No charges have been filed against the driver involved in the Cape Elizabeth recycling center accident.

Residents in Cape Elizabeth have been providing mostly positive feedback about a new, short-term traffic pattern being implemented at the town’s recycling center in response to a fatal accident at the facility in November.

The pattern, which went into effect Jan. 21, does not allow users of the facility to continue to back their vehicles into the compactor building area to drop off their garbage.

Under the new design, recommended by Portland engineering firm Woodard & Curran, residents take turns driving their vehicles forward into four diagonal parking spaces, located a short distance from the compactor, and walk their trash about 20 paces to the building. Residents are then instructed to drive away from the diagonal parking spaces in a forward direction only in the effort to reduce congestion near the compactor building.

“There are a couple of people who have expressed doubt or concern about it, but from what me and my staff can see, over 85-plus percent of the people are positive about the change and feel it’s much safer,” said Public Works Director Bob Malley, about the temporary traffic pattern.

Carts – which measure 71?2 cubic feet and 31?2 cubic feet in size – are also available to help residents transfer their trash from their vehicles to the compactor, which speeds up the process, said Malley. He said the carts can hold five or more bags of trash and are user-friendly. So far, the town is pleased with the short-term traffic pattern.

“It’s helping. Even on Saturday when we had snow on the ground, (residents) were able to navigate through the system,” said Malley. “It’s working well.”

To further reduce congestion and wait times for the compactor, commercial haulers will no longer be allowed to bring trash to the Cape Elizabeth transfer station and instead will be hauling trash directly to the ecomaine trash-to-energy facility in Portland. For those using the facility for purposes other than using the compactor, a compactor bypass lane has been included in the new traffic pattern that has access to the recycling bins.

Previously, residents would back their vehicles into the compactor building, where there was only space for three parked cars. At the same time, some residents would park their vehicles away from the compactor and walk their trash to the facility.

Malley said while it will take time for residents to adapt to the new traffic pattern, users of the facility seem to be more cautious about approaching the compactor building safely.

“There are a lot of thumbs up, and good, positive feedback from the citizens,” he said.

Malley said some residents are concerned that users of the Recycling Center are still walking their trash to the compactor in front of moving vehicles. The new traffic pattern replicates a parking lot of retail establishments like Hannaford Supermarket, and signs and pavement markings advise residents how to properly navigate the property, he said.

“The good thing here is that people are driving all in one direction and that they can see those folks walking back and forth,” said Malley. “We want people that are making multiple trips to be cognizant of vehicles trying to get into a stall.”

Members of a committee charged with looking at long-range safety solutions for the town’s recycling center and transfer station met for the first time two weeks ago to begin developing a long-range plan for the recycling center.

Jessica Sullivan, chairwoman of the town’s Solid Waste and Recycling Long Range Planning Committee, said it’s too early to report on the committee’s findings.

The committee, which includes Jamie Garvin, member of the town’s Recycling Committee, and Cape Elizabeth residents William Brownell, Anne Swift-Kayatta and Charles Wilson, is expected to provide its recommendations to the Town Council by June 30. A permanent plan will be implemented in about a year-and-a-half.

The next Solid Waste and Recycling Long Range Planning Committee meeting was set for 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 28, after the Current’s deadline.

“This is temporary, and the long-range planning committee may come up with (another plan) that ends up being a permanent adoption by the Town Council,” Sullivan said. “We are looking at not only the compactor and the compactor building, but recycling, and whether we are going to recommend curbside (collection.)”

“In the interim, for the next 18 months, I think we have a better alternative to vehicles utilizing the facility,” Malley said. “It’s a work in progress.”

No Charges Against Driver

A driver in Cape Elizabeth, whose vehicle hit a former public works director and pushed him into a trash compactor at the town’s recycling center, will not be charged in the accident.

On Nov. 24, 2014, Christine Sharp-Lopez, 72, was backing her Ford Explorer at what police described as a high rate of speed near the facility’s compactor building and struck 79-year-old Herbert Dennison.

According to police, the force of the collision pushed Dennison through a chain link fence into the compactor where he died of injuries sustained in the fall. The compactor, located on Dennison Drive was not operating during the time of the incident, police said.

Cape Elizabeth Police Chief Neil Williams on Jan. 21 said that the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office determined no criminal charges would be filed against the driver. He also confirmed that Sharp-Lopez was not under the influence of alcohol during the accident, and that “there were no mechanical defects that led to the accident.”

Tamara Getchell, the business and communication coordinator for Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson, said since the case is filed under “confidential criminal history information,” further details of the investigation are “protected information” and will not be released.