Tele-Talk responses: Would you rather see the expansion of the rec path first go toward Fryeburg or Bartlett?

There were 37 responses to this week’s Tele-Talk question: “Would you rather see the expansion of the rec path first go toward Fryeburg or Bartlett?” It was an even split between the two options, but several people also suggested both and a couple of responses wanted neither.

My first reaction is to build in both directions and have a trail that people will use to travel safely around the valley. It is most likely a choice, and that choice should be to build to connect with the Mountain Division Trail in Fryeburg. There is a good chance that within the next few years, the MDT will be completed from where it ends now near the Brownfield border all the way to Portland, Maine — a 60-mile linear park. A decision on a 31-mile section between Standish, Maine, and Fryeburg will be made soon. A trail connecting the Mount Washington Valley and Portland will be huge for the valley as well as the nine towns in Maine along the trail. Tourists will ride in both directions, benefiting both of our state economies and creating wonderful connections between communities. As the saying goes: If you build it, they will come. Dave