To the editor:

I am writing to express my opposition to the development of the 80-room Mainstay Sleep Inn Hotel on Gooding Avenue. I had inquired at Town Hall about the clearing of wildlife habitat on the property, and was shocked to hear of the hotel development. When I spoke to my neighbors about this, they were just as surprised as myself.

I know that residents living between Hope and Metacom have been voicing their complaints for years about flooding basements due to overdevelopment on the Silver Creek watershed. After storms — when I lived on Mount Hope Avenue — I was not able to flush my toilet for days, the backyard turned into a lake, and there was a river running across the road. Do town residents need more of these problems?

Water levels are rising. Storms are getting more severe. “Climate crisis” and “global warming” are all I keep hearing when I turn on PBS news. Cement does not absorb water. I hope the town’s decision makers let their consciences guide them when they think about these questions: Does Bristol need an eighty-room hotel with the potential to become a flop house or dorms? Does Bristol need more cement and fewer wetlands? Does Bristol need more habitat decimation? Does Bristol need more flooding? Does Bristol need more traffic congestion? What is in the best interest of the town, its residents and future generations?

The next Planning Board meeting is Dec. 9.

Patricia E. Chalmers
Bristol Woods Drive