Editor:

   I have been reading the newspaper accounts about the proposed recreation path on Shore Road, and I have to caution that the air of inevitability with which town officials are discussing the project may be premature. This path will be an enormous undertaking, and it seems to me that the initial concept plan conflicts quite directly with the objectives that the town council set forth for a successful outcome. In particular, the fact that the path comes so close to the road in many locations directly contradicts the stated desire to have a five-foot buffer, protecting a five-foot wide path, away from the road. Safety is not paramount in this design, and it should be.

   This is just one concern that the concept plan has generated. I think Cape Elizabeth taxpayers will have many more. A de-facto political action committee to promote the path has been in high gear for many months, but I urge Cape residents who haven’t paid much attention yet to start doing so.

   As a town I think we’ve only scratched the surface of what I believe will be a long, protracted and very complex debate.

Faith McLean

Cape Elizabeth