Bridge the Gap!
All materials on this page is part of my ongoing research project. Demonstrated for discussion purpose only.
Data is not ready for publication. All rights reserved. Contact me if you have any questions.
This less-than-2-mile gap between Cumberland Head (NY) and Grand Isle (VT) remains as an unsurmountable bottleneck for traveling between the largest two cities in the North Country: Plattsburgh, NY and Burlington, VT.
A bridge is a long due critical infrastructure
For timely transport of patients to critical medical services
Declining medical services availabilities on the NY side
Unreliable ferries cause financial and time losses, and stresses for commuters
Hard-to-realize regional economic opportunities
Significant environmental impacts from daily operations of ferry boats, maintenance, and idling cars waiting to get on the ferries.
A Bridge in the Clouds Talk.mp3Click above to hear the audio recording.
Data Declaimer:
Much of the data is only rough processed to demonstrate key messages and is not ready for publication. Please do not use any of these data out of context. All rights reserved.
Public Talk: "A Bridge in the Clouds?"
What can we do about the unreliable and inefficient transportation connection between Plattsburgh and Burlington?
I gave this talk on Mar. 4, 2022, at my Department, hoping to clarify some myths with data and to stimulate more conversation. A few of the many key points are:
We need a reliable transportation connection between Plattsburgh and Burlington for emergency and critical medical care for all. A ferry does not serve such a purpose. Medical services and providers in the Plattsburgh region have been declining. More needs to be done to ensure our medical service sufficiency.
Critical infrastructure like this is expensive, but we are not asking every local citizen to chime in out of their pocket. We are asking the State and Federal to invest in our community with existing funds that would otherwise be invested elsewhere. And a toll bridge is a users-pay scheme.
Certainly, private investors are welcome in this profitable infrastructure project, including LCTC itself. After all, they are Lake Champlain Transportation Company, instead of narrowly defined as a "Ferry Company". A toll bridge may be their next business upgrade?
Between Cumberland Head and Grand Isle, the deepest water is around 200 ft (not forbidding for a bridge).
There seems no environmental data publicly available to understand the impacts of ferry operations (boat engines, and all supporting facilities), such as air pollutants, chemical release to the lake, etc. Questions should be asked, and research is much needed.
Additional data and discussions on medical services, housing affordability, and social justice.
How Deep is the Lake?
Data source: Dr. Tom & Pat Manley @ Middlebury College. 2021 summer. (Processed by: Liou Xie)
5,680 people signed a petition in support for building this bridge on change.org in 2018
Yard Sign Campaign!
GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bridge-the-gap-yard-sign-campaign
To add your delivery address, go to the google form: https://forms.gle/h3b7kh5RQkDXy8SGA
But you don't have to donate to ask for a sign!
The first goal of $1,000 is set to cover the costs of ordering 200 yard signs (24'x18') and setting up a citizen's group to handle all the logistics. Let's make noises and be visible! If you would like to help, please contact any one of us. Thanks!
Campaign team: Jerome Davis, John Barry, Tom Titherington, Heather Van Arsdel, and Liou Xie.
(This page is actively under construction. Check back for more!)