By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

AUBURN – Engineers will wait until Auburn’s newest elementary school opens to gauge traffic troubles along Park Avenue.

Traffic counts set up at either end of Park Avenue show daily traffic increasing by at least 750 trips per day since 2003.

“The new school will have to make some sort of change to those traffic patterns, but we don’t know just what those will be,” said Don Craig, director of the Androscoggin Transportation Resource Center.

Engineers began checking traffic along the 1.2 mile stretch between Court Street and Mt. Auburn Avenue in May. They put up stations north of Court Street and on either side of Summer Street. They also counted the number of cars turning at Court and Summer streets and Mt. Auburn Avenue.

Craig said the group presented preliminary findings to neighbors in June. According to the May tests, daily traffic on Park Avenue peaks between 3 and 5 p.m., with up to 600 vehicles per hour driving there. Most of those drivers started their trips outside of the neighborhood, either driving to or from Wal-Mart and Auburn Mall area businesses.

Park Avenue traffic increased from about 5,500 daily trips in 2003 to about 6,250 daily trips in May.

The counting stations will go back up in September, after the elementary school opens.

Engineers should finish the report by early October. It should include a complete traffic study as well as suggestions.