Falmouth residents urged the Town Council on Monday to persuade the Maine Department of Transportation to lower the speed limit along Route 100 from 45 mph to 35 mph.

The speed issue arose during a public hearing on whether to issue both a food license and entertainment license to The Barn at Old Smith Farm, 226 Gray Road (Route 100), as councilors considered tying parking requirements to the licenses for safety reasons.

Councilors voted unanimously to approve the restaurant’s food and entertainment license late Monday night. The special amusement permit will allow the Old Smith Farm to stage live acoustic music with no more than three performers on stage.

Molly Ritzo, who operates the restaurant, said allowing live music would enhance her business and make it a Falmouth destination.

Ritzo said parking restrictions tied to the licenses are acceptable to her. Those restrictions will prohibit parking on the east side of Route 100 across from the restaurant, but would allow 10-15 vehicles to park on the west side on a 100-foot stretch to the north of the business.

Town officials say parking in the Old Smith Farm lot and along the road needs to be improved for safety reasons. Several people who spoke at Monday’s hearing said drivers often exceed the 45 mph speed limit as they pass the restaurant. They hope to convince the state to lower the limit.

“I don’t think the town should back down to the Department of Transportation,” said Karen Winslow, who lives on the road. “We should fight that battle.”

Police Chief John Kilbride said his department enforces the speed limit on Route 100, and stopped 525 cars on the road last year alone.

“There is a lot of transient traffic, a lot of trucks on that road,” the chief said. “It’s a problematic road, hands down, and will continue to be that way.”

Members of the audience of about 50 urged the council to issue the licenses.

“I think what we have here is a very successful business that needs more parking than is available,” Town Manager Nathan Poore said. Poore will develop an ordinance to address the parking issues and bring it to the council at its September meeting.

Poore told the council that while the town can request a reduction in the speed limit, the state will not accept a request unless the town undertakes a speed study first.

Concerns about the parking situation first arose last summer, when Poore – while on a ride-along with a police officer – noticed that cars parked on Route 100 were blocking people leaving the restaurant from seeing oncoming traffic, and that pedestrians were forced to walk dangerously close to the road.

Old Smith Farm offers seasonal dining, a year-round bake shop, and hosts weddings and catering services.

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