A day at the Beach

While I like Gallagher the comedian,, the condition of Gallagher Beach is no laughing matter.

The water at the beach front is being ruined by pollution and contamination that is preventable and treatable. Yet, because no one can make a profit from a public beach, no one cares to fix the problem.

And fixing the problem would create jobs, clean-up the mess, and bring people down to the waterfront where, surprise, after spending a day at the beach they might spend money at the shops and restaurants that are around the area.

So there is money to be made. Just not by the millionaires and billionaires.

The water is contaminated by bacteria that comes from rainwater run-off, sewer overflows, and other water run-off sources.

Each of these is treatable.

I have read a number of articles in various publications (In These Times, YES! Magazine, and others) about how cities, particularly on the West Coast are experimenting with permeable side-walks and roads that allow water to seep through and into the ground rather than ponding up on the surfaces and then into storm drains that are too old and small to handle the amount of water that s pouring into them.

The logical solution to this is to see ho well it is working in the other communities and implement it here with improvements based on the wisdom and experiences of the other communities.

Some of the run-off comes from melting snow. This is WNY. Not much we can do about the snow. (OK. We haven't had that much this year and what we have received has been wiped out by the above average temperatures. At least we have not had a Snowmageddon event. Small ones, just not the total disaster from years ago.) We can fix the sewer and drain systems and the water treatment facilities to handle the snow run-off.

That takes care of the water contamination.

The other problem facing the Gallagher Beach area is garbage. This is trash that the wind blows around, that comes from litterbugs, and other sources. Then there is the wild animal waste. (I worked on a farm. Geese and other birds don't care where they go. The world is their litter box.)

This is all able to be cleaned up and would have to be done so on a daily basis. How many teens are looking for a summer job? And the mess that had to be cleaned up professionally could be done so and maintained afterwards by local cleaning crews.

All this would do wonders for making the waterfront a go to place for people in the city and surrounding suburbs.

And where do we get the money?

That's simple – The Buffalo Billion. It's our taxes. Why not spend it on something that everyone is going to want to use rather than enriching a few out of state people?

And like I said, this would bring people and money flowing to the businesses around the area and help build the economy up.

Not for the few, but for the many.

And it would be something that we can all enjoy.