Proposed Sidewalk is Unnecessary

To the Editor:
For seven months of the year I either drive, bike or walk on Beach Avenue in North Cape May at least once per day at varying times of the day. I am having a difficult time understanding the urgency and need for constructing a new sidewalk on the bay side of Beach Ave. It has been proposed as a safety measure for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists but it does not appear to address or solve to any degree, all the safety concerns. New sidewalk or not, motorists will always have to be extremely vigilant when using Beach Ave. because of the walkers and bikers.
Numerous pedestrians have chosen to walk in the street because they are more comfortable walking there than on a sidewalk. They have not gone to the street because the current sidewalk is too crowded for them. I believe the addition of a new sidewalk will not lure a significant number of walkers from the street. Avid walkers seem to prefer the streets whenever possible. I also can’t imagine bikers rushing to the new sidewalk and, quite honestly, they don’t belong there because there are laws for them to follow regarding riding on streets with traffic. One of the main problems with bicyclists is their riding two or more abreast and riding in the wrong direction compared to their motoring counterparts. A new sidewalk is not a cure for this either.
So, I must wonder and ask the following: If the current sidewalk is not overcrowded with walkers, and the bicyclists should be legally limited to the street, why do we need another sidewalk? For the sake of nature, why disturb and diminish the dunes and risk creating the potential for more vulnerability to flooding?
Assuming that a major goal of this project is beach access because of grant funding, I don’t see how access will be significantly different just because you step from a new sidewalk onto the sand. From that point on it is virtually the same walk from there to the bay as it is now with no additional relief to make the walk easier, especially on the elderly.
If there is grant money available for beach and sunset access, why not pursue one of the visions Mayor Beck favored during his fishing pier discussions and move in the direction of an updated and expanded gazebo, jetty, etc. with handicapped accessibility in the Douglas Park area for enjoying the view, sunsets and fishing. The mayor mentioned numerous times that the ferry entities were very much in favor of promoting the development of attractions in that general area inferring that ferry support would be almost a given.
Hopefully, this will not be a major expenditure that results in only minimal improvements when a different vision may provide more enjoyment, accessibility and service or usage for more people.