There have been a number of letters to the editor recently expressing a concern with the chosen location for the site for the Coast Guard Museum. This questioning of location is of great concern. The matter is settled. Numerous sites were considered previously, including out-of-town sites. The downtown New London, waterfront location was selected as the best site for this national museum.

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut strongly supports the decision on the downtown location. Indeed, opening up a discussion on location at this late date runs the risk of losing the museum entirely to other communities that worked hard to take it away from New London when the location discussion was underway originally.

Some of the concerns expressed in these letters relate to possible storm damage. Many talented designers, planners and engineers, both in and out of government are working hard to design an environmentally and structurally sound museum on the waterfront of which the entire region will be proud.

A key component of the museum’s success will be its location in the center of the region’s transportation hub where trains, ferries, private craft, auto traffic and taxies converge, all of which will provide the new museum with the visitation needed for success. In addition, it will provide a new found vibrancy for downtown. It is already creating an economic ripple effect for the city.

The museum location is in the exact right place to take advantage of this kind of desired traffic. Also, a gleaming national museum in the heart of downtown waterfront, adjacent to the region’s transportation hub, will be easily accessible and visible to the hundreds of thousands of travelers that frequent the hub, providing an incentive for them to stop and visit the city.

In addition, access and visibility will lead to more traffic (the good kind). More traffic means more people, which means more customers for shops, restaurants, other historic sites (including Fort Trumbull!), and will be a catalyst that will encourage people and businesses to think of New London in a new and exciting way.

At the recent chamber-sponsored State of New London Address, Mayor Michael Passero presented a list of active and planned projects underway in the city. Many factors are contributing to this new-found interest in New London. The planned Coast Guard Museum is certainly one of them.

The entire region’s efforts are needed to bring this exciting project to a successful conclusion. Second guessing the selected location at this late date is counterproductive and serves to encourage the many communities throughout the country who would love to take this wonderful opportunity away from New London. Let’s encourage all of our leaders to proceed to bring this national institution to fruition without delay.

Tony Sheridan is president of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut.