LYME — Town officials are again exploring what to do with a roughly 600-foot section of River Road that’s now bypassed by a new roadway through nearby farmland.

Some neighbors want to see the old portion of the road — which was closed for several years due to structural concerns — turned into a trail for pedestrians and cyclists.

But others argue it should remain open to some form of vehicular traffic, especially in the wintertime when traveling on the bypass can be difficult.

The future of the road is likely to be decided at Town Meeting in March. The Selectboard is in the process of crafting a warrant article, although it’s not yet clear what route it will recommend.

“There will be (a warrant article),” Dina Cutting, the Selectboard’s administrative assistant, said last week. “As to what it says, right now, it’s not developed.”

The Selectboard, she said, is soliciting input from neighbors and plans to work over the next month to put forward a proposal before the February deadline for new warrant articles.

Comments collected during a public forum earlier this month show broad support for turning the old section of the road into a walkable, bikeable path. However, neighbors diverged on how to make that a reality.

Former Lyme Selectboard member Sue MacKenzie said she favors turning the old roadway into a Class A trail.

Doing so would allow non-residents to continue to walk and bike the road while also providing abutters access via their cars, MacKenzie, who also lives on River Road, said in an audio recording of the meeting.

But at least three neighboring landowners are asking the town to discontinue the road, reverting ownership to private interests that would in turn provide an easement.

That idea was put forward by Mike Smith, who said the easement would allow for “bikes, walking, hiking and non-motorized vehicles” on the safer, east portion of the road.

The proposal drew push back however from Conservation Commission Blake Allison, who pointed to broad community support for town ownership and talk of a possible park. Residents during Town Meeting in March largely supported turning the section of River Road into a Class VI road or a public trail, while just a handful wished to discontinue the road and allow the adjoining property owners to control access.

Others who participated in the forum called on the road to stay open as an alternative to the bypass.

“I think the new bypass is going to be quite treacherous in the winter and I’m worried a lot about going up and over that hill in both directions,” said Phil Kinsler, who added that he would rather see a single lane of the old road open both ways during winter months.

The bypass, he said, opened in November to two-way traffic. The project’s completion was delayed because of the time it took crews to install guardrails, which had to be drilled in through ledge.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.