The proposed four-lane highway from Portland to Gorham sounds like the next road ready to be paved with good intentions.
Why not address southern Maine’s traffic issues with less intrusive, more cost-effective and reversible solutions? Expand bus service with modern equipment that runs efficiently and frequently. Widen existing roads to include bicycle lanes. Residents along Routes 114 and 22 — routes that have little or no shoulder — would gain so much by being able to travel these roads on bike.

After World War II, Germany experienced rapid growth — an “economic miracle” that was popularly measured by how many could drive their own car. Within two decades roads were choked with traffic; towns became victims of their own success.

To address the challenge of ever more cars, many towns and states invested in bus and train service. In tandem, they expanded pedestrian zones and bicycle pathways, reducing the need to drive cars in the first place. Fifty years later, such efforts have proved prescient; the quality of life is tangible.

Scarborough, Westbrook and Gorham have a chance to do the same. The Greater Portland Council of Governments has made useful suggestions for addressing these very issues. Town councils have the right to oppose the state’s Gorham connector proposal if the suggestions from the GPCOG are ignored.

There is much at stake, not just for the gorgeous meadows of Smiling Hill Farm. Let’s embrace sustainable, reversible transportation solutions that will benefit everyone in the long run. It can be done.

Tilman Reitzle
Scarborough