It certainly appears that there has been absolutely no consideration of traffic issues in the Foster Street and Cloudman Street neighborhoods in relationship to the intentions of Westbrook Housing Authority and the city to allow an entrance into the Hay project from the end of the Foster Field parking lot.

Having lived in this neighborhood for 21 of the last 26 years, the traffic and congestion is steadily making an already existing problem grow into something far worse.

I supported the Old High School renovation project with assurances I would be involved in meetings that address traffic and other neighborhood issues. To date, I’ve never heard a word about the subject.

I never heard anything from the city when the decision was made to build the access ramp from the Post Office into Foster Field Parking lot, effectively making the lot a road. To be fair to all readers and others involved, the building of the access ramp between the Post Office parking lot and the Foster field parking lot occurred before the Old High School project. There isn’t a person reading this who hasn’t used the parking lot as a road to cut through Foster Street, quickly turning down Cloudman, and out Dunn Street. I cannot go out my door without traffic on a narrow street, intended for a half dozen homes.

The surface on Foster Street hasn’t been renewed in at least 26 years. When a neighbor built the two rental buildings at the end of Foster Street, he was forced to pave the street in front of his property at his own expense and labor. Foster and Cloudman Streets were never intended to carry the volume of traffic they now bear. The present condition of the streets show this fact, quite well.

The true source of the entire problem is the poor planning that allowed the Post Office to be located in its present location. The traffic light on Main and Spring needs to be revamped allowing Post Office traffic to enter and leave more effectively. A good answer would be for Post Office Patrons to enter the present, right-turn only exit driveway, while exiting traffic uses the present, entrance only driveway, using a revamped traffic signal. The access ramp into Foster Field parking lot should be blocked off, forcing traffic to use the actual streets designed to bear high volume.

As for the Hay project, if an entrance does become reality, extending from the end of the Foster Field parking lot into the condominium cluster and dumps onto Ash Street, how long will it take before traffic is charging down through the Post Office parking lot, down the access ramp into Foster Field parking lot, quickly taking a left, speeding through the condo cluster onto Ash Street, along the boardwalk, and ending up taking a quick hard right onto Bridge Street, avoiding downtown congestion? Anyone remember Monroe Avenue? Anyone remember what happened at the CVS parking lot?

Carson Wood

Westbrook

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