Picture a 38-foot wide, barren, chunky gravel roadbed.
It ranges from 500 feet to half a mile from a river that can’t be seen nor heard.
Unleashed pets and piles of dog feces far outnumber any visible wildlife.
This is the current state of the unfinished, half-mile section of Towne Road that opponents are pushing to ban through vehicle traffic.
This levee is not the idyllic nature path that people are promoting.
The argument that this road needs to remain closed for walking is misleading.
Never mind the numerous miles of trails on the Olympic Discovery Trail, in Robin Hill County Park and elsewhere.
Just west of Towne Road there are nearly two miles of vehicle-free, new levees meandering through open farmland connecting walkers to the river’s edge.
This is the designed and completed pedestrian-specific recreational area that proponents the Towne Road closure are failing to mention.
The paths exist today and are open for public use regardless of any future paving.
People want to stop the reopening of Towne Road with the argument that a wide roadbed should become a walking trail.
This is a misguided and inappropriate argument that could erase a vital link for an entire community.
I’m in disbelief that the county commissioners would halt such a massive project to entertain this notion.
Doug Miner
Sequim