Park service seeks feedback for Fire Island pathway concepts

The Fire Island National Seashore recently held a public workshop to gauge local interest in potential pathways connecting Fire Island communities to improve safety and accessibility.

The National Seashore is seeking public feedback on possible formal pathways that would connect the Fire Island Lighthouse with Kismet and Fire Island Pines with Cherry Grove through public workshops this summer. The first workshop was held last Friday at Whyte Hall in Fire Island Pines, with around 50 residents in attendance.

To travel on land between The Pines and Cherry Grove, people have to walk either across the beach or a series of sand and dirt pathways that include a number of winding side “social” trails leading to dead ends in the beachside dunes or bayside forest. To travel between the Fire Island Lighthouse and Kismet on land, pedestrians must share Burma Road with motorized vehicles, bikes, and pedicabs.

Alexcy Romero, superintendent of the Fire Island National Seashore, discussed options for potential formal pathways and told attendees at the first public feedback meeting that concepts are still in early stages.

Romero said the National Seashore is looking into creating formal pathways between these communities to enhance visitor and resident safety, improve accessibility, and to reduce environmental damage caused by informal pathways.

“This project objective really is to get feedback from the communities on these proposed pathways,” Romero said. “The community engagement component really, as I like to describe it, gives us a viable check on what the community response is on what could be a potential opportunity for us to explore through federal funding.”

Romero clarified that no funding has been provided towards any project or plan for pathways. The feedback the National Seashore receives from residents and beachgoers about the pathway concepts, Romero said, would help potential contractors identify what plans would best suit the needs of Fire Islanders.

Options for pathways include an elevated boardwalk made of wood or composite material similar to pathways in Sunken Forrest and near the lighthouse, or portable roll-out pathways similar to those leading directly to certain beaches.

The National Seashore said elevated pathways would reduce environmental damage over dunes and sensitive vegetation, and have long life spans and include viewing areas and interpretive signage, which Romero suggested could include local history spotlights.

These elevated platforms are more expensive, though, and require engineering for stability as the sand below shifts.

The current pathways concept between Kismet and the Fire Island Lighthouse would run alongside Burma Road, while the Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines pathway would run along the half-mile sand and dirt pathway, known officially as The Judy Garland Memorial Pathway, or the Carrington Tract, after the estate of the same name on the western edge of The Pines.

The current design in The Pines would start at Ocean Walk and end at Lewis Walk in Cherry Grove, but the concept is amenable.

Some residents, while agreeing there should be more accessibility connecting communities, raised concerns about preserving the Carrington Tract’s character and natural landscape, and whether an official pathway would mean more commercial carts passing through. Officially, only emergency service and official vehicles are allowed to cross through the Carrington Tract.

Contractors in Cherry Grove and the Fire Island Pines often use motorized carts, which are allowed through a permit with the Town of Brookhaven, but some residents have said some drivers speed on pedestrian walkways too fast and without looking. One person at the public workshop said a driver nearly struck them after turning without looking while walking to the meeting.

Another attendee, a member of the Cherry Grove Fire Department, also raised concerns about how an official boardwalk would impact emergency-service vehicles from entering the forest and traveling between communities.

Romero said the numerous layers of local, state, and federal municipalities that control Fire Island make it difficult to figure out projects, but that such planning would be worked out.

“Right now, it’s all just initial thoughts,” Romero said about the pathway concepts. “That’s why I started this conversation just to get some feedback to understand what the position was from the community to see if we need to move forward with this.”

The Fire Island National Seashore will host another public workshop regarding formal pathways on Aug. 14 at the Kismet Firehouse, and online at a later date.