One lake, one economy, one bridge

I've long lamented the lack of identity for Lake Champlain and the magnificent valley that cradles it.

With the Green Mountains on one side and the Adirondacks on the other, there is no more gorgeous landscape in America.

The farms and woodlands and wild rivers and striving cities and villages make up a vital and fascinating community.

There is as much history in this valley, mile for mile, as in any other landscape.

Yet because of our artificial borders -- between New York and Vermont and the U.S. and Canada -- the valley has never developed a clear sense of place.

There are a handful of institutions that attempt to bridge the divide -- including the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, ECHO, and the Lake Champlain Basin Program.

But we are still defined by the divisions, and not by the incredible, shared experience of the valley.

The closure of the Crown Point bridge has illuminated how false and misguided this perception is.

The people who live along Lake Champlain's shore and uplands cross back and forth daily, sharing livelihoods and churches.

They send fire trucks to aid their neighbors and deliver their babies on opposite sides.

If one good thing comes from the debacle of the bridge's deterioration, it may be this: that we and our civic leaders are reminded that Lake Champlain is a community.

What ails the New York shore, will harm the economy across the lake.

And likewise, when Vermont or Quebec suffer, so will New York communities from Rouses Point to Ticonderoga.

It would be great to see more effort to transcend the false boundaries of Lake Champlain -- through smarter tourism marketing, shared efforts at broadband internet, and (obviously) improved transportation.