Should a foot bridge be bulit to Newcastle Island?................Yes !!!

[The Hiker of the Cosmos]

If the City involved the entire citizenship the creation of this bridge, and made it somewhat iconic, with a great architectural design that is intended to be a draw to the City I'd be down with that. Donor bricks and placards, signatures in concrete, etc...make it truly a citizen's bridge. Make it truly an identifiable feature on our unique urban/rural/nature landscape.

Such a bridge is unrealistic from a $$$$$ perspective and not needed, if you want that do it on your dime, it should be a simple functional minimal bridge that gets you from here to there and back again, no more.

The iconic bridge should not be the draw, the Island is the draw, the bridge is and should be only a means to an end.

[The Hiker of the Cosmos]

No bridge. I look over that area and there is just too much water traffic for anything but a high or swing bridge. Is there any thought of a tunnel passage.? Personally I think that we should leave an area like Newcastle with limited access. Not everything needs to be available to all--let it stay rustic, sort of do no harm--no coffee kiosks, no paddle board rentals.

Don't you think that the only water traffic that would be impinged upon are the sail boats?, the rest it seems to me can get under the highest point where the bridge nears the Island.

Well that is like putting the park in a glass bubble to only look at it rather then be a part of it, i don't see why any park should not have easy 7 day a week year round access to it.

It should not have coffee kiosks or paddle board rentals things of that nature, it should be completely natural with the only example of mans presence being the footsteps he leaves behind on the trail.

There are already many thousands visiting every year, so then by the limited access you suggest why not make it a nature preserve with no access if you wish no harm to it to take place, i am sure that is not what you would wish.

A tunnel has been mentioned using the old coal mining one that runs under to the island, i would think it would be much more expensive to use and maintain plus a less attractive access point being under ground, the ambiance would not be as good, but that is a legitimate option as well.

[nza]

dude, you attacked me and my 'ilk' when you went on this big diatribe about the military liken it to nazi facist dictatorship.

by the way, the romulans aren't bad, they are just a misunderstood race and are byproduct of being trampled upon by their vulcan cousins who deem themselves far more superior than them. No hate.

[riverrat]

I'm closing this thread, because I don't have time to deal with the squabbles. This is not my dayjob and I have a family. If anyone wants to call people names, go post on Craigslist.

I don't see why it's so difficult for people to disagree about ideas, without namecalling (and I am certainly not referring only to Cosmos -- his/her namecalling came after other people called him/her names, though at least one of those posts has been edited so you folks can't see it). Since when is a forum post a reason to get so heated? People got riled in this thread just because...anyway, it's done.

Cosmos, I have defended you until now, but you go too far (last 24 hours). I welcome your passionate and knowledgeable posts on the forum, but you need a thicker skin, because a lot of people will give you vitriol in exchange for your ideas. If someone gives you a prod, you aren't necessarily welcome to prod them back (it is mature to ignore trolls), and you certainly can't return a prod with a punch, or people will call for your blood. It is difficult for me to investigate in these instances and I WILL make mistakes.

Everyone: If my decisions have made NOBODY completely happy, then I am probably doing a good job of maintaining a balanced position. Some will say, "You tolerated someone name-calling!" I tend to defend the underdog where I can, and I firmly believe that there was a pecking party here, which Cosmos endured for longer than most of you would have. To those of you who didn't cause any problems in this thread, I apologize.