Preserve Chappaquiddick Road

Arguments against the Proposed Bike Path

I.  NOT NEEDED:
      A.  Comparatively little traffic on Chappy.
      B.  No police records of bike/car collisions on Chappy.
      C.  Low speed limit.
      D.  Road underutilized 9 mos. of the year.
      E.  Bike paths create their own safety issues.
      F.  There is no need on Chappy to keep a volume of traffic moving.

II.  WILL CHANGE CHARACTOR OF CHAPPY ROAD:
     A.  Will be the equivalent of widening the road.
      B.  Will not be in keeping with rural feel of Chappy (Suburbanization)
      C.  Will encourage speeding cars.
      D.  Excavation of terrain to allow path will require more work which will impact             
           natural heritage of Chappy.
           1.  Artificial retaining walls
           2.  Bridges
           3.  Filling of low spots

III.  ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
      A.  Require cutting of trees and unique wild flora of Chappy.
      B.  Impact wetlands along the roadside.
      C.  More pavement will cause more run-off, erosion etc. 

IIII.  LESS SAFE THAN USING/SHARING THE ROAD:
      A.  Separate path has its own traffic pattern which confuses the normal flow 
           of traffic on road.
            1.  Two way bike, jogging, skateboarding, walking traffic.
            2.  Driveway intersections.
            3.  Bikes entering and leaving path.
            4.  False sense of security leads to reduced awareness.
      B.  Mixed use is unsafe because of speed difference between                         
            pedestrians, joggers and cyclists.
      C.  Unpaved version will not remove cyclists, rollerbladers, and strollers          
            from road and add one more complexity to the traffic patterns.
            1.  Unpaved version not supported by highway department.   Will likely     
                 become unusable for road speed cyclists.

V.   COSTS/PRIORITIES:
      A.  Could cost a million dollars (Peter Wells estimate).
      B.  Higher traffic areas, used by Chappy bikers in town center should be addressed.