Nostalgia doesn't save lives

I'm writing in response to Bert Stratton's opinion [published in the September 2022 Heights Observer], and the "Save Horseshoe Lake" movement, who argue [for] keep[ing] Horseshoe Lake a lake, providing no practical reasons other than pure nostalgia.

There's a reason the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) is concerned about flooding. If Stratton has been following the goings-on around our country and the world, he'd notice that severe flooding due to climate change and the effect of increasing impervious surfaces is happening more and more. 

His dismissal of the direct flooding risk to "that old University Circle brick apartment building," because of the fact that it's the only building at direct risk of being flooded, seems cavalier toward the lives of the people who live there, and his solution to "vacate the ground floor and pour concrete in it" would displace real people in an already tough housing market.

While we can all agree that Horseshoe Lake looked beautiful while completely filled, I personally find much beauty in its current state as well. Migratory shorebirds have been flocking to the wetland habitat that partially draining the lake has created, and the diverse habitats of having a lake in Lower Shaker Lake, and a marsh-like native wetland at the Nature Center have been quite successful at attracting songbirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl.

I encourage everyone to take the survey "Doan Brook Restoration Near Horseshoe Lake Park" that the NEORSD has created to seek input from citizens, and suggest options for a sustainable, beautiful tomorrow. Change can be good, and is often necessary.

Moshe Koval

Moshe Koval is a student who lives in Cleveland Heights.

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Volume 15, Issue 10, Posted 11:07 AM, 10.01.2022