For the first time since they started the project, Standish town councilors got the chance to see possible roadway plans for Standish Village at a workshop meeting Tuesday night.
“It was a very proactive workshop,” said Council Chair Terry Christy. “Everyone felt the presentation was excellent.”
In June the town council hired Tom Gorrill, of Gorrill-Palmer Consulting Engineers in Gray, to study the traffic issues in Standish Village. Although Gorrill studied traffic from the Gorham line on Route 25 to Oak Hill Road, the study specifically targeted Standish corner.
In his presentation, Gorrill showed an computer-animated version of the corner, complete with cars speeding through the intersection, and how new roadways could bypass the current intersection and improve safety.
“That is a very dangerous corner,” said Christy. “In a three-year period there have been 30 accidents there. Eight accidents constitutes a dangerous intersection. On a scale with A being the best, we have an F for that intersection.”
The council along with the Roadway Committee, wanted to make sure Route 25 was not turned into a five-lane road as Route 302 in Windham has. The goal was to seek alternate routes bypassing the corner instead of widening the road.
Two-lane roads would also ensure the historic integrity of Standish corner.
According to Christy, the Maine Department of Transportation is behind the project.
“The DOT feels Standish is doing this at the right time,” said Christy.
Since Route 25 is a major state artery, MDOT will help defer the expenses involved with constructing alternative routes.
The next step in the project entails the Roadway Committee studying all the possibilities given to them by Gorrill in detail before deciding on which route would be best.
“We have to look at this plan now and see how we can work with it,” said Christy. “But everyone is really energized about it.”
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