Why can’t the Maine Department of Transportation compromise on the Wiscasset traffic plan?

As I waited for my JetBlue flight from JFK to Portland recently, a fellow passenger and I started chatting.

He lives in Falmouth and travels quite often to Camden to meet with clients. When I told him I lived in Wiscasset, his first comment was, “Oh, what a lovely village. There’s a shop on the main street that I really like. It always has the perfect gift.”

Our conversation naturally drifted to the current situation. His immediate reaction was, “I won’t stop if there’s no parking right out front.”

This is the concern I have had from the beginning.

Our businesses will suffer if there is no parking on Main Street. With all the agonizing about tearing down an historic building and an equal fear of removing storefront parking, why can’t DOT go ahead with their original option that provides bump-outs to shorten the time it takes for pedestrians to cross the street?

During those periods when traffic is heavy, temporary bollards could be put up to eliminate parking. Why should our local economy suffer for an entire year for a short-term issue?

Christine Hopf-Lovette

Wiscasset


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