I am writing to oppose the parking garage proposal. For all the fanfare and expense of the Shared Visioning meetings, this solution is tiresome and shortsighted. A truer "Vision" would be for Port Washington to become a real city of the future, which thrives on great public transportation and reduces dependence on cars. The TONH has not addressed the real long-term issues of a future, that is sure to include more expensive gas and dramatic changes in all energy use.

Do any of these schemes even consider the inclusion of more bus routes or shuttle services? With all the studies that the town has paid for why is there no data on the effect of more public transportation? Where is the data from the LIRR, data from the MTA on current bus use and data on past shuttle bus use?

I oppose any parking garage proposal because it is a short-term Band-Aid fix. Yes, the traffic and parking problem is real; however, a new parking garage is not the solution. This plan is not logical. A huge garage provides more parking spaces, but also exacerbates the problem by creating even more traffic. The only logical solution is to support more public transportation. Shuttle buses with more routes and comfortable bus stops would go a long way to solving our traffic problems.

In 1898 when the Port Washington station was built, this town was completely rural, with farms and open fields. The railroad was built for the town as it would be in the future not as it was at the time. That plan now 100+ years old is still the backbone of Port and was a genuine "vision" of the future.

We now have a similar opportunity to be truly visionary and create a town that is beautiful, unique and less dependent on oil. It is imperative that residents speak up, demand more public transportation and block any proposed parking garage plan.

For a truer Vision,

Laura Montllor, AIA