I am writing to urge Cumberland residents to vote “no” on the Drowne Road project. I strongly support building affordable housing in Cumberland – we need it. However, the Drowne Road project with three high-rise buildings, 107 apartment units and asphalt parking spaces covering 10 acres is ill-conceived.

Drowne Road is a short, narrow neighborhood road. There are no shoulders. It is almost impossible for two trucks to pass on the road, particularly in winter. It was built for neighborhood use, not as a major road or throughway.

Last summer, a town employee driving a town vehicle glanced away from the road for a second and destroyed two trees in the median between Drowne Road and the sidewalk. Fortunately, no parent was strolling a baby, no senior was walking a dog when the truck plowed over the curb. The proposed development and increased traffic will make Drowne Road unsafe for drivers and pedestrians. Traffic will be backed up through the neighborhood; it is already difficult to turn left from Drowne Road onto Route 9 during rush hour. Route 9 traffic will be impacted as well – and it already has issues with congestion and speeding.

Senior citizens and families with small children reside on Drowne Road. The neighborhood children walk and ride their bikes to school. Young children gather for the school bus and often errantly kick balls or scooter into the road. Although it is not as evident in winter, Cumberland residents come from all over to enjoy the neighborhood – seniors walk, dog owners walk dogs, parents stroll with baby carriages and parents bring children to bike and scoot because the neighborhood currently has low traffic. People park their cars on Drowne Road to access both the Town Forest and Storybook walking trails.

Mother turtles in the neighborhood pond cross Drowne Road to lay their eggs in shallow pools in the Town Forest. The baby turtles hatch and cross Drowne Road to return to the pond. Cumberland residents who walk the Town Forest trails often ferry a baby turtle across Drowne Road. Deer, turkeys and other wildlife also cross between the neighborhood and the Town Forest. There has been no formal study on the environmental impact of the proposed project.

Advocates on both sides of this project have tried to make this a political issue. It is not. It is not about being a Democrat or a Republican or a liberal or a conservative. It is not a question of inclusivity. It is about common sense.

This project presents a danger to drivers and pedestrians. It will ruin the neighborhood and Town Forest walking trails that so many enjoy. If you aren’t familiar with Drowne Road, please drive through the neighborhood. Imagine another 150 cars streaming through the neighborhood during rush hour while kids bike to school. Go look at the proposed building location and imagine what it will look like with no baseball fields, meadows or trees – instead, imagine 10 acres with three massive buildings and asphalt parking right next to the Town Forest.

I urge you to vote “no” on this project. A “no” vote is not a vote against affordable housing – only against a poorly conceived project in the wrong location. I urge you to support a well-conceived plan for affordable housing in Cumberland. The project will need to enter onto a major road, such a Route 1 or Route 100.

Coincident with that that project, we need to expand bus service to Cumberland so residents in affordable housing who don’t drive or have one car per family can take the bus to Hannaford or Shaw’s and to access medical care and other services.

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