W. T. Eckert reports in today's Register-Star that the Capital Region Economic Development Council presented its five-year strategic plan for the Capital Region on Monday: "Regional council unveils 5-year strategic plan."
The key goals of the plan for Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Albany, Greene, and Columbia counties seem innocuous enough: "to leverage and collaborate, open new doors, prepare for tomorrow, build a superhighway, bring cities to life, celebrate and optimize surroundings, showcase regional beauty, and spotlight strengths." We're assuming, of course, that the superhighway mentioned is an "information superhighway" and has to do with the Internet, and that there are no plans to destroy farmland, habitat, and scenic vistas to create an actual superhighway.
The strategic plan includes a specific project for Columbia County: a "transloading facility." As described in the article, the project will "allow businesses to transfer products from trucks to rail cars for outgoing purposes and to move incoming products from rail cars to trucks." Oddly, the first thing that came to mind when reading about this project was "Lone Star Industrial Park," the old Cycletech plant purchased back in April 2009 by Paul Colarusso, Scott Patzwahl, Michael Bucci, and "other investors." If there's any validity to Gossips' kneejerk reaction, it would mean a lot more activity on the ADM spur through Hudson, moving goods through Seventh Street Park and down behind Allen Street to the main tracks along the river. And then there's the question of how trucks would access the site on Route 23B.
I would say :
ReplyDeleteResidents of Newman Road or Rt.29 look out !
This is not what we need for economic development, in my opinion. What we need is better education, more agro-tourism infrastructure (places to stay, trails, CSAs with residence, open space, less ugly, more quality, unique, less shabby and normal), support for second home owners, encouraging more, agriculture, and little heavy industry.
ReplyDeleteThis is a plan to serve the few at the expense of the rest of us. How is it possible to have more trains cutting off the top of Warren Street and making the 7th Park un-usable? I live along the ADM spur and I can also attest to the fact that a huge amount of pollution is already being spudded in the air as the ADM train struggles to get its load up the steep grade. This is wrong for everyone in Hudson and it must be stopped.
ReplyDelete