Developer Hans Hansen aims a radar gun to check speeds at the at the high-crash intersection of Blue Ledge Road, South Street and County Road in Gorham. Robert Lowell / American Journal
The intersection of Warren Avenue and Cumberland Street in Westbrook was the top high-crash intersection in Cumberland County in 2022, according to the the Maine Department of Transportation.
That intersection is among eight others in the city on the state’s newly released list of high-crash intersections for 2022, defined as those that have had eight or more crashes over a three-year period.
Gorham also has nine high-crash intersections and Buxton has four, according to the state.
Westbrook
Cumberland Street and Warren Avenue had 56 crashes in 2022. Robert Lowell / American Journal
There were 56 crashes at the Warren Avenue-Cumberland Street intersection in 2022, up from 48 in 2021.
“Remember, in 2021 traffic volume was still very much affected by COVID,” Westbrook Police Capt. Steve Goldberg said. “So 2022 was more of a return to normal, pre-pandemic traffic levels, which corresponded with what we normally see at that intersection for crashes.”
In 2017 there were 62 accidents there, 64 in 2018, 54 in 2019 and 49 in 2020, Goldberg said.
New traffic signals at the intersection were activated last summer.
“I think 2023 will be more useful in seeing how the signals are impacting crash numbers at that intersection,” Goldberg said.
The other high-crash Westbrook intersections are Larrabee Road and Main Street with 32; Bridgton Road and Brook Road/Pride Street, 25; Bridgton Road and Duck Pond/Hardy roads, 13; Brown and Cumberland streets, 12; Eisenhower Drive and Spring Street, 11; Cumberland Street and Park Road, 10; Cumberland and Main streets, nine; and the area near the entrances to Kohls and Market Basket on Main Street, nine.
Last year, accidents at the Bridgton Road and Brook Road/Pride Street intersection caused the most injuries with 18.
Gorham
The intersection at South Street and Blue Ledge Road with County Road (Route 22) logged 28 crashes last year, according to the state’s list. It marked the first time that intersection was listed as a high crash site since 2019 with 31 crashes.
A Northern Light Mercy medical facility, Cumberland Farms store, and a daycare center are located at the intersection.
Developer Hans Hansen, owner of South Street Gorham Crossing Condominiums at Stargazer Subdivision on Blue Ledge Road, says speeding can be blamed for the the crash rate. He uses a radar gun to check vehicles’ speeds through the intersection and said 10% of drivers are going over the limit.
The posted speed limit heading west of the intersection toward Buxton is 45 mph; eastbound toward North Scarborough it is 40 mph.
Hansen has asked the Gorham Town Council to lower the speed limit.
“We would like to see the speed limit reduced to 35 mph or less,” Hansen wrote to town councilors on Dec. 28. ” A safer intersection will make our subdivision more attractive to residential and commercial growth.”
Gorham Deputy Police Chief Mike Nault said Tuesday all speed limits are controlled by MDOT.
“The request would have to be made to them and they would conduct a traffic survey along with looking at crash and traffic data to see if the reduction or increase in any speed limit is warranted,” Nault said.
Other high crash intersections in Gorham last year were Gray and Mosher roads with 20; Rines Bypass and Narragansett Street, 14; Brackett Road and Saco Street, 13; Libby Avenue and Main Street, 13; Rines Bypass and Ossipee Trail, 11; Gray Road and Libby Avenue, 10; Dow Road and Ossipee Trail, 10; and Mallison Street and Mosher Road, nine.
In 2022, the South Street, Blue Ledge intersection with County Road had the most injuries with 16. Gray Road and Libby Avenue had one fatal.
Buxton
Main Street and River Road (Route 112) in Buxton. File photo
The intersection of Main Street and River Road continues as the town’s top high-crash intersection with 18 crashes, down from 19 in 2021 and 23 in 2020.
A variety store is located at the intersection, which has a blinking traffic signal.
The intersection of Broadturn, Long Plains and Portland roads racked up eight crashes last year, down from 12 in 2021 and 16 in 2020.
An MDOT engineer told the Buxton Select Board in the fall of 2021 that the state wanted to replace the intersection with a roundabout and expected to put the project out to bid in 2021. The department, however, is reevaluating those plans.
The state placed another stop sign at the intersection last year to make it a four-way stop, MDOT spokesperson Paul Merrill said last week.
“We are still doing preliminary design work on this project,” he said. “Our engineers are evaluating new traffic data to determine our next steps.”
The Long Plains Road and Sokokis Trail intersection tied last year with the intersection of Brewster Place, Narragansett Trail and Old Orchard Road with 10 crashes each.
Accidents at Main Street and River Road last year had the most injuries in Buxton with six.
Cumberland County’s second highest high-crash intersection is Broadway and Westbrook Street in South Portland with 54 crashes.
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