Save the Buckroe bayfront - for all
By Trish Ferraro
Daily Press
August 2, 2005
Hampton leaders should vote to save the Buckroe bayfront land as a public recreation area for the citizens of Hampton and visitors to enjoy now and forever. The City Council adopted the 2005 Buckroe Master Plan with the stipulation that they would "tweak" the Bayfront Initiative. Now that the citizen stakeholders are finally aware of the plan, the council should say "no" to condominium and housing development and keep the existing space at Buckroe open and available for public use because that is what the people want.
According to a quality of life survey conducted in 2003 by the Hampton Roads Partnership, of the 939 respondents from every locality in Hampton Roads, the rich water environment is what the region's residents value more than any of the other factors that contribute to their quality of life.
In addition to the water environment, open spaces and recreational offerings were also among the highest responses of the survey.
Echoing those survey responses are many citizens' recent comments found in the "Guest Book" at the Web site maintained by the leaders of the effort to save the Buckroe land, at www.buckroebeach.org, and the thousands of citizens signing the petition to keep the green space green at Buckroe Beach.
Have our leaders researched existing surveys or conducted their own to find out what the people want to do with the public land at Buckroe? Are they considering the quality of life factors that are dear to so many people's lives?
Our leaders should not allow our most important natural asset to be sold to private developers. The Bayfront Initiative is not a done deal. We are waiting for that portion of the plan to be "tweaked" and for the land at the Buckroe bayfront to be saved for our now and future generations.
Trish Ferraro
Hampton
