Ford plant

A mainstay of the local economy for nearly as long as there has been a local economy, the Ford assembly plant is scheduled for closing. They make Ranger trucks at this plant. Some would say it is a victim of bad management, continuing to build larger and larger vehicles when the market turned towards hybrids and fuel efficiency. Some would say it is a victim of a bloated employee/retiree benefit package. I guess it depends on whose ox is being gored. What is clear is that the world has changed and Ford didn't change in time to save this truck plant.
The plant will disappear. There are lots of different proposals for what to do with the land. Some want some sort of light industrial redevelopment to create new jobs to replace the ones being lost. Some want housing, the riverfront is a prime location. Some want to create a riverside park.

My experience with long duration industrial locations tells me that there are some nasty surprises lurking somewhere on the grounds. It will be interesting to see who gets stuck with the bill for clean-up. Actually I am certain that Ford won't completely escape liability. I am also certain they will try to avoid paying anything more than some kind of absolute minimum. This isn't the only plant that Ford is closing and the company is in some financial difficulty anyway. Difficult decisions remain to be made. Is it worth the bankruptcy and dissolution of the corporation to get this pollution cleaned up?

Not my ox, at least not directly.

The plant is located on the river boulevard and is significant today because I rode all the way to it. This isn't quite the full ride in that direction yet but it is my deepest penetration in that direction to date. Also significant today was I climbed for the first time this year the Saint Anthony Avenue hill along the tracks from the river boulevard to Pelham. This hill, as is true of all of the local hills, is no mountain, it is a hill. So it isn't extremely long. But it is steep and for early spring legs it was a bit of a brute. It is a regular part of the ride, though, and today I turned up it for the first time this year, a mini-milestone.

As is apparent from the photo today was grey, very grey, but it didn't rain and yesterday's puddles had all dried up. Spring has been mostly grey, but at least it is here.