The state’s project would construct a path along Route 1 between DeLorme Drive and Day’s Crabmeat and Lobster. Contributed / MDOT
The Maine Department of Transportation would like to provide the “missing link” in the Beth Condon Memorial Pathway expansion project in Yarmouth.
Maine DOT wants to construct a shared-use path on the east side of Route 1, beginning at the north end of DeLorme Drive and extending to the entrance of Day’s Crabmeat and Lobster on Route 1. It would align with the town’s plan to expand the Beth Condon pathway along Route 1 from Exit 17 to the Cousins River Bridge. The path currently ends on Route 1 south of Exit 17.
The path would allow residents to safely walk to Day’s Crabmeat and Lobster, says Yarmouth Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee Chair Colin Durrant. Contributed / MDOT
“It will tie into both the Exit 17 path project and the Cousins River Bridge on Route 1,” MDOT Project Manager Mackenzie Kersbergen said. “This project is the missing link.”
The 12-foot-wide path would include a 5-foot-wide esplanade to separate vehicles on the road from pedestrians or cyclists on the path.
Some residents at a public hearing on the project this month liked the idea because it would make Yarmouth more walkable.
“The newest section of the path is used daily by pedestrians and cyclists,” Andrew Favreau said.
Others were concerned about the impact on traffic. Angela Miller-Gray said she’s worried the path might take out a lane on the driving route without being used by cyclists, although it is not intended to do so.
“I have seen people walking and riding bikes on the sidewalk, but never in the designated road path,” Miller-Gray said.
The path would allow pedestrians to safely walk to businesses such as Day’s and eventually the YMCA in Freeport, said Yarmouth Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee Chair Colin Durrant.
“We are thrilled to see this project moving forward because it advances the town’s goal to extend the Beth Condon Memorial Pathway the entire length of Route 1 in Yarmouth from the Cumberland border to the Freeport border and part of the broader vision to connect communities in Southern Maine with a network of safe, separated multi-use paths,” Durrant said.
Kersbergen said the plan is in its early stages. A formal project meeting will be scheduled to share more detailed information, including alternatives and the layout, and to hear more from residents.
“Before we got too far down a certain path, we wanted to share the project with the public and ask for questions and concerns,” Kersbergen said.
Another public meeting will take place this spring. Construction on the project is projected to begin in 2025.
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