A single eight-hour shift is all that's needed to fix what is a big safety concern to those who travel Route 4 near the Lake Shore Drive turn-off in Auburn. There is no need for a costly study, just action.

In that area, the road has two travel lanes in each direction and an eight-foot shoulder on each side. There is a curve just south of Lake Shore. Why couldn't the curve be exaggerated in both directions? Re-stripe the northbound lanes just prior to the curve so that both lanes scoot to the right 5 feet; for southbound traffic, a similar action is done just before Lake Shore Drive. The gap in the middle becomes the northbound left-turning lane.

The positive impact would be a dedicated turning lane without fear of being rear-ended and minimal cost to accomplish this. The negative — a shoulder that is big enough only for a bicycle or pedestrian.

If a vehicle, by some rare chance, fails mechanically when approaching that zone, a driver probably could stop just prior to or have enough momentum to get to where the shoulder returns

Making a left from Lake Shore Drive onto Route 4? Extend this zone north to make a merge lane. I would suspect the flashing light cost more to install than this idea and has a monthly maintenance budget to go with it.

Where do I collect the $20,000 (the typical cost) for my study and solution?

Dennis Lafontaine, Chesterville