A peanut roundabout is one of the plans Cape Elizabeth is considering to make its town center safer for drivers, bikers and pedestrians. Design / Sebago Technics

Cape Elizabeth residents are being asked to weigh in on upgrades to the town center’s intersection.

The state considers the area where Scott Dyer Road and Shore Road intersect Route 77 a high-crash location. According to the town’s 2020 transportation study, there were 10 accidents at the intersection from 2016 to 2018.

With Cape Elizabeth’s three schools, Thomas Memorial Library, and a number of stores in the area, it is a routine corner for residents traveling by car, bike and foot. The area also sees tourist traffic as Shore Road leads to Fort Williams Park, and Route 77 runs north to the South Portland border and south toward beach destinations such as Crescent Beach, Kettle Cove and Two Lights state parks.

A traffic study was conducted in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic put the effort for upgrades on hold.

“We sort of had a backlog of projects,” Public Works Director Jay Reynolds said. “It took a few years to get it started again and get some funding budgeted for the engineering work.”

The original plan proposed by Sebago Technics was to bring Scott Dyer Road and Shore Road into Route 77 at 90-degree angles. Design / Sebago Technics

In 2023, funding was allocated and engineers at Sebago Technics began working on designs. They presented a plan to the Town Council in March of this year that would shorten crosswalks and bring Scott Dyer Road and Shore Road into Route 77 at 90-degree angles, rather than slanted as they currently are. They estimated that the plan would cost $824,000. The town received a $400,000 grant from the state’s Municipal Partnership Initiative toward that proposal.

However, at that council meeting, some residents suggested a roundabout may be a better method. In July, Sebago Technics came back with three additional plans and cost estimates: a roundabout at Scott Dyer Road for $2.4 million, a roundabout at Shore Road for $2.1 million, and a peanut roundabout for $2.6 million.

A public forum on the intersection last week saw mixed opinions, Reynolds said.

“Some were supportive of the original design, others were supportive of the roundabout design options,” he said.

An online survey is available for residents to share their input.

“On our town’s website, we have a page dedicated to this project, and we’re just looking to survey the public to see which design they prefer,” Reynolds said. “We’ll take those results and forward those along to the Town Council.”

The council is expected to vote Sept. 9 on which plan to pursue.

For more information on the project and to access the survey, go to cape-elizabeth-me.civilspace.io.