BRUNSWICK — Brunswick officials want public input on how to prevent the frequent crashes that occur on Pleasant Street, a congested 1.5-mile Route 1 corridor linking Interstate 295 and downtown.
Tom Errico, a transportation engineer with T.Y. Lin International, said that just under 27,000 vehicles travel the corridor on an average day and that there are five high-crash areas, including the intersection of Lombard and Pleasant streets.
High-crash locations and segments are areas that, in a three-year period, have eight or more crashes and a higher frequency of crashes than the state average for similar locations, according to the Maine Department of Transportation.
“I’ve been doing this type of work in Maine for over 30 years and there aren’t that many corridors that have that type of volume,” said Errico, speaking at a public meeting on Monday, who identified a long list of safety, congestion, mobility and accessibility issues.
Some of the initial concepts that were presented in the Pleasant Street Corridor Study include a roundabout at the I-295 and Pleasant Street exit and onramp as well as additional turning lanes, medians and connector roads.
Residents expressed frustration with the current situation.
“I’m really distressed that so much of what seems to be going on here is based on information that I think is dated and misdirected,” said Brunswick Resident Louise Rosen. “My point about the signage on 295 is that it was there once, and we simply should not proceed with anything until we look at reinstating the coastal connector signage.”
“To be diverting people onto Pleasant with the false idea that this is coastal Route 1 is ridiculous,” Rosen said. “I just have more objections to a lot of these ideas than I can possibly mention.”
Councilor Kathy Wilson said the sign on the highway that directed traffic to the coastal route was taken down at the request of businesses on Pleasant Street at the time.
There was also discussion about changing the section of Pleasant Street between Route 1 and Maine Street from a one-way to a two-way street.
Wilson and was in favor of the idea, saying that it would give people coming down Maine Street an alternate way to get to Pleasant Street and would allow people to leave town without going the whole length of Maine Street and having to come up Mill Street.
In the past, the section of road has been two-way.
Janet McGraves, who has lived on Pleasant Street for 73 years, said in the meeting “we can assume it would be much worse now.”
“I am against doing two-way on lower pleasant street because I think it’s quite dangerous,” McGraves said.
Three people inquired about the possibility of a roundabout replacing the light at Mill and Stanwood. Town Engineer Ryan Barnes said that based on a previous project, the Department of Transportation determined it would create traffic issues.
Preliminary recommendations for the project are scheduled to be complete in April, with a final report submitted in June.
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