WESTBROOK – Westbrook and the Maine Department of Transportation are continuing discussions regarding how to improve the intersection of Duck Pond and Hardy roads with Route 302.
City Councilor Mike Sanphy said that on Jan. 2, he, along with Mayor Colleen Hilton, City Administrator Jerre Bryant, a representative of the Westbrook School Department and State Rep. Ann Peoples, will meet with Steve Landry of the Maine Department of Transportation to talk about installing a traffic light at the intersection. Sanphy said that he planned on scheduling a public meeting on the issue following that meeting with the state.
The issue has been ongoing for several months. In September, about 30 residents attended a meeting at the Highland Lake Grange Hall, which is within sight of the intersection in question, to talk about the problem. No definitive solutions came out of the meeting, though the possibility of a roundabout being installed at the intersection instead of a traffic light was discussed.
Sanphy, the Ward 5 councilor who represents that area of the city, has been a vocal proponent of installing a light at that intersection. In an October column in the American Journal, Sanphy said the intersection has “become more and more dangerous” over the years.
Sanphy said a roundabout would be more costly than a traffic light, and would provide no pedestrian access to cross the road.
“The Duck Pond intersection has pedestrians crossing frequently from the Farm Lakes subdivision and also from Hardy Road to the store, and the Highland Lake Church as well as pedestrians from Bridgton Road and Duck Pond Road crossing to the Highland Lake Grange,” Sanphy said. Snowmobiles also cross in the winter to get gas and then go back into the fields and trails.
“The cost of a traffic light is somewhere in the vicinity of $100,000,” he continued. “As a taxpayer in this tight economy, there is no doubt in my mind which way to go. A traffic light is the most logical solution in solving the problems at this intersection financially and functionally.”
The Duck Pond and Hardy roads intersection with Route 302. Send questions/comments to the editors.
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