Should the Thruway Authority get out of the canal biz?

An item in the Buffalo News about the proposed Thruway toll hike quotes annoyed citizens as speculating that maybe the Thruway Authority ought to get out of the canal business.

I have mixed feelings about this. Certainly the Canal Corp. has shown itself to be fairly incompetent when it comes to developing the canal. On the other hand, the canal might have been lost/destroyed in the late 70s or mid 80s if the Thruway Authority had not taken over. In many ways the Thruway Authority's control of the canal is a sign that the state has still not been able to let go and consign a huge chunk of New York's history to the past. There's just a disconnect between the stated desire to develop the Canal as a tourist attraction, and its oversight by a modern-day transportation authority. Perhaps it is time for the blue and yellow colors to go and be replaced by the brown of the state or national park system.