April 17, 2008
Thursday PM

I travel to Ketchikan from time to time, so I was surprised to hear Mayor Weinstein complain on the radio recently about how difficult it is for elders and those with physical disabilities (he mentioned crutches ) to get to and from the airport in Ketchikan. I am surprised that he doesn't know that you can drive your car to the airport on Gravina Island, or that you can be picked up and driven - thus avoiding lugging luggage and oneself up or down all those airport ramps and steps. Ketchikan has good cab, bus, and airport shuttle service. It has an excellent airport ferry. It has a superb water taxi. Gosh, if you are a passenger, and if you do not live on one of those Ketchikan "roads" that are really walkways, you can actually board a vehicle at your home and stay seated until it's time to step into the lobby of the airport.

I am also surprised that Mayor Weinstein, an experienced politician, hasn't figured out that it won't help to make a case for the bridge based on untruths. Fallacious statements are great fodder for those who like to poke fun at the Gravina Island Bridge as a "bridge to nowhere". I hope he will buckle down and give some good reasons for the bridge. A claim that elders and people on crutches can't get to the airport easily and safely feels like clutching at straws.

I'd love to hear the serious reasons for the bridge. Admittedly, I'm particularly fond of the water taxi and the airport ferry.

Stephanie Scott
Haines, AK

About: "Resident of Southeast Alaska since 1973; retired teacher; frequent visitor to Ketchikan."

Received April 16, 2008 - Published April 17, 2008

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