BRIDGTON – As usual for this time of year, traffic was backed up on the fair’s access road, Route 5 in Fryeburg, as hundreds of fairgoers poured into the famous fair.

Roads leading to the fairground were also crowded, with traffic coming from all directions.

A solo woman walking along Route 302 Sunday afternoon in neighboring Bridgton was one of the few pedestrians on the street. In her long beige trench coat, she held in front of her a large placard with red letters reading, “Fight Climate Change.”

“I decided with the high traffic volume, that this would be a good time,” Sally Chappell, 59, of Bridgton, said, as she stopped for a quick interview by the roadside. “I take walks anyway, why not put an issue out there?”

She was walking west, back toward her home on Pumpkin Valley Road. “I think people know what they need to do to fight climate change – reduce our usage of fossil fuels,” she said, but she didn’t go so far as to advocate ride sharing or organizing public transportation to the fair.

Just a few cars had honked in support, she said. No one had done anything disparaging. “I thought if this goes well, why not do it frequently this week.” The fair, which started Sunday, continues until next Sunday.

“I feel (climate change) is an extremely urgent issue,” Chappell said. “It is kind of a desperate measure.”

And she held up her sign, crossed the street and headed down the hill.