FARMINGTON — The Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing Tuesday, March 17, on potential lane changes on Wilton Road.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Building.
Results of a three-year safety study will be presented by Maine Department of Transportation representatives, along with an explanation of the recommended changes and the opportunity for residents to respond.
Safety and continuing traffic mobility are the basis behind the MDOT recommendations to reduce the four traffic lanes to three traffic lanes and a middle turning lane. The study covered the area from the hospital to Center Bridge on Routes 2 and 4/Wilton Road.
It’s safety first versus mobility, Town Manager Richard Davis told selectmen during their meeting last week. It will take more time to travel from the hospital to the bridge.
Although the speed limit won’t change, the lane change will likely slow drivers, potentially creating a safer road and fewer crashes, he said.
Structures near the road and costs of buying property prohibit adding lanes, Davis said.
He said he believed the board would have the final vote on whether to adopt the new lane changes. It won’t happen this year but when MDOT does a mill-and-fill project on the road either in 2016 or 2017, he said. New striping would delineate the travel lanes and turning lane.
Board Chairman Ryan Morgan, who lives on the road, asked about the potential for more problems with a three-lane highway.
“The volume on that road is phenomenal,” he said.
Selectman Andrew Buckland also wondered how peak traffic periods would be handled.
Morgan was also concerned that road changes could stifle the growth of business, and he encouraged board members to talk with business owners.
Davis said he hoped business owners along the road would attend Tuesday’s presentation.
Although Selectman Michael Fogg initially thought reducing lanes would never work, he admitted he’s more receptive to the change since working with the town Transportation Advisory Committee.
abryant@sunjournal.com
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