To the editor:

Having lived my entire life in Barrington, I have reaped the benefits of traveling South Lake Drive. I have enjoyed all the magnificent beauty that nature provided. Skating, fishing, bird-watching, watching the herring run, painting the landscape, catching frogs, watching birds, ducks and swans. This is to name just a few things. This treasure, I went on to share with my children and grandchildren. Some of my most cherished memories are of taking my elderly mother weekly on a slow drive down South Lake Drive.

It is most curious to me that this treasure was lost to upkeep by the town to the point that the road became deplorable. The Town Manager Jim Cunha sighted at one point in the Barrington Times that the RI Country Club owned the road. The Town Solicitor later clarified that this was a town owned road. How do we lose a road?

If you had visited the South Lake Drive location, one would have thought the RI Country Club owned the road since there were huge mounds of sod deposited as well as discarded tree stumps on the side of the road. It was shocking to me that this sod was so close to fragile wetlands. The sod likely rich with chemicals would negatively impact this fragile ecosystem. One small stream appeared occluded by one sod pile.

I commented to my daughter and grandchildren it appears paradise is lost. When Councilor Carl Kustell drove down South Lake Drive and declared it was too dangerous to keep open, I hope he asked himself how did this happen. How did this road become so dangerous and deplorable? How did Barrington forget to care for this road? The road in my opinion is unsafe at this point for running, walking or riding a bike. I firmly believe the town should fix the road so that we can all enjoy this iconic place in Barrington. The repairs should allow cars to once again drive down this beautiful road.

Katheryn Rosener

Barrington