letter to the editor

Option 2 will be good for our town

Mon, 10/16/2017 - 6:30pm

Dear Editor:

Since 1976 when I, my husband Tim and children moved back to my home town, I have been involved and concerned with matters of this community, both governmental and educational. This involvement has made me astutely aware of the complexities of issues which have confronted our residents over decades. The MDOT Main Street project for our village will not only affect our citizenry but our neighboring communities and the travelers that make their way to other destinations.

Please let me share my reasons for supporting Plan 2 of the project:

  • Safety! I invite you to come walk with me around the village. Your heart will stop a few times as you witness the many traffic situations of near miss collisions.
  • Parking! Allowing parking on Main Street is a major safety concern but beyond this factor, it is distraction from the attractiveness of our Main Street. When I volunteered at our Chamber’s Information Booth on the Community Pier this summer, Maine visitors commented that this was their first view of a village so close to the beauty of the water.
  • Potential! With controlled traffic flow and pedestrian crossings, signage, new appealing shop front sidewalks, visitors will be more likely to stop and visit this village and will be able to better appreciate the fabulous shops and galleries and the exceptional historic value of the area. With more visitors stopping to see all we offer, we will continue to offer more!
  • Uniqueness! Unlike other coastal villages, Wiscasset has the uniqueness of not only having visitors traveling through to many other destinations, but it is the Route One gateway to the Mid-Coast area including the Boothbay area peninsular. This level of Boothbay bound traffic does not affect Thomaston’s or Camden’s Main Streets.
  • Bypass! Efforts have been made for decades to build a Route One bypass away from our Main Street. There was always some reason the plans were scrapped. Each time either the Town of Wiscasset, Westport Island, Edgecomb fought it. And there was the eagle’s nest! And the NIMBY!

I am not only hopeful, but confident, that the MDOT Option 2 will improve traffic flow and be good for our town.

Judy Flanagan

Wiscasset