In an attempt to make the Eastern Road in Scarborough more pedestrian and bike friendly, the town has re-striped the road to allow for specific, non-motorized lanes, while narrowing the travel lanes for drivers.
The new traffic pattern is a temporary measure, according to the Planning & Code Enforcement Department, and later this summer the town will seek input on whether to make the changes permanent.
The Eastern Road is primarily a residential street with some through traffic. However, it is also heavily used as an extension of the Eastern Trail corridor that runs from Kittery to South Portland.
“Given there are a lot of walkers, joggers and bikers who use the road regularly and link to the Eastern Trail, we wanted to try a new approach to pavement striping to recognize and prioritize the amount of bike and pedestrian activity on Eastern Road and make it safer and friendlier,” the planning office said on its website.
And because the Eastern Trail is likely to be improved with a bridge over the Nonesuch River in coming years, Eastern Road is likely to become even busier with trail users, which is another reason the town of Scarborough wanted to try out the new traffic pattern.
The new striping patterns were installed last week and run from Black Point Road to Portland Farm Road. The goal is to leave the new traffic pattern in place for the next 10 to 12 months before a scheduled re-paving project next year.
The new traffic pattern has created 4- to 5-foot wide shoulders on both sides of Eastern Road. The travel lanes for motorists have been narrowed to between 14 and 16 feet in width.
Along with providing pedestrian and bicycle lanes on Eastern Road, the new traffic pattern should slow the travel speeds of automobiles.
This is the first pavement striping of its kind in Scarborough, so town officials want the public to be aware of the changes.
– Kate Irish Collins
A closer look
Contact Scarborough Town Planner Dan Bacon, at dbacon@ci.scarborough.me.us, for questions or comments about the new traffic pattern on Eastern Road. Later this summer, the town will seek public feedback on the changes through an online survey. Find more project details at www.scarboroughmaine.org/departments/planning-codes.
A depiction of the traffic pattern changes now in place on the Eastern Road in Scarborough and how the new travel lanes should be used.
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