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11-24-2006 By JIM AUSTIN Editor ``We’re used to living down here in a quiet neighborhood,’’ said Amy Townsend, whose family lives next to the bridge on Lower Toddsville Road. ``The only people we saw walking were the Finches.’’ When the bridge was closed it was walkable, but its condition had deteriorated to the point that it could still be crossed if you picked your way around the holes in the deck, said her husband Lyman Townsend. ``Even when you could walk on it we didn’t see many people,’’ Amy Townsend said. ``It started as a walking bridge issue and it’s becoming an historic bridge issue,’’ said Joan Hotaling, who lives across the road from the Townsends. Hotaling said she had no idea when the bridge was built. There had been a plaque on the bridge, but someone took it, she said. ``There are lots of bridges like this in the county. If they want to fix one, they should fix the Phoenix Mills bridge down by Otsego Manor,’’ she said. ``I’m against using tax money for the bridge. I believe the money could be better spent elsewhere, even if the bridge wasn’t near my home.’’ ``The area is not conducive to walking, Amy Townsend added. ``You can’t walk on Route 26 _ it’s not a good walking road. Greenough Road is not good either. I question how many people would use the bridge for walking.’’ Townsend admitted that if the bridge was an integral part of larger walking trail or plan she might feel differently. ``I’m not against walking,’’ she said. The neighbors have also experienced some problems because the bridge is a magnet for kids who spend much of their time, particularly during the summer months, playing on and around the bridge. They said there have been problems with foul language, general mischief and vandalism. The problems have been made worse since a house on the other side of Oakes Creek has been converted to a summer Dreams Park rental. Hotaling said that during a team party there this summer there must have been 40 kids and their fathers throwing rocks in the creek and at the bridge. ``We’re spoiled,’’ she admitted. ``It’s been like heaven down here since the bridge was closed,’’ They also have concerns about talk of putting a street light on the bridge if it is repaired. ``A street light would be invasive,’’ Lyman Townsend said. ``We moved to the country to get away from it. If we wanted benches and street lights we would have moved to the village,’’ his wife added. Across the bridge and down the road a little way is where Joe Gifford lives and he, too, is wondering why the fuss over a bridge that has been closed for 15 years. ``All of a sudden everybody’s a bridge hugger,’’ he said. ``It’s not like a lot of people were walking across the bridge. It should have been taken down a long time ago.’’ Gifford said he doesn’t see why anybody would want to walk across to county Route 26 and if they did, why not use the county Route 59 bridge down the road. ``I don’t understand where they’re coming from or going to,’’ he said. ``It doesn’t go anywhere. It doesn’t make any sense for the taxpayers to pay for anything for the bridge other than to take it out.’’ |
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