It is very encouraging that municipal officials have drafted a formal traffic calming program for Scarborough. Unfortunately, as written, the draft policy precludes some residential roads in desperate need of “calming” from being eligible for any meaningful traffic control measures.
For example, although Maple Avenue has never been considered a collector road, it has been designated as a Rural Connector Road in the Draft Traffic Calming Policy and eligible for only “passive” traffic calming measures. A roadway designation can prove to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If the designation is changed, a residential street or road may be rebuilt as a connector/collector route, and motorists may respond by using it more heavily and at higher speeds. This is especially worrisome, as Maple Avenue is slated to be reconstructed during the summer of 2008. Unless some physical alterations are made to the road (narrowing, etc.) during the reconstruction process, the net result may be an increase in cut-through traffic. More traffic on Maple will most likely translate to more traffic on Sunset, First, Elmwood and Hunnewell, too.
The current speed and volume of traffic in this neighborhood is destructive, unsafe and having a negative impact on the livability of the neighborhood. Commuters have displayed a blatant disregard for the law and for the safety of neighborhood residents. Routinely, the stop signs and 25 mph speed limit are being ignored by motorist. The primary source of the problem has been, and continues to be, the heavy volume and speed of non-local, cut-through traffic. A 1996 town engineers’ report confirmed that more than 100 “non-local” vehicles circulated through this residential neighborhood during a single peak travel hour, and Maine Department of Transportation records indicated that a disproportionately large number of traffic accidents in the neighborhood during 1993-1996 involved cut-through motorists (nine of the 13 accidents). Yet, this problem has been largely ignored
It is my hope that the town council will re-evaluate and only include the Arterial and Collector roads, outlined in the Comprehensive Plan, as being restricted to “passive” traffic calming measures. While it may be true that the town has engineering standards that govern the design and designation of roadways, local elected officials and citizens can request modifications where a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work.
Perhaps in the years prior to the construction of several new housing developments in this part of town, traffic in the neighborhood may have been more manageable. Although the increase in local residential traffic may still fall within acceptable limits, the heavy volume and speed of non-local traffic needs to be addressed.
Traffic calming must be seen as a neighborhood-wide and, preferably, a community-wide program. I encourage local residents to attend the public hearing scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at the Scarborough Town Hall, and voice your support for a meaningful, fair and inclusive traffic calming program for Scarborough.
Gregg Allen
Maple Avenue, Scarborough
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