
Fern Avenue is one of the streets in Old Orchard Beach where infrastructure improvements are being planned Dina Mendros photo
OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Voters in Old Orchard Beach will decide whether to use $1 million in local funds to pay for infrastructure improvements in the Washington Street area. The local money will leverage an additional $1 million in a federal Community Development Block Grant.
On June 16, the Town Council held a public hearing on the referendum, which had already been approved to be placed on the July 14 ballot. If approved, funds would be used to replace water, sewer and storm water infrastructure on Fern and West Old Orchard avenues. Infrastructure there is more than 100 years old and there have been problems there and in other areas of town, Town Manager Larry Mead said at a prior meeting on the subject on Jan. 19.
Robin Dayton who lives on Fern Avenue said she objected to making the road one way.
“I’m right at the top of Fern,” she said. “I feel I’m one of the ones most impacted by the one way. When I come off of Washington my house is right there at the corner and if you make this a one-way going up the hill I literally have to go all the way around the block to get to my house. … I’m not going to do that.”
“I have been one of the people most impacted by the sewer problem so I do understand how important this project is and I certainly support it; I just don’t support the one way on the street,” Dayton said.
In January, Charles Cardoza, who lives on West Old Orchard, requested that the council “take a good look at the parking situation before you make a decision.” He said the proposed changes would decrease on-street parking because people would only be able to park on one side of his road rather than on both sides as they currently do.
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