Those Who Show Up…

I covered last night’s meeting in Canton about the next steps in pursuing the elusive “rooftop highway” linking Watertown and Plattsburgh across the North Country. A lot of people asked the DOT how they know residents actually want a new highway in the first place. DOT folks pointed to a newspaper survey, input from lawmakers, but mostly to comments from previous meetings. In other words, show up to make sure you’re heard.

75 people showed up in Canton – a big number for a wonky public hearing on a Tuesday night. But according to the Watertown Daily Times, just 20 came to the Watertown hearing. Lowville’s was “sparsely attended”, with no one commenting on the plan.

The “rooftop highway” is waaayyyy more important to people in St. Lawrence County. Jefferson County already has I-81. Lowville is a quick drive south to Utica or west to Watertown. On the eastern side of the region, Clinton County has its Adirondack Northway.

Malone and Franklin County is in much of the same boat as St. Lawrence – far from an Interstate. Attendance at meetings in Malone tonight and Plattsburgh Thursday will likely bear this out.

The reality is even if all the 162,000 people in St. Lawrence and Franklin counties were in favor of the “rooftop highway”, it’s hard to imagine them persuading Albany and Washington to fund a $2 billion Interstate, without the active support of the “bookend” counties of the North Country.

UPDATE: 60 people came to the Malone meeting.