Spotting a speeder coming down William Henry Drive at about 7:45 a.m. Monday, Carla Eagles handed her dog’s leash to her son and ran from the driveway to the road’s edge.

“Slow down,” she yelled, pointing at the motorist.

Eagles is one of the residents of Teran Street, William Henry Drive, Adeline Drive and Solomon Drive who want Gorham to install raised traffic tables to slow rush-hour traffic. Commuters are driving through their neighborhood to beat bumper-to-bumper traffic in Gorham Village.

Money to build a proposed bypass around Gorham Village is included in a federal transportation bill currently being discussed in a joint Congressional conference. A spokesman for Rep. Tom Allen said Tuesday that the Senate version of the transportation bill is larger than the one approved by the House. Now, congressional conferees are working on a compromise for Congress to approve, giving the bill its best chance of being signed by President George Bush.

Meanwhile, without a bypass, commuters are winding their way through Gorham’s residential neighborhoods to avoid traffic in the Village. The route of many of the commuters traveling through Eagles’ neighborhood takes them from Route 25 (west of Gorham Village) to Cressey Road, Narragansett Street, Teran Street, William Henry Drive, Adeline Drive, Solomon Drive and Weeks Road, which leads to South Street (Route 114) south of the village.

Police Officer Mike Nault said commuters are also using Access Road, Morrill Avenue, Church Street, College Avenue and Day Road “to skirt the village.”

While she waits for the school bus with her son, Chris, who is a second-grade student, Eagles runs to the street trying to slow down the traffic when it looks like motorists are exceeding the 25 miles-per-hour speed limit. She said one guy went up and over the sidewalk trying to get away from her.

“I’ve gotten into arguments,” Eagles said.

As they approach, some motorists see her standing along the street and slow down. Once they have passed by her, some gun it, also defying a slow cone in the middle of the street. Eagles is one of three residents on her street who put out slow cones provided by Gorham Police. Eagles and her husband, Steven, have lived on William Henry Drive six years but have been in Gorham for 12 years.

Their son has come close to being struck by a car. “He hit his head on the mailbox getting out of the way,” she said. “Every kid in the neighborhood has had a near miss.”

Eagles recognizes faces and sometimes takes license plate numbers of traffic violators and calls them into police. She said police do patrol their street, but can’t be there all the time.

Steve Lewis of William Henry Drive said it’s an ordeal to get out of his driveway. “It’s just wide enough so people cruise on it,” he said.

He said motorists are indignant and some shout obscenities at residents asking them to slow down. Road rage is an ongoing problem for residents there. “I’ve seen a lot of fingers,” Lewis said.

Lewis said they have a good sense of neighborhood. “It’s our neighborhood. We’re trying to take it back,” he said.

Tim Sposato of Lucina Terrace, which connects with Teran Street, said the traffic is pretty bad. He said an obstacle is needed to slow traffic down before someone gets killed.

“It’s an accident waiting to happen,” he said Monday while walking his dog.

Arthur Bolles of William Henry Drive told the Town Council last week that the neighborhood has walkers, joggers and rollerbladers and needs a permanent solution to the traffic problem. “They blow right through the stop signs,” Bolles said. “We are the current Gorham Bypass.”

Another resident agreed. “We are indeed the bypass,” said Sonja Frey, a 20-year resident of Solomon Drive.

Steve Tewhey, who has lived on Solomon Drive for eight years, said the situation is getting worsem, and Debra Poissant of Teran Street said she would like to see a remedy before something happens to children.

The Town Council authorized Town Manager David Cole to spend up to $5,000 in a study of traffic problems on William Henry Drive, Solomon Drive, Adeline Drive and Teran Street. In addition to authorizing money for a study, the council referred the neighborhood concerns to the town’s Capital Improvement/Economic Development Committee.

Eagles hopes the town will approve raised traffic tables to slow things down. “They won’t solve all the problems but would put a huge dent in the way people drive,” Eagles said. “The town needs to address the traffic flow issue.”

That commuter traffic through her neighborhood flows past the entrance to the new Gorham Middle School on Weeks Road. School crossing guard Paul Miller said the commuters were cutting through the neighborhoods.

“Sometimes you think it’s the Maine Turnpike,” he said.

Eagles isn’t holding her breath for a bypass. She said its been in the works for at least 20 years, and she heard it would take three more years of study after the money became available. “Ask anyone around town about the bypass. The famous Gorham bypass – sure,” she said.

Carla Eagles eyes a car approaching her driveway in Gorham.

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