For a Cycling Paradise
To the editor:
As noted in last week’s Independent, biking from Wellfleet to Provincetown has become more problematic, as the Old County Road bridge south of Mill Pond Road in Truro is out of service for reconstruction. Because that is the only connector going north other than Route 6, any cyclist hoping to minimize time on the highway is forced to make uncontrolled crossings of Route 6 at Pamet Point Road or Prince Valley Road, then again at Castle Road, and finally at High Head Road. This shoelace route to Provincetown adds 2.5 miles to an otherwise 15-mile trip.
The possible solutions include the timely reconstruction of the Old County Road bridge; construction of a bike path from Cahoon Hollow Road in Wellfleet to Collins Road in Truro along the power lines, as suggested by the Wellfleet Bike and Walkways Committee; construction of a Route 6 underpass at Truro Central School; and a series of mini-connectors from Castle Road to Cormorant Road in Truro.
On this last option: Truro’s bayside roads run east to west with no north-south connections. Thus, crossing Truro without using Route 6 is currently impossible. A series of small north-south interconnections would open up Truro for cycling.
Further, crossing Route 6 at the Truro school is truly dangerous in the summer, as traffic tends to be heavy in both directions. An underpass at the school would be a godsend to bikers and to parents dropping off and picking up children during the school year.
Route 6 is dangerous. Trucks commonly pass me at 60 m.p.h. two feet off my left hand. By contrast, cycling on the bike trails south of Lecount Hollow is safe and fun. Let’s build some paths and let the Outer Cape realize its potential as a true cycling paradise.
Steven Kopits
Wellfleet
Wrong-Way Traffic
To the editor:
Re “Dockless E-Scooters Suddenly Take to the Streets” (July 7, front page):
Already, my strolls from my home down and up Commercial Street are more dangerous. And it’s only been a few days since the scooters have been let loose by Provincetown officials.
The problem is especially acute when they are going the wrong way. Scooters — indeed, every motor-equipped mode of transportation, including bikes, Segways, and skateboards — should be banned from going against traffic on any of our streets.
Let them use their superhuman powers on the hills of Bradford Street.
Bob Nee
Provincetown
Overboard
To the editor:
Re last week’s letter from the editor [“Slow-Walking With Safire”], I am curious about his insistence upon “select board” rather than “selectboard” in reference to Wellfleet’s governing body. It seems to me that the compound word “selectboard” is a substitute for the compound word “selectmen,” a term that is inappropriately gender specific.
This said, I recognize that publications rely on their style guides for consistency and will not contest the explanation.
James McAuliffe
Wellfleet
We agree on the gender argument. But we rely on Merriam-Webster, mostly, for guidance on word usage, and “selectboard” is not in the dictionary. All other Outer Cape towns have two-word select boards, so we would have to enforce an inconsistency in the paper to honor Wellfleet’s deviance. And we dread usage creep leading to “planningboard,” “healthboard,” and “licensingboard.” —Editor
