A few years ago, the town put together a transportation plan. This is a difficult undertaking in a community with a small population living in a large area. Efforts were made to examine the needs of pedestrians and cyclists, as well as to consider transit options. During the planning stage, a number of cyclists, myself included, met with some of the planning consultants and did a ride around the community to examine areas in need of improvement. A group of walkers met with others from the planning firm to have a walking tour to discuss pedestrian issues.

The results have been impressive.

Bike lanes have already been added to a couple of streets where they were badly needed. Another bike lane is being considered for a portion of the highway which receives a lot of summer tourist bike traffic. Problem intersections and unsafe town streets were identified. The need for bike racks in the downtown area has been identified. Sidewalks and walking paths have been identified and in some cases, they have been put in. This has happened in the last three or four years.

Two major roads are now undergoing upgrade work and special emphasis has been put on making sure there are sidewalks and bike lanes in place.

The transportation plan and the community plan are supposed to work together. (There are other plans including a water plan, an electrical plan and an environmental plan.) If the various plans are followed, I see the potential for some great things happening, although the changes will not come quickly. The danger, as I see it, is that a future council could see some of the recommendations as too expensive and could work to make amendments to omit some important features. However, at this point, I prefer optimism.