Steps are being taken to make Gloucester Point more of a "walkable community," county planning director Anne Ducey-Ortiz said during a town hall meeting Tuesday night.

Some residents could walk or bike on sidewalks or use neighborhood roads that might be reconfigured to help keep some traffic off Route 17, Ducey-Ortiz said.

But Hayes resident Peter Courtenay Stephens questioned the wisdom of Gloucester seeking federal dollars to support some of the Gloucester Point improvements. Stephens said that receiving federal dollars from a government heavily in debt is money that’s "stolen from the future."

Stephens criticized Gloucester for accepting federal dollars. County administrator Brenda Garton defended Ducey-Ortiz and the rest of county staff, indicating that Gloucester has done nothing wrong in applying for federal grants. Ducey-Ortiz said that applying for such grants does not mean Gloucester will actually receive them as they are often highly sought ...