Editor:

  I’m pleased to see the new sidewalks and planted esplanades going in along Route 1 at Dunstan Corner.  We in Scarborough need to slow down, get out of our cars and meet our neighbors, and building sidewalks is one way to help this happen.

  I’d like to draw attention to one significant part of this project that did not happen.  Apparently, the owners of Dunstan Plaza, the commercial strip mall across from the Mobil station, chose not to grant an easement to the Town to construct a sidewalk across the edge of their parking lot, even though there appears to be more than ample space to accommodate a sidewalk and esplanade. As a result of their decision, the crisp new concrete sidewalk and strip of green grass will be interrupted at Dunstan Plaza by a couple hundred feet of broken weedy asphalt. 

  I’m sure it’s within their legal rights to turn down the town’s request, but it’s hard for me to understand how a business owner could not see the value of participating in a community project like this one.  

  Congratulations to the planning department, the MDOT and to everybody else who made this happen.  I hope that the folks at Dunstan Plaza, Inc. will reconsider the statement they’ve chosen to make to their neighbors.

Bob Curtis

Scarborough