Did you know Cabela’s is not a Haigis Parkway project? It really isn’t to Scarborough residents. It’s a Payne Road project, because the only way to enter or exit Cabela’s currently will be from Payne Road.

Most everyone I’ve spoken with in town about this project didn’t know that. Their next question is: “Where is Cabela’s going to be, then?” And I tell them the site is immediately south of the toll booth on Payne Road, where an old, abandoned farm still stands today. The property goes from Payne Road back to the northbound exit ramp coming off the highway. The only way to enter and exit this land is from Payne Road. So, Cabela’s proposed building site is not on the Haigis Parkway at all. It’s on Payne Road, south of the intersection of Payne Road and Haigis Parkway and Exit 42. For the purpose of identification here, let’s call the part of Payne Road that runs from Exit 42 to Route One “Payne Road South.” Let’s also agree on the fact that Cabela’s proposed site is on Payne Road South.

Now, I live on Payne Road South, less than a half mile from this proposed site. I bought this home in the summer of 2000. This is the third placed I’ve lived in Scarborough and I suppose I could always move again. But I like it here on Payne Road. I like my neighbors and our neighborhood. I am all for Cabela’s coming to Scarborough, and for preserving our residential neighborhoods at the same time. I believe we can accomplish both if we want.

Traffic is the killer here on Payne Road South. And it has been steadily increasing every year since I moved in. People in the neighborhood thought the Haigis Parkway would have taken a lot of the traffic away from Payne Road South, and instead traffic has only increased. Just last week while out waiting for the bus with one of my kids, a fully loaded logging truck flew past us. Because we could not get more speed-limit signs posted, we hung our own cardboard signs from the telephone poles.

Just down the road (in another Payne Road South neighborhood) the backup to the Route 1 intersection begins. It’s a constant, steady stream of everything, twisting and winding through residential neighborhoods that call Payne Road South home.

Cabela’s says we should expect 3 million visitors a year. That’s 8,219 new visitors to Payne Road South every day, using simple math. Cabela’s says 75 percent of these visitors will come from the highway and 25 percent from local roads. That’s 6,164 and 2,055 new visitors respectively, every day. We all know these numbers will spike at certain times of the year and be flat at other times.

Right now, the plan is all visitors coming and going to Cabela’s will travel on Payne Road South. Payne Road South can’t handle this additional traffic, and neither can our Exit 42. Who are we kidding? And Cabela’s is only the beginning of what is to come for the Haigis Parkway corridor. What we need is both residential neighborhood preservation and economic development at the same time. What should we do? Here are some of my ideas:

For starters, why in the world would Cabela’s want to build on this piece of property? They say they want to be right out on the highway where everyone can see them, but this property isn’t even on the highway, only the northbound exit ramp. If I were Cabela’s, I’d go buy the Holiday Inn Express in Saco, with its own exit and entrance ramps onto the highway, and local access roads, too. OK, I’m dreaming.

But why can’t Cabela’s get its own exit and entrance ramps off the highway like the Holiday Inn Express, or like Scarborough Downs had years back?

And if that won’t work, here’s another idea. Coming from the highway, how about turning into Cabela’s right after the toll booth where the park-and-ride lot is today? Cabela’s could make a portion of its parking lot the new park-and-ride lot, and those 6,164 new visitors coming off the highway every day don’t even have to travel Payne Road South. I

f we could do this then the question is, how to get cars back on the highway without traveling Payne Road South? How about making a left turn illegal coming out of Cabela’s onto Payne Road South? Instead, make the traffic exiting Cabela’s go straight across Payne Road South on the access road shown in its plan. This access road goes to the Haigis Parkway, where traffic could turn left and get back on the highway. Reverse direction and it gives local traffic a way to Cabela’s off the Haigis Parkway. With this idea, the impact on Payne Road South is another traffic light just down the road from the existing light, where traffic will only cross Payne Road South.

Here is even a better idea. Make the traffic exiting Cabela’s go straight over the new Cabela’s overpass to the access road shown in the company’s plan. This would give Cabela’s its main entrance off the Haigis Parkway, and would eliminate the need for an entrance into Cabela’s right after the toll booth. Cabela’s traffic would continue straight off the highway onto the Haigis Parkway, turning right onto the developed access road and over the Cabela’s overpass into the site. This idea puts no traffic on Payne Road South and gives Cabela’s a one-of-a-kind “theme” entrance. Think of how nice this would be for Scarborough and for Cabela’s.

I don’t profess to have all the “growth” answers, but I think if developers did a Haigis Parkway entrance for Cabela’s ,it would put more of the Haigis Parkway in play sooner and drive Cabela’s visitors by other retailers on the Haigis Parkway by default. Also, this idea handles the growth coming to the Haigis Parkway and keeps a bottleneck from forming around the Exit 42 intersection.

The residents I talk with want to see Cabela’s come to Maine, even to Scarborough. But they wonder if this is the right spot, and like me, if it is the right spot, then they want to see it done right.

Cabela’s is only the beginning of what will happen on the Haigis Parkway. We want to preserve our residential neighborhoods on and around Payne Road South from the traffic impact that this or any other development in the Payne Road South/Haigis Parkway area will bring with it.

We need to get this dialogue started with all parties involved now. We can preserve Payne Road South for the residents and neighborhoods of Scarborough and at the same time bring big-time development to this site without really impacting Payne Road South.

Cabela’s has a fine reputation. I couldn’t see the company doing anything but what’s best for their new neighbors in Maine. So to Cabela’s I say, welcome to Scarborough, and welcome to the neighborhood.

Chris Griffith is a Scarborough resident.