OXFORD — Selectperson Sharon Jackson did not mince words when Maine Department of Transportation Regional Planner Matt Drost addressed the board Jan. 16 about plans to install a traffic light at Main and Oxford streets.

“I think it’s a terrible idea,” Jackson said. “I don’t know why this board was not made aware of it … Shouldn’t there have been a public hearing held on this?”

Drost explained the project originated in the agency’s Safety Office, which does not trigger the same kind of communication as a traffic planning study.

“I’m not aware that MDOT is required to notify the town,” Drost said. “It was an identified safety need … It will allow traffic to turn safely out of Oxford Street onto Route 26,” which is Main Street.

“We would not necessarily have a public hearing in person. I’ll have to check when and if, and I’d assume that there was one, for a virtual public opportunity hosted by MDOT,” he said.

Jackson countered that she was not aware of any hearing being advertised or held.

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In September MDOT Project Manager Brian Keezer attended a Paris Select Board meeting about the pending project and indicated there would be a virtual public hearing about the project.

At that meeting, Keezer also stated that if MDOT sees “unanimous opposition to it, it’s likely we’ll go away and spend the money somewhere else.”

Traffic moves along Main Street/Route 26 in Oxford on Jan. 16, approaching the Oxford Street intersection at right. The Maine Department of Transportation’s Safety Office has designated the intersection a high-crash location and plans to install a traffic light there next year. Nicole Carter/Advertiser Democrat

“It’s a town road,” Vice Chairman Dana Dillingham told Drost. “Does the town of Paris not have the ability to post (on the other end) that it is not a through-way? That’s where a lot of the traffic is coming from – GPS leading from Sunday River.”

Drost answered that Paris would have that ability, adding that the road was not originally constructed to handle the high volume of vehicles it handles. But he added there is currently enough traffic to warrant safety measures on the part of MDOT.

Dillingham persisted, asking whether installing such a sign would trigger GPS apps to instead direct southbound traffic to continue along Route 26 instead of through neighborhood streets.

Drost said that in that scenario it would take time for new mapping to update, even if Paris has taken the step, and would not involve MDOT to make happen.

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Jackson then asked what the Safety Office had determined about traffic backing up due to a traffic light, one of the complaints Paris selectmen had addressed with Keezer last fall. Drost was not able to speak to what the impact would be.

“While there may be some backups, any that occur during peak times, there would not be situations where people wait minutes upon minutes,” Drost replied. “I think it would outlet all of Oxford Street and then allow 26 to continue for some time without backup on Oxford Street.”

The project is slated to be done in 2026 and will take about two months. It is not part of the ongoing and larger Route 26 project that will continue next year, farther south in the corridor where Routes 26 and 121 converge and overlap.

The board also used its discussion time with Drost to take issue over the recently redesigned intersection at Route 26 and Skeetfield Road. The new lanes require traffic turning from Skeetfield to Route 26 to drive into the lane for drivers to turn right onto the road, which has created new hazards, especially during poor visibility.

Jackson requested that the right turn be made more gradual and that a streetlight be added.

Drost said he would take her suggestions back to MDOT engineers for consideration.

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