BETHEL — Station Place road and drivers using it to access the Bethel Chamber of Commerce and Casablanca Cinema, could soon see a new, safer traffic pattern.

At Monday night's board meeting, selectmen had no objections to reversing the traffic flow, Town Manager James Doar said.

That gave chamber Executive Director Robin Zinchuk a yellow light to proceed with her proposal to reverse the direction of one-way traffic at the theater and chamber, which is at 8 Station Place. While adjacent to the chamber, the theater is at 23 Cross St.

Zinchuk said via e-mail Wednesday afternoon that the chamber had yet to make the one-way change.

Before it can be done, she said she must first check with Doar to see if the town crew can change the signs, or if she must contact the Maine Department of Transportation.

In a Nov. 2 memo to Doar and selectmen, Zinchuk said Western Maine Transportation Services' public transit operators brought the matter to the chamber's attention.

The change would also benefit the local Mountain Explorer Shuttle public transit system.

The bus drivers, Zinchuk said, believe it would be safer to reverse the one-way direction on Station Place.

That's why she asked the board to change the designated one-way to entering opposite Lincoln Street and exiting beside the theater.

"That way, people entering and exiting the Mountain Explorer will do so right onto the sidewalk rather than having to walk around the vehicle," Zinchuk said.

Relearning how to drive on Station Place isn't a new change.

Zinchuk said that when the Bethel Station complex was first built, Station Place was a two-way street.

It was later changed to one-way when the Bethel Post Office was relocated in the Casablanca Cinema's adjacent space while the Main Street post office was being refurbished.

"My experience is that many visitors who are unfamiliar with the roads and signage of the town, exit and enter wherever they want," she said.

"I do not think that those who use the chamber office, the
movie theater and Ellie's Gym would be inconvenienced by this change
and could relearn the new way," Zinchuk said. "We hope to make the change by Thanksgiving weekend when the Mountain Explorer begins service for the season."

In other town business, selectmen on Monday night OK'd designating Davis Park as a tobacco-free zone. That means no smoking and no use of chewing tobacco, Doar said Tuesday afternoon.

The board also asked Doar to designate the park, which is on the Androscoggin River bank and beside Route 26, as a drug-free zone similar to drug-free zones at schools.

Doar, however, said he must first research that and Maine law to determine if it's even possible.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com