I recently called my councilperson’s office to complain about the garish orange snow fence the Peace Bridge Authority has stuck all over Front Park to protect their precious, appropriated access road to the Peace Bridge—Baird Drove.

Having lived on Busti Avenue for the last six years, I have seen firsthand how their own personal road crews pamper and manicure that road as soon as a snowflake drops.

Now to add further insult to the injuries they have perpetrated on this Olmsted-designed park, they are in fact forcing the public to enter and exit the park at sites of their choosing, because of the barriers the fence presents. The snow is not always an impediment to dog walkers or joggers or anyone who wants to use the park in the winter, but now this snow fence is a forced restriction to access. As far as the PBA is concerned, vehicular access is paramount to pedestrian access. They continue to call the shots on this precious resource, the Front Park, in favor of their own precious money-maker, the Peace Bridge.

They have decimated the parkland by two thirds of its original size, destroyed historic Fort Porter, threaten to destroy more property to build a bigger duty-free store, and continue to use the park as a truck annex for oversize monstrosities. And there is always the nagging concern of truck exhaust fumes damaging homes and people’s lungs.

Building an alternative bridge for truck traffic is not in their best interest, as they have shown by their ongoing opposition and delaying tactics. How much more do we have to take from these petty tyrants? Why is the tail wagging the dog? Could it possibly be because of campaign contributions? When are we going to get politicians with spines to stand up to them?

Margaret Pascale, Buffalo

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