OPINION

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OF THE FALMOUTH FORECASTER

LETTER FROM RANDY PERRY of Cousins Island

To the editor:

After reading Gerry Whitehouse's letter in the April 10 edition I felt a response was necessary.

How is it that Mr. Whitehouse has determined that Chebeague Islanders are "entitled to easy access to their homes?" If you choose to live on an island you must recognize and accept the cost and inconveniences associated with island living, as well as the quality of life that goes with island living.

When I moved to Maine in 1990, my wife and I wanted to live on an island, and since we would both be working in Portland we decided to look into "island life" on Peaks Island. Since I would be making frequent trips out of town by air, catching the 6:30 a.m. flights would be impossible, and God forbid I should get delayed on returning, how would I get home after the last ferry? In addition we determined it would cost approximately $750 per year per car to park in Portland, not to mention the cost of the daily ferry. Island living just wasn't practical.

Mr. Whitehouse should check his facts. If I'm not mistaken, CMP paid for the Cousins Island bridge (not the taxpayers) and sold it to the MDOT for $1. Cousins Island is a neighborhood. Our neighborhood has a posted speed limit of 25 mph and is not a four-lane highway like U.S. 1.

If there are currently 130 year-round households on Chebeague Island, and the plan is for 260 Chebeague Island year-round parking spaces, there should be plenty, unless each household keeps two cars on the mainland. Then I question whether they should be islanders (see above).

For the summer residents that spend a week or two, why isn't the Casco Bay Ferry a solution? If you have traveled hours to get to Portland, what is the difference whether you spend an hour on the ferry taking in the beauty of the coast of Maine or 25 minutes driving to Cousins Island for a 15 minute ferry ride?

We would like to be good neighbors. We feel we also deserve respect for our quality of life.