Editors, Vineyard Gazette;
I am concerned that the bike path that runs along Veterans Park is closed for 14 days during the three-day Beach Road Music Festival every summer. My children, their friends, myself, my neighbors and their children, and all the other people who constantly use this bike path to safely get in and out of town are re-routed into harm’s way for two weeks.
The alternatives are State Road or Skiff avenue which are both very dangerous. Each of those routes has seen a fatal bicycle accident.
Why does this bike path need to be closed for so long and why can’t a compromise be reached. Town voters at the 2009 Tisbury annual town meeting voted and allotted funding for the construction of this bike path to ensure public safety. The extended, 14-day closure of the path during the height of the summer does just the opposite and sends bicycling families up dangerous roads.
The avoidable tragedy of a child, bicyclist or pedestrian being seriously injured or killed because of this closed bike path would be heartbreaking to the families and the town. Hopefully, the selectmen will take action on this issue in time for next year’s concert.
Silvia Vogt
Vineyard Haven
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