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Need a Professional Assessment

It has been well over a month since the public hearing on the proposed Shoreline Greenway Trail. Hundreds of people listened to dozens of speeches. The great majority opposed the building of this 0.7 mile, hugely expensive trail to nowhere. I urge the Board of Selectmen to hold its public workshops immediately and vote, up or down, soon thereafter.

Why wait? Planning for the safety and enjoyment of our residents and visitors should be in the hands of the town and our elected government, not in the hands of a few individuals, most of them not Guilford residents, whose vision for a 25-mile continuous bike road plowing through 18th-century streets, protected forests, and scenic highways just doesn’t fit into our historic town.

I urge the selectmen to vote “No,” and then start up an entirely new, town-owned planning process.

If Guilford wants to encourage safe walking, cycling, and wheelchair mobility by expanding our network of sidewalks and bike lanes, we need a professional assessment of the obstacles and challenges before we start to discuss solutions. It’s time for open, shared discussion of what we as a town want and can afford; planning should involve input from the whole town and a transparent decision-making process.

Margaret Homans

Guilford