Thank You Abigail.
Yes, until the west end intersection of WCD is rebuilt, we will have the
traffic challenges on both WCD and Main Street.
Courtesy by Drivers - both those coming thru downtown and those who are
attempting to turn into a business, a bank, parking area OR patiently
waiting for a traffic gap to exit one of the above venues, - needs to be
visible, and Likewise for Pedestrians, Visual Eye Contact between both
Pedestrians and Drivers needs to be emphasized, more so with people in
Wheelchairs, Visually Impaired and our Senior Citizens, and more so at
Night, in Rain and Snow which reduces Visibility for Both Drivers and
Pedestrians. Education and Courtesy work hand in hand, but not
everytime, as we all have seen at busy, traffic congested intersections
like WCD and Spring Street/ Main Street. In my view, it's unfortunate that
the Discover Downtown Westbrook Recognition is Wonderful but until a few
more years pass, We have to endure the Traffic on the 2 Busiest Streets.
Dennis Marrotte
On Dec 9, 2017 11:08 AM, "Abigail Cioffi" <abigail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
It is faster (or more likely, perceived to be faster) to be on Main Street
than WCD when going west. This is because the left lane on WCD is all but
useless after a certain point (say Spring or Church St), because people
going to Rt. 25 or New Gorham Rd. HAVE to be in the right lane. They see
that traffic is backed up, and get over into the right lane. Many, to avoid
this, go onto Main St (which also gets backed up now). This problem will be
largely solved when we have two lanes going all the way through (rather
than one ending at the left turn onto Saco St) - that project is taking
time, but should be complete by around 2019/20. There is also the hope that
some car traffic will decrease with the Metro Husky Line that will be
travelling that route, starting in August 2018. I think until that WCD
issue is fixed, our biggest role can be education, and also giving people
things to do in Westbrook to break up WHEN traffic is happening (rather
than a big chunk all at once during rush hour).
Ultimately, the only traffic that should be on Main Street is people
coming to businesses/other destinations, going home, or connecting through
to Bridge St. And, again, with the bus expansion, education on alternative
transportation methods (bicycle in particular), and continued work to make
downtown more walkable, we start to make a change. Unfortunately, part of
it is also a culture shift, which takes much longer! The best we can do
with that is educate children early on all the ways they can move from
place to place besides a vehicle.
My two cents, whatever they're worth! :)
Abigail
On 12/9/2017 8:45 AM, Carson Wood wrote:
Hello Dennis.
Your first observation proves that drivers are like a mouse in a maze
trying to get through Westbrook as fast as they can.
In yester year the heavy traffic destination was SD Warren, Sappi for
the younger folks who don’t recall.
The existence of the downtown business fed off these huge shift changes
around the clock.
I’d be amiss to not nention Sebago Moc working out of three buildings
and Serta Mattress and the spinning mill.
There has been a dream that is impossible to realize that the City will
go back to this. We are in a new age of smaller business spread out in many
directions.
The problem is that even though these small businesses are spread out
they are still within a small space where the traffic needs to go in every
direction with an ever increasing amount of traffic.
This is like a reverse big bang where the universe contracts instead of
expanding.
As traffic increases even more there will be more accidents and
frustration.
Unless this is acknowledged and changed in a big way it will fail.
*From:* wsmac-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wsmac-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<wsmac-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] *On Behalf Of *Dennis Marrotte
*Sent:* Friday, December 08, 2017 7:09 PM
*To:* wsmac@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [wsmac] Some Observations
Hello,
Some Observations in downtown Westbrook tonight.
1. Commuters driving home, westbound thru Westbrook, are using Main
Street, from Hartley Drive, thru Vallee's Square, and from WCD / Spring
Street to Main, more then Using WCD it's entire length.
This is morphing Main Street into both a Bypass ( For WCD ) and for
business or dining out.
Wonder if an online Survey asking if Commuters prefer WCD or Main Street
for their morning and evening Commutes and Why ?
2. Pedestrians going to Larrabee Woods to visit someone there or for any
other reasons, are apparently
NOT AWARE THAT THERE IS A PEDESTRIAN OPERATES CROSSWALK, WHICH WHEN
ACTIVATED, TURNS ON DUAL FLASHING YELLOW LIGHTS TO WARN MOTORISTS THAT
SOMEONE WANTS TO CROSS MAIN STREET.
3. Some Marked Crosswalks have an overhead Street Light on one side where
there is an intersecting Street. But, for exampl, on Main Street, at Casa
Novello Restaurant, there is a marked Crosswalk with an overhead Street
Light only on the far side of Main Street, and no Street Light on the
restaurant side. This is a dangerous condition at night if you parked
across the street.
Dennis
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--
*Abigail Cioffi*
Discover Downtown Westbrook
Executive Director
(207) 391-2977
752 Main Street
Westbrook, ME 04092
*We have changed our name! Formerly Downtown Westbrook Coalition, we
revealed our new name on November 9: Discover Downtown Westbrook! And, on
the same day, we received our official Main Street designation from Main
Street Maine, making us an accredited member of Main Street America. Now is
a great time to get involved and help us shape the future of Westbrook!*
