To the editor:
Tearing up the railroad between Lake Placid-Saranc Lake and Old Forge will not create a bike path; it will just grow into a forest.
Upgrading the railroad will not only be a success but would attract more tourists to the area then tearing it up. Plus, freight trains would be able to use the corridor to bring up goods to the North Country.
I worked at Fish Creek Campground for three summers; it and Rollins Pond already get a lot of business in the summer, and the tourist train has a lot more passengers riding it than ARTA (Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates) thinks it does.
I know that because I'm a volunteer on the train, on my days off working at Paul Smith's College as a dishwasher.
So please stop with rails-to-trails, and stay off of ARTA's website. It's getting old. We can have rails and trail. Thank you.
John Fitzgerald
Lake Clear