On one end is the draw of dollars filling the tribal treasury vis-a-vis a colossal eyesore that desecrates the experience of nature in the national park, which makes the canyon Grand. The famed $40 million Grand Canyon Skywalk hopes to make the area a wow destination for tourists.
The horseshoe-shaped glass walkway will jut out 70 feet beyond the canyon’s edge on the Hualapai Indian Reservation just west of Grand Canyon Village.
What are the positives of this tourist attraction?
• It will provide employment to a population 50% of which is unemployed and suffers from widespread alcoholism and poverty.
• The area will see further development in the form hotels, restaurants and a golf course and there by make way for new opportunities.
Are the ills more than the benefits?
• Commercialization will take precedence over the cultural and historic value of the Grand Canyon.
• Buttressed by 1 million pounds of steel and supporting 90 tons of tempered glass, it will bring in a whole lot of steel to this natural surrounding.
• Skywalk will be the catalyst for a 9,000-acre development, known as Grand Canyon West, that will open up a long-inaccessible 100-mile stretch of countryside along the canyon’s South Rim.
The entry fee for the skywalk will be just $25, but the price you pay to see the Grand Canyon from this architectural wonder will be much more. So much development needs a basic infrastructure that this region lacks. As every builders will want to be a part of the grand canyon the area will become crowded with concrete structures.
Via: LA Times
