Stop the Messes

Every winter the town of Rockport blocks off the undeveloped section of Beauchamp Point Road. A hill of dirt and a stop sign at either end do the trick. This stretch of coast, protected from development by the Rockport Conservation Commission, is lovely: the forested hills slope steeply down to the shore, and the shore is wild, with several ledges clearly designed for sunning and poking. The dog remembers those ledges and pulls on the leash to be liberated (fat chance).

The banning of cars in winter doesn't quite make sense, of course. There's almost no traffic, it's too cold for sitting on the rocks, tourists don't stroll on icy dirt roads. I can only think that the lawyers have spoken: the road is hilly, and slippery, and narrow, and there are no guard rails to catch Cadillacs in mid-spin.

The high-minded among us would ban cars in the summer, to preserve the illusion that this serene half-mile is not surrounded by hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate, and to make it a little more difficult to carry in picnics and leave messes. But that would raise the perennial problem of parking. The mansions on the south end would not be interested in a glut of cars on Mechanic Street (how would the lawn guys, the cooks, the maids get in?), and on the north end, the saltwater farm could make a strong case that cars are not a crop. Best leave the road open but unimproved, just bumpy and dirty enough to discourage the punters.