It’s saddening that the Mohonk Preserve chose to put in two more parking lots along Route 299. There were other options however they chose to place these parking lots in areas that will be visible from a road that has been known to have traffic issues. The traffic report prepared was insufficient in recognizing this mainly because the Preserve and the consultants ignored the traffic concerns of the state and the local neighborhoods and collected their data during inclement weather which downplayed the actual traffic pattern. If there were minimal impacts as the Town has decided then why the new traffic pattern at Gatehouse Road (taxpayer funded), the 4 way stop on Butterville Road, and the constant petition by the Preserve to the State to lower the speed limit? The parking lots should have been constructed off of Pine road as to not impact the Scenic Byway and prevent the expensive job of clearing existing trees for parking. Pine Road has open fields that do not get used, would be unnoticed from the Scenic Byway and would have multiple routes for ingress and egress to the parking area from the north and south. As for selective tree cutting, one look at the construction site proves there was a very minimal selection. Trying to make it sound like they care about bats, trees, carbon sequestration, air pollution, runoff, etc is ironic as they create another parking area that goes completely against conservation and caring about the community. Ever since this project was announced, over a dozen homes went up for sale and people left the area. OSI’s new parking lot on Springtown Road had already seen overflow and has created traffic concerns. This is the canary in the coal mine. There will now be 8 parking lots within view of the Shawangunk Scenic Byway that were spawned by the Preserve and OSI. Currently, there are existing Preserve parking lots that are not maintained during winter because of insufficient staffing. Cars parking on the road is a regular thing with no enforcement and a blind eye turned toward these issues. This was a quiet neighborhood, now it will become a parade of people driving cars from surrounding states creating more air pollution and traffic issues. Never mind the disturbance of the flora and fauna that occupy this area. Building this is a major mistake that continues to showcase the Mohonk Preserve’s political clout and carelessness managing these landscapes. The parks are overrun with ecotourists and extreme sports fans coming from far and near. There are no conservation easements on over 83% of their holdings. This is done on purpose so construction of their ecotourism racketeering can continue to expand indefinitely and support their egos, wallets and the Mountain House. All this started over 50 years ago when the Mohonk Mountain House spawned the Mohonk Land Trust to avoid taxation of their holdings and it continues indefinitely. The Town needs tax revenue badly but this not for profit organization is a tax-exempt ecotourism destination with 25 million in assets (undervalued tremendously) and no taxes to pay.
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