Bath should have narrower streets that do not cater to automobiles
Bath is a wonderful community of caring individuals and committed civic organizations but it needs a comprehensive transportation strategy that doesn’t favor vehicular traffic over all other forms of transportation including pedestrians, bicycles and the newer forms of scooters and even skateboards.
Now the city streets promote fast driving commuters and commercial traffic. Our roads are straight, broad, and with few stop signs. As a result, hardly anyone commuting to and from Bath has an incentive to drive the speed limit. Residents of streets such as North, Lincoln, Washington, Middle, Front, and High all have issues with speeders. Other streets are plagued by cut-through traffic getting to these thorough-fares.
Compounding the problem is the poor condition of many neighborhood sidewalks which has forced many pedestrians into the streets.
There is a way to solve this problem while benefiting everyone and making Bath an even better place to live: that is by designing and implementing a comprehensive transportation strategy which provides for narrower streets with attractive greenways with trees, shrubs, and flowers; better sidewalks; dedicated bicycle and scooter lanes; stop signs, and even, as appropriate, speed humps such as those on Maine Street in Brunswick.
We can make Bath a better place to live and visit.
Richard Kessler,
Bath
Include a climate package in the reconciliation bill
As everyone sees or reads about floods, extensive forest fires and more flooding, climate anxiety is a real entity affecting especially the younger generation. It is yet another reason that America needs to act quickly to slow climate change. A recent survey of 10,000 young people ages 16-25 in 10 countries including the US finds that three-quarters of them find the future frightening and 56% believe humanity is doomed, and 39% are hesitant to have children because they do not want them exposed to a climate crisis world.
If you read enough American history, you realize that our politicians seldom lead on important issues. They are forced to act by their constituents. Abraham Lincoln did not take credit for freeing the slaves; he said the Abolitionists deserved the credit. Women got the vote in America because they marched in the streets demanding it and civil rights passed in the ’60s due to a popular uprising. Gay marriage also came about because the public demanded it.
It is now time for you to demand that your politicians act to slow climate change before we make the world unlivable for our grandchildren. Write or call Sens. Collins, King and Reps. Pingree and Golden and tell them to pass the climate package in the Reconciliation Bill and include a carbon price.
Nancy Hasenfus,
Brunswick
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