The Cumberland Town Council voted unanimously last week to ask the state to lower the speed limit on Tuttle Road from 35 mph to 25, but held off on deciding whether to make the Tuttle and Middle roads intersection a four-way stop.
The council has been discussing how to make the intersection, the site of 29 crashes since 2010, safer. Gorrill Palmer engineers have recommended adding two more stop signs, but the council agreed Sept. 26 that more discussion on possible alternatives to a four-way stop is needed.
“This intersection is talked about frequently in town,” Council Chairperson Mark Segrist said. “There have been some serious accidents there.”
Lowering the speed limit on Tuttle Road to 25 mph is a good first step toward making it safer, Town Manager Bill Shane said.
“Accidents will still happen, but the severity will decrease with a lower speed limit,” Shane said.
Councilor Robert Vail recommended putting up new signs to make the intersection more visible to drivers. He also suggested asking the engineers and the Maine Department of Transportation to consider options other than a four-way stop.
“If we don’t want to proceed with the four-way stop, signs are the next best thing,” Town Manager Bill Shane said.
Councilor Shirley Storey-King, noting that pedestrians frequent the intersection, advocated for a crosswalk on Tuttle Road.
Residents also called for more study before implementing a four-way stop.
Jim Bailinson recommended a small roundabout at the intersection, although he said he recognized that may not be geographically or financially feasible.
“I think we may eventually end up with a four-way stop there, but I think more work needs to be done before the neighborhood will be confident that’s the smart way to go,” Bailinson said.
The town will file its request for the Tuttle Road speed limit reduction with the Maine Department of Transportation.
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