Trying to get there from here
By David Harry
Staff Writer
In front of Lorinda Nelson’s County Road (Route 22) home, westbound traffic extends through two intersections almost every afternoon.
Vehicles waiting for a green light at Gorham Road (Route 114) stretch to Saco Street, where drivers attempting right turns inch into the intersection.
She said she does not count them, but Nelson is certain there are now more vehicles waiting through rush hour traffic than when she moved in 19 years ago. Controlling or diverting the increased traffic will be part of the discussion at a public hearing from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Gorham Municipal Building on Route 25.
The hearing is the first held by the Gorham East-West Corridor Study Group, which spokesman Carol Morris said is charged with creating recommendations on future transportation methods, land use and road construction.
Created by the Maine Legislature in 2007 and overseen by the Department of Transportation and Maine Turnpike Authority, the study group is comprised of officials from those departments and the towns of Gorham, Westbrook, Scarborough and South Portland.
In Scarborough, Town Planner Dan Bacon and Town Manager Tom Hall are on the group’s steering committee. Planning Director Tex Haueser and City Manager James Gailey represent South Portland on the committee.
Although she enjoys using the Gorham bypass opened in December 2008 and thinks increased traffic is inevitable, Nelson recalls calmer days.
“It was actually pretty quiet, most of the traffic went down Route 114 (Gorham Road) to the mall,” she said about moving into an area her late husband’s family has lived in for more than 160 years.
Now geraniums are intertwined with a lattice on the porch to preserve some privacy, Nelson said. A portable gate keeps her dog, Hope, from leaving the porch and running toward the road.
Nelson said she would have preferred additional lanes in each direction instead of a single left turn lane that was installed several years ago when the Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway stores opened across the street, where traffic has increased “by hundreds of cars, hundreds.”
Morris said concluding that a turnpike spur road to Gorham will be built is premature because the corridor study group is considering a wide range of issues and options.
While the legislative resolve creating the study seeks opinion on the feasibility of connecting Gorham to the turnpike, a state law enacted in 1991 requires transportation alternatives and the environmental effects of road construction must be considered before any new roads are built. The same resolve directed a similar study for Sanford.
As it seeks public comment on traffic, road construction and land management, Morris said the group will present “purpose and needs statement.”
The statement defines the purpose and methods of the study, including evaluating current and future transportation “deficiencies,” while identifying choices that help reduce transportation costs and promote more efficient travel.
“You can’t plan transportation on a town by town basis,” she said.
Morris said more than 60 high crash locations – defined by the DOT as areas where at least eight accidents causing severe injuries have occurred in a three-year period – have been identified in the areas of study.
Bacon said the congestion at the confluence of routes 114 and 22 is a primary consideration for the group.
“We need to play a role in solutions, they may involve Scarborough properties,” Bacon said. He said resolving congestion along Gorham Road from Payne Road near the Maine Turnpike to Gorham and beyond “is an area of interest.”
Along Gorham Road, resident Peggy French said increased traffic has helped bring customers to the hair salon near the intersection she has owned for 19 years.
“I never advertise,” she said about drawing customers, but added it can be hard to make left turns from the salon parking lot.
French said traffic flow from Payne Road to County Road is good even in rush hour and drivers have always been cordial about allowing her customers to leave the salon lot.
Across the street, the screech of brakes on a tank truck hauling gasoline punctuated Doug Wedge’s comments about living on Route 114.
“Every year it gets worse,” he said about the five years he and his wife Jen have lived on the road. “There are more and more cars and a lot of accidents.”
Unaware of the study group, Wedge said he would be unhappy if Route 114 was expanded near his home.
“Bypass it, don’t widen it,” he said.
Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219
Staff Writer
In front of Lorinda Nelson’s County Road (Route 22) home, westbound traffic extends through two intersections almost every afternoon.
Vehicles waiting for a green light at Gorham Road (Route 114) stretch to Saco Street, where drivers attempting right turns inch into the intersection.
She said she does not count them, but Nelson is certain there are now more vehicles waiting through rush hour traffic than when she moved in 19 years ago. Controlling or diverting the increased traffic will be part of the discussion at a public hearing from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Gorham Municipal Building on Route 25.
The hearing is the first held by the Gorham East-West Corridor Study Group, which spokesman Carol Morris said is charged with creating recommendations on future transportation methods, land use and road construction.
Created by the Maine Legislature in 2007 and overseen by the Department of Transportation and Maine Turnpike Authority, the study group is comprised of officials from those departments and the towns of Gorham, Westbrook, Scarborough and South Portland.
In Scarborough, Town Planner Dan Bacon and Town Manager Tom Hall are on the group’s steering committee. Planning Director Tex Haueser and City Manager James Gailey represent South Portland on the committee.
Although she enjoys using the Gorham bypass opened in December 2008 and thinks increased traffic is inevitable, Nelson recalls calmer days.
“It was actually pretty quiet, most of the traffic went down Route 114 (Gorham Road) to the mall,” she said about moving into an area her late husband’s family has lived in for more than 160 years.
Now geraniums are intertwined with a lattice on the porch to preserve some privacy, Nelson said. A portable gate keeps her dog, Hope, from leaving the porch and running toward the road.
Nelson said she would have preferred additional lanes in each direction instead of a single left turn lane that was installed several years ago when the Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway stores opened across the street, where traffic has increased “by hundreds of cars, hundreds.”
Morris said concluding that a turnpike spur road to Gorham will be built is premature because the corridor study group is considering a wide range of issues and options.
While the legislative resolve creating the study seeks opinion on the feasibility of connecting Gorham to the turnpike, a state law enacted in 1991 requires transportation alternatives and the environmental effects of road construction must be considered before any new roads are built. The same resolve directed a similar study for Sanford.
As it seeks public comment on traffic, road construction and land management, Morris said the group will present “purpose and needs statement.”
The statement defines the purpose and methods of the study, including evaluating current and future transportation “deficiencies,” while identifying choices that help reduce transportation costs and promote more efficient travel.
“You can’t plan transportation on a town by town basis,” she said.
Morris said more than 60 high crash locations – defined by the DOT as areas where at least eight accidents causing severe injuries have occurred in a three-year period – have been identified in the areas of study.
Bacon said the congestion at the confluence of routes 114 and 22 is a primary consideration for the group.
“We need to play a role in solutions, they may involve Scarborough properties,” Bacon said. He said resolving congestion along Gorham Road from Payne Road near the Maine Turnpike to Gorham and beyond “is an area of interest.”
Along Gorham Road, resident Peggy French said increased traffic has helped bring customers to the hair salon near the intersection she has owned for 19 years.
“I never advertise,” she said about drawing customers, but added it can be hard to make left turns from the salon parking lot.
French said traffic flow from Payne Road to County Road is good even in rush hour and drivers have always been cordial about allowing her customers to leave the salon lot.
Across the street, the screech of brakes on a tank truck hauling gasoline punctuated Doug Wedge’s comments about living on Route 114.
“Every year it gets worse,” he said about the five years he and his wife Jen have lived on the road. “There are more and more cars and a lot of accidents.”
Unaware of the study group, Wedge said he would be unhappy if Route 114 was expanded near his home.
“Bypass it, don’t widen it,” he said.
Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219
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