Why do we keep reading about the process of choosing a sculpture for the Woodfords Corner “update,” yet are not told about the proposed traffic and road changes?

The proposed elimination of the right-turn lane for inbound traffic onto Woodford Street is a truly serious change. (It was reported in the Press Herald several months ago.)

Eliminating the right turn means, I assume, taking out the second incoming lane at the corner. It means that traffic continuing to Deering Street must line up with traffic going downtown. It means that congested one-lane traffic on Forest Avenue incoming, which often backs up as far as Walton Street or farther, will continue through the Woodfords intersection.

If that congestion is worsened, drivers probably will start taking side streets to get onto Woodford Street, going toward Stevens Avenue. Surely that would not be good for those neighborhoods.

It may be that the number of cars using the right-turn lane to Woodford Street from Forest Avenue is not large, but the traffic using the right lane to go down Deering increases regularly, especially at commuting times. Buses would be added to that single lane on Forest so they can go down Deering to pick up passengers headed downtown.

If there is only one-lane traffic inbound through Woodfords Corner, wouldn’t that mean a longer light for the accommodation of the single lane? Wouldn’t that mean an even longer wait for cars on Woodford Street?

The proposed plan to make Woodfords Corner into an inviting urban gathering place seems to be the most questionable of all the current traffic “improvements” happening in Portland. It’s a neat area already. The urge for quaint neighborhoods and urban togetherness seems to me to willfully dismiss the fact that Forest Avenue is a truly major artery in Portland.

Jo Diggs

Portland

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