Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
The August 12 issue of the Gazette — containing its lovely and insightful editorial paean to dirt roads — came in the mail on the same day, ironically, that I received word of yet another attempt to gain support on Chappaquiddick for a paved bike path — with the paving of the dirt roads to follow, no doubt, as night follows day.
It is not the first time that such a proposal has reared its deceptive head on this beautiful little island. It seems as if every other year one group or other — sometimes on the Vineyard, sometimes on the island itself — pushes the idea that a four-inch-layer of steaming black asphalt over the dirt roads of Chappaquiddick is the way to go. And to start with, they say, let’s widen the narrow dirt roads for an adjacent ribbon of black paved asphalt so that bikers can streak from the Chappy ferry to Wasque Point and back. That way life can speed up. The cars will move faster and the bikers will move faster. (And the chances of accidents will be greater for both, but that part is never mentioned.)
The advocates of this proposal are right about one thing: Paved-over dirt roads and paved bike paths would make traveling by either on Chappaquiddick a piece of cake. And you know what? Every tourist who comes to any part of the Vineyard would want to drive or bike out to Wasque Point several times a week for that reason.
A great number of both come out now, driving or pedaling slowly and safely on the narrow paved road that leads out to Wasque. The motorists drive even more slowly on the short and bumpy stretch of dirt road at the far end. For the bicyclists, who also come in great numbers, the dirt road is even more of a strain. Many of them get off their bikes when they reach the sandy part and push them the rest of the way. Both the motorists and the bicyclists undoubtedly enjoy their Chappaquiddick visits immensely. But when they get back to Edgartown at the end of the day, you can almost hear them saying to each other: “Hey, that was a lot of fun, but I don’t think I want to do it again this week. Let’s just stay on the Vineyard and shop.”
Chappaquiddick residents who casually support this proposal should think ahead to the day when a smooth asphalt bike path crosses the island next to a paved road from one end to the other. It will be a splendid tourist attraction. Irresistible. Chappaquidick will become a favorite destination for motorists and bikers alike — not just once a summer but on an every-day basis. Everyone who grumbles about the congestion and long waiting lines at the Chappaquiddick ferry now (and many certainly do, understandably) should be prepared. You haven’t seen anything yet.
Your editorial in the August 12 issue begins like this: “Happily, around the Island, there are still many dirt roads. These unpaved roads usually meander and tend to pass through the pine and scrub oak woods.”
That’s certainly true of the remaining few dirt roads on Chappaquiddick, short as they are. “Sometimes a beach is at the end of a dirt road,” the editorial continues.
That’s also true. And what a special delight it is when you finally get to South Beach or the fisherman’s parking lot on Wasque Point and discover that they aren’t packed end to end with cars like a suburban mall. For those who make the effort, it’s heaven on earth.
“Dirt roads can pose a danger to car exhaust systems and if they are stony, they are not good for car tires,” you point out in your editorial. “Dirt roads without runoffs develop deep puddles for shiny new automobiles.”
That too is true, and is probably why Vineyard tourists tend to drive out there only once or twice a summer, and the ferry lines — bad as they are — are not even worse.
“But dirt roads never were meant for cars. Most, originally, were designed for horses and wagons in an era when it took more time to get places,” your editorial concludes. “It seems a pity when cars take these roads over and drivers demand that they be modernized, substituting ground-up blacktop for old-fashioned dirt.”
It does indeed. Which is the hidden horror of the latest proposal to build paved bike paths on Chappaquiddick for those, like myself, who love the island for what it is and what it has always been.
The paved-over dirt roads and asphalt bike paths will be wonderful for all the additional motorists, motorcyclists, moped riders, bicyclists, roller skaters and skateboarders. But they will change the face of Chappaquiddick forever. The island will never be the same.
It is relatively easy to lay down steaming black asphalt on a bike path or a dirt road. But once there, it is virtually impossible to take it away. And your editorial puts it exactly right in closing: “. . . as more of these roads disappear, so too does a little of the magic of our Vineyard.”
Timothy Leland (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Boston and Chappaquiddick