BRUNSWICK

Despite opposition and concern from neighbors, the Brunswick Town Council has OK’d the discontinuance of a portion of Pine Street.

The council voted 7-1 Monday in favor of discontinuing part of the street to accommodate the construction of a support structure on the north side of Whittier Field.

Bowdoin College owns the property on both sides of Pine Street and requested the discontinuance in order to have more flexibility in planning the second phase of improvements to Whittier Field Athletic Complex.

The college offered to construct an alternative access road between Bath Road and the section of Pine Street that remains open. It is open to making it a private or public road, and town staff determined it would be safest if the connection road is a public road.

Town Manager John Eldridge said the portion of Pine Street to be discontinued starts at the intersection of Bath Road and continues almost to the intersection with Bowker Street.

The college initially planned to locate the proposed 9,000-square-foot support building along Bowker Street, but neighbors there expressed concern it would be disruptive and opposed the location. That led Bowdoin to turn its sights closer to Pine Street.

A Nov. 20 public hearing on the proposed discontinuance of part of Pine Street and a new connector road drew comment from many neighbors who were afraid the plan will increase traffic and congestion in the neighborhood. Residents speaking at that public hearing proposed alternative locations.

Bowdoin College treasurer Matt Orlando said Monday night the college’s conclusions haven’t changed, in that it found only two viable sites for the proposed facility. The first was along the originally planned Bowker Street corridor and the other was along Pine Street.

The college plans to cover the cost of any traffic calming measures the town may deem necessary for the new road, Orlando said.

Councilors debated whether they should require specific traffic calming measures as a condition of approval, but ultimately agreed the planning board should deal with those details.

Councilor Jane Millett asked that town planning staff bring the discussion about traffic calming measures to the planning board.

“I do want to be prescriptive about that and be sensitive to the neighborhood,” she said.

One reason Millett said she was voting in favor of the road discontinuance was because while the college would have preferred the Bowker Street location, it moved it in deference to the neighbors.

Councilor Steve Walker was the sole opposing vote.

“I see this move as convenient for the college,” Walker said. “Certainly, I enjoy living in Brunswick and part of that is because the presence of Bowdoin, but I did not see a public benefit to discontinuing Pine Street.

“I see a clear public impact,” Walker added. “I don’t think all alternatives have been looked at closely enough.”

He argued there are other alternate sites that are less damaging to the neighborhood and quality of life.

However, Councilor David Watson commended the college on its efforts to reach out to the neighborhood and town.

“I think they have done due diligence and I think they’ve done their best to meet the goals of everyone,” he said.

The council also authorized Eldridge to execute agreements between the college, Pine Grove Cemetery and town to facilitate the transition. When the street is discontinued, it will still be open and used by motorists until the college builds the alternate road.

Eldridge added that abutters can be awarded damages due to discontinuance of the road. The abutters, the college and Pine Grove Cemetery, have agreed to waive damages.

Councilor John Perreault was absent Monday due to illness.

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