To the editor:

Before the Town of Westport decides to spend money on a fool’s errand by changing the direction of the East Beach Road again and then paving a parking lot that will soon wash away, the town and the public might be better served by rebuilding and re-paving the roadbed of John Reed Road, which is actually a town road that is rapidly beginning to compete with the non-manageable conditions of the roads in the Fall River-Freetown State Forest. 

It would be interesting to know, also, what percentage of the folks who own those unsightly mobile homes along the beach road, are residents of Westport. It also seems a bit absurd to dive in and interfere with folks who just want to stop along the beach, read  a newspaper, watch the boats go by and enjoy the view of the Elizabeth Islands for a few minutes of their lives, in favor of a stickered parking lot, which so few will use over the course of a year, it will be ridiculous to have "improved" the beach — a facility which, after the very first high intensity northeaster, will wash away.

Further to the point, that entire area is considered to be a barrier beach, on which no permanent structures are supposed to be erected [See: MA 310 CMR - Wetlands Protection], which, in my opinion, roadways and parking lots are considered to be. Secondly, that area has, at least during the past 15 years, rapidly disappeared as a "beach" in the sense of the word which the general public would understand. It has become a cobble beach, stony and difficult to walk on, where it is easy to turn an ankle. After appraising a few properties along that beach, I can report that the beach has dramatically changed its characteristics over the past 15 years, including a large erosion of its frontage along East Beach Road, as evidenced by the first moving of the roadbed.     

So, rather than leaving well enough alone, some half-pint pipsqueak of a purported town official is running around flexing his muscles, planning to eviscerate a very simple, common place of very limited public gatherings where people may enjoy a view or short walk for a few minutes of their lives, reveling in the Atlantic Coast and its beauty, to a paved, limited parking facility which destroys the natural characteristics of the place … for what? To satisfy bureaucratic ego? God help us.

Bernard P. Giroux

South Dartmouth