be a better way to deal with 1,600 to 2,000 fruit trees at Bond Lake that could become infected with the devastating plum pox virus. While state officials tested for the virus and found between 16 and 18 trees locally, none of them were at Bond Lake. Despite this, Niagara County officials are planning to tear them all down at a cost of nearly $50,000 — to start. That $50,000 does not include hauling away the downed trees. Then there’s the whole issue of restoration. Will the county plant new trees? We can’t imagine county officials sinking very much money into an effort to restore the trees. So then what happens? We get a huge clear-cut, ripped up field at Bond Lake? One alternative would be to do what they’re probably doing at every other orchard in the county — take preventative measures. According to county numbers it would cost about $15,000 a year to spray the trees. It seems more expensive in the long run until you consider that the fruit trees will probably spring right back up in that empty field and our county officials will be right back to square one.
