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© St. Petersburg Times, published June 12, 2001
Re: Handicapped need better beach access, letter, May 31.
We are in full agreement with the suggestion for boardwalks on Clearwater Beach. The city is approving new buildings, widening of the streets, improved parking. The boardwalk should have top priority.
We have enjoyed the beach for many years and would continue to do so except for one thing. My wife has developed a lung ailment. She can only manage to walk halfway from the handicaped parking area (by the concession stand on the south beach) to the water, which is our favorite spot.
I am sure there are many senior citizens and handicapped who would consider this a top priority so they, too, can enjoy our beautiful beaches.
People are more important than buildings.
-- Fred Werthman, Dunedin
Re: Handicapped need better beach access, letter, May 31.
I hear you loud and clear: No one cares. Yes, I also am handicapped since 1988. Before my accident, my husband and I, after a day's work and dinner, would go to the beach, enjoy a swim, and then walk from one end to the other.
(Now) I go down to watch the sunset at times, not to see the roundabout. That is a joke. They paid out for the roundabout, but they can't put in sidewalk access to the beach for handicapped people and kids.
We do count in this world, so let's hear it and do something about it.
-- Georgia Kelly, Palm Harbor
When I moved to the bay area nine years ago, I was impressed with the efficiency and convenience of the airport and the beautiful beaches. I was stunned at the lack of development in downtown Clearwater. Where else in this world will you find such beautiful waterfront in a state of decay and abandonment?
I was told that things were ready to pop in this town. Great plans were ahead! Well, we pooped instead of popping. There is always a small group with nothing better to do than to halt change. This group usually feels that they were here first, giving them more clout. As a result of this, we have lost a wonderful opportunity to revive the downtown.
Who are we fooling here? A quaint, charming downtown would be lovely, but that cannot happen now. The downtown has sunk to such a low level that only a huge developer can turn the tide. Abandoned stores, empty parking lots, and a trade center that drains the community financially while providing so little to so few.
A waterfront promenade, shops, restaurants, apartments and a world-class hotel are the only answers. Instead, all we have on the boards is a library that looks like it belongs to the Flintstones. The architect must know Clearwater well. Maybe this building is just his way of having fun with us.
Beware, Clearwater, nothing in this world remains the same. It either goes forward or backward. The good news is, how much lower can we go?Richard Bialor, Dunedin
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Sports complex would benefit all of Clearwater
Re: Sports complex belongs in a commercial district, letter, June 1.
I couldn't agree more with this response, although I believe a few very important details were left out.
On top of all the uses listed, he failed to mention 71 Clearwater Phillies games, the majority of which are at night during the week. Also planned are one or two sitdown restaurants, a sports bar, an exercise facility along with a parking lot for 1,100 vehicles -- all open to the public, all open year-round, next to an established neighborhood on an old landfill. Good planning.
I continue to support keeping the Phillies a community tradition, and after Commissioner Hoyt Hamilton's fall, I also support, if financially feasible, building them a new stadium. But again, along with over a thousand supporters, I am strongly opposed to this site.
This is not just rebuilding a quaint little baseball field in a new location, it's building an entire sports entertainment facility that will definitely impact the entire surrounding areas.
James Devine, Clearwater