Traffic issues in Cape Elizabeth prompted about a dozen residents Thursday to share their ideas and opinions with the town’s Roadway Safety/Traffic Calming Working Group.

The goal of the public forum at the town hall was to collect input on what residents envisioned on three points: traffic calming policies, specific areas for pedestrian and bicycle safety improvement and ideas for rethinking the town center.

Councilwoman Cynthia Dill, who sits on the roadway group and led the meeting, opened the event by handing out red and yellow stickers and pointing to a large map of the town. Attendees were invited to put a red sticker where they thought traffic calming was needed and yellow stickers on areas that needed to be more pedestrian friendly.

“It’s a fun way to have a pictorial of what people’s concerns are,” said Dill.

She said her initial interest in the roads was raised by her inability to easily cross the street while walking through the town center from her Shore Road home. “I like to walk to the post office and IGA,” she said.

As people made their way to the map, yellow and red started to fill in various roads and intersections, with concentrations at the town center, Mitchell Road and Shore Road – especially near South Portland.

When it was time to offer ideas and suggestions about these problem areas, several residents mentioned installing speed bumps or using movable speed bumps to surprise speeders.

Cape Elizabeth Police Chief Neil Williams, a road safety committee member, said that the department is often asked about installing speed bumps, but he said the town needs more direction in its planning than just adding bumps.

“Would the town accept us paying for speed bumps?” asked Erik Peterson, an Oakhurst Road resident, who said his neighbors are willing to donate money for such a project. He also proposed that Oakhurst Road have a digital speed display so nearly everyone in the neighborhood could read it.

Residents and the panel agreed that work was needed on the town center design. Discussion focused on the intersection of Route 77 where Shore Road goes east and Scott Dyer Road goes west. Design questions were also raised about traffic at the high school entrance.

The town has had several proposals over the years for development of the town center. One such idea would be to straighten the Scott Dyer Road and Shore Road at the intersection with Route 77 so the two roads would be directly opposite each other, and install a traffic light. A second idea would be to install median strips and increase the angles of the two roads so they met Route 77 in two distinctly separate spots. The possibility of adding lights to this scenario was brought up at the forum.

Piotrek Stamieszkin, of Granite Ridge Road, asked if another light would be installed at the high school entrance, and if so, it would make sense to include it in the town center plans to ensure three lights were not installed with in a couple hundred feet of each other.

Several residents also raised concerns about bicycle safety.

“There are places on the Shore Road where the surface is so broken it is impossible to bike,” said Stamieszkin. He also mentioned that the shoulders on Route 77 and Mitchell Road needed repair.

“It’s too bad kids can’t ride to school,” said Peterson.

Councilor Carolyn Fritz, another member of the road safety committee, said kids could be educated on shortcuts to get safely around town.

Several voices chimed in disagreement to this statement. “There is no safe way to get from North Cape to town center safely,” said Peterson. He said the town would be wise to consider putting in a dirt path or trails separated from the roads.

Gary Beckwith, who participated in a pedal and pedestrians committee that examined similar issues in 1995 -96, said the town had considered such an idea earlier, but results showed that to construct lasting paths they would need to be almost as wide as a private road.

“You’re not looking at the issue as a cyclist,” said Peter Rich of Smuggler Cove Road. He said when the issue was previously addressed, committees said that if people really wanted to get to Fort Williams, they could drive. Rich argued that if a committee is serious about promoting alternative means of transportation, it needs to consider bicycling as a serious choice.

The eight members of the roadway working group will be meeting with town planners, the Maine Department of Transportation and others before reporting back to the public. Richard Berman, a developer and member of the group, said that would probably be by next spring.

Forum airs Cape traffic issuesMapping traffic hot spots in Cape Elizabeth during a forum on Thursday were, from left,