Changes are coming to Cooperstown. Federal funding for the intermodal transportation center has come through, our valuable institutions appeal to more and more people every season, and Dreams Park, love it or hate it, is expanding yet again.

Cooperstown, like any fine old property, needs constant maintenance. It should be supremely livable for our citizens and enjoyable for our guests, with safe sidewalks, good lighting, navigable streets, well-maintained homes and buildings, green spaces, and interesting, "browse-able" business areas. Deliberate care is needed to preserve its historic grandeur, with due consideration given to the needs of those living here and current advancements in safety and comfort.

With historic properties, especially splendid old Victorian houses, upkeep is crucial. Whether it's rebuilding a chimney, pointing up the foundation, replacing a boiler, planting new trees, spreading another coat of paint- the list is nearly endless. It's constant, it can be annoying and it's almost always expensive. Still, it has to be done, otherwise grand structures fall to ruin, lose their value and are just sad. Village upkeep follows the same principles. Maintaining neat properties, creating "complete" streets, ensuring water pressure, accessibility, etc., demand the same elements of a well-maintained house: time, money and inspiration. These three planning virtues carry equal weight when it comes to building for human use. Enough money, without the time devoted to historic respect and the inspiration of what makes a great public place, and the result is the Empire State Plaza in Albany. It's cold, uninviting, out of proportion, difficult to use and a poor use of space. Worse yet, it sits where there were once 100 acres of historic neighborhoods (For great examples of good and bad planning, go to www.pps.org.)

As changes come to Cooperstown and Otsego County let's take care that they are genuine improvements, ones that favor the physical and economic health of the citizens. Careful consideration with an overall plan is essential, otherwise we run the risk of piecemeal solutions to specific problems and miss the opportunity to make the whole greater that the sum of its parts.

The Walking Example Group wants your opinions on how to improve Cooperstown and surrounding areas. Please e-mail (Brenda@we-go.org) your thoughts about sidewalks, parking, bike lanes, parks, village entrances, Main Street, and anything else you think would enhance the accessibility and quality of life in Cooperstown and Otsego County.

Brenda Berstler is the founder of the Walking Example Group (WE-GO) a non-profit organization encouraging walking.

and walkable communities. Visit their website at www.we-go.org.