Sen. Chris Murphy’s recent editorial made me wonder if the senator has walked and compared the proposed site behind the train station and Fort Trumbull, “Sen. Murphy explains support for Coast Guard Museum in New London,” (Oct. 19).

The land the Fort sits on, and the adjacent vacant property, offer great views of long Island, Long Island Sound, Fishers Island, Groton, The Thames River, and the New London waterfront. This property is appealing to build the Coast Guard Museum for multiple reasons.

1.) Cramming the museum as proposed behind the train station would destroy a parcel of waterfront used for the water taxi, cultural events, live music, and space for travelers using the trains, buses, ferries, and cabs.

2.) The proposed walkway ($20 million) connecting the parking garage with the museum seems not practical.

3.) The Fort Trumbull area offers acres to accommodate the museum, parking and viewing areas to allow visitors to see much of New London waterfront.

4.) Completing the walkway connecting New London waterfront and Fort Trumbull would be a visitor destination in itself. Crossing Shaw Cove in coordination with the Amtrak swing bridge would be an engineering challenge.

5.) This all would help stimulate the redevelopment of the land taken by eminent domain.

Donald Diederich

Waterford