Scenic Roads and Business

I'm guessing it's an attempt at bait and switch, Jeanne Gladstone- Clark's letter in the Times- Standard this morning. She urges the Board of Supervisors to allow designation of certain roads in the county as "scenic":

"This isn’t just an issue of esthetics but of jobs. Designating scenic roads would attract visitors and, in their wake, businesses. Most maps denote scenic roads and highways in green ink and many of us go out of our way to drive those roads."

I don't buy the jobs thing at all. She's just throwing that in to garner support. Sure, scenic places attract people, even businesses. But you know that the same people pushing the scenic roads will be the first to object should a business want to start up somewhere along that route. After all, won't it spoil the scenic value?

We've already seen the objections to billboards "destroying" the scenic value of 101. Would they treat potential businesses any different?

Maybe she means if we have designated scenic roadways, businesses will be more likely to open up in towns nearby? I don't think that's any more likely than is already the case.