Letters to the editor

Bring state fair to Carson Carson City is a town that has done things that are on the cutting edge. Our consolidated municipality was one of the first in the nation and stopped from having two forms of government performing the same duties. We also have the Nevada Day Parade, which is by far the largest in the state. We have ball fields of all types. They started with a community effort to build Governors Field long before the movie “Field of Dreams.” We are also one of few towns our size with three nice golf courses. We now have the opportunity to add to that legacy.Reno has not held for the fair for two years. Its future there is in doubt. One of the major problems is purported to be their fairgrounds location and its associated crime rate. That wouldn’t be a problem here. Adding to that is we are the state’s capital.We have the foundation in Carson City. Thanks to Supervisor Karen Abowd, Bridget Surber and others in the Greenhouse Project, the high school has resurrected a Future Farmers of America with over 70 members. 4-H clubs have been active in the area for years. We would have to start small, such as at Fuji Park, but we can do it.This idea is certainly not original on my part. I know it has been discussed, but where does it stand? A project like this would require a great amount of community support. Is there an interest?Robey WillisCarson CityTwo-lane Carson Street wouldn’t workIn reference to Friday’s “2-Lane Carson St. Ahead,” my first response is what are the supervisors thinking? You can call it Carson Street if you want, but it’s Highway 395. A lot of it is four-lane, but in recent years they made some of it six-lane to handle the increasing traffic on Topsy Hill near Walmart. If the supervisors can’t figure out that funneling six lanes from the south into four lanes into two lanes with parking won’t work, then we need new supervisors.I’ve lived here in Carson Valley for 18 years, and have never had a problem finding parking for any of the retail shops or restaurants along Highway 395. If you’d like to see an example of how well their proposed change will work, just go to Carson City’s main post office parking lot or Costco’s parking lot, and imagine thousands of cars trying to travel through at 25 mph, while being obstructed by others trying to get into or out of a parking spot. Call it a bottleneck, or mayhem, or whatever you want!That’s what our supervisors have given us, a traffic jam of major proportions. I challenge them to put this issue up to public vote and see what the majority of the people want. If this was 1927, when the population was 1,600 and we drove Model T Fords, then maybe this idea would work.Richard JamesMindenParking won’t draw people downtownThe old V&T shops were demolished despite that their historic significance was clear and the potential to give them a second life, as many other cities have done with similar structures, was immense. That opportunity was lost. Twenty-five years later it is still an empty lot.The City Center project was voted down this past fall. The view across the Nugget parking lot will remain, as heat waves rise from the asphalt in the summer and snow piles up in the winter.The Ormsby House, the city’s biggest white elephant, and the Ormsby House-owned Jack’s Bar, a rapidly deteriorating National Historic Landmark, could be major assets in lodging and entertaining those coming to Carson City. But for many years, the joke has been which will be finished first, the freeway or the Ormsby House. I think we all know the answer to that.Now, in the spirit of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, the city may narrow a portion of Carson Street to two lanes to create parallel parking, easier access to stores in the area and a more “pedestrian-friendly” atmosphere. To believe that this will lure locals downtown to shop and tourists to get off the freeway is ridiculous. Parks, historic and civic attractions, true pedestrian areas with interesting shops, bars and restaurants and quality lodging and gaming opportunities are what draw people to downtown, not the chance to park a few steps closer to some casino, business or empty store front.Terry KnightCarson CityLane narrowing would cause log jamI have a hard time understanding the Carson City Board of Supervisors decision to discuss reducing four lane Carson Street through downtown to a two-lane street with parallel parking (the most difficult parking to negotiate). This is U.S. Business route 395. You talk about a log jam. Most road improvement projects increase the number of lanes to improve the flow of traffic. Not in Carson City. We go the reverse. If this project is implemented, one of Carson City’s nicknames will be reaffirmed, “two lane streets in a two-lane town.” By the way, hasn’t the retail business in downtown moved the south Carson Street and Topsy Lane?Carl Bolton Carson CityIs there really a problem downtown?I have never written to the editor before, and wouldn’t now if this issue were not so important. Carson City is beautiful as it is with the iron fences and tree-lined streets, especially in the spring when everything is blooming. Traffic flows smoothly most of the time and driving down Carson Street is a pleasure.Picture this after removing the iron fences, the islands and trees and with parallel parking. Did any of you city fathers or downtown business owners ever see the average driver parallel park? Driving through Carson will be like Virginia City on Sunday.Also, considering the financial condition of the state, should we be spending a lot of money trying to solve a problem that does not exist?Clair L. BarnesGardnerville