In Danville, "Cross" Road is a 200+ year old dirt road laid out through private property and once was used to transport lumber from North Danville to the sawmill in Brentwood. Today, Cross Road is not maintained by the town, is still a narrow dirt road, and has only one house half way down the road.
In 1954, the voters of Danville approved a vote to "close to public travel the road from Beach Plain Road to Back Road" (Cross Road). Because the legal status of Cross Road is unclear, myself, other abutters, and other registered voters have proposed a petitioned warrant article for the 2012 Town Meeting to use the correct legal language "to discontinue" instead of "to close" the Cross Road.
The 2012 warrant article will clarify that the road is no longer open for "public travel" as stated in the 1954 warrant article. Because of the poor traveling conditions of the road, the road is generally used only by the abutters to access their own property. Unless private property is posted to prohibit access or certain uses, the public generally retains the privilege to go onto another persons property for recreational purposes such as walking, fishing, and hunting. The discontinuance of public travel on Cross Road is not intended to exclude persons who wish to enjoy low impact outdoor activities that respect the use of private property and the conservation of the natural resources on it.
Please vote "Yes" on the Danville warrant article to support the request of the abutters and petitioners to discontinue Cross Road to public travel. Thank you.
Frank Boksanske
Danville
