BETHEL — Maine Department of Transportation representatives held a hearing at Bethel Town Office on Tuesday, Jan 28, to discuss a proposed driveway entrance permit for a coffee shop, Aroma Joe’s, that will be located behind Polished Dental at 44 Mayville Road.

Despite safety and traffic concerns by residents about the area and especially the nearby busy intersection of Mayville and Parkway roads, DOT will likely issue a permit for the coffee shop.

Maine Department of Transportation officials discussed a driveway permit for a proposed Aroma Joe’s behind Polished Dental on Mayville Road (Route 2). Rose Lincoln

DOT representatives were sympathetic to concerns but said their process is intended to mitigate what’s reasonable.

“Our road systems are a collective. There are many businesses that are contributing to the volume of traffic on that road. To have the next one [Aroma Joe’s] shoulder the full burden of all the sins of that traffic is essentially what this process is designed not to do …” said DOT development consultant, Richard Dunton.

Aroma Joe’s is a walk-up/drive-thru with 70% of the traffic “pass by” trips and 30%  primary trips. Studies conducted at three other Maine Aroma Joe’s sites resulted in 36 as the highest number of primary trips.

In the drawing presented at the meeting, the proposed Aroma Joe’s would be at the center of a one-way looped road that motorists would enter and exit from onto Mayville Rd (Route 2).

Ten parking spaces are planned. Seven would be directly behind Polished Dental and three behind Aroma Joe’s.

Dangerous Intersection

According to DOT contractor Jacob Sirois the nearby intersection of Mayville Road and Parkway Road had 16 crashes in the three year period from 2021 through 2023. While the intersection does not meet the traffic volume standards, it will meet the required high crash standards to install a traffic light.

However, Timothy Soucie, DOT Region Traffic Director, said 2028 would be the earliest the state would be able to fund the traffic signal and even that date is not guaranteed because of the competitive process DOT employs.

Maine Department of Transportation officials said the intersection of Parkway Road and Mayville Road (Route 2) is a high crash site and should have a traffic signal, but the earliest DOT would fund the traffic light is 2028. Rose Lincoln photo

“We have tried addressing that intersection without a signal. I do not know what would fix it, [except a signal],” said Soucie.

Responding to Planning Board Member Aaron Osterhage’s question, Soucie said the town could pursue other shared funding sources and install traffic lights sooner than 2028.

In the current DOT project, the sidewalk on the Rusty Lantern side of Mayville Road will cross at Walgreens and with this proposal will extend past Polished Dental. Select Board Member Frank Del Duca who owns Crossroads Diner on the south side of the intersection, said even if there were the same amount of cars in the intersection area, there will be more turning traffic. “And you have walkways that you are introducing into the equation. I think you have a lot to think about here.”

Transportation Engineer William Bray said the morning traffic on Route 2, “is really not that significant.” The survey he conducted was done on a weekday in the second week in September. He acknowledged that the traffic is significantly different in the winter versus the summer, however he said they use data from a continuous traffic count station in Woodstock to help them come up with more precise counts.

Soucie said future sidewalks would aid in traffic calming as will lowering the speed limit which is currently set at 35 miles-per-hour.

Franchisees

The Aroma Joe’s franchisees are Mike Pelletier, of Albany and Mark Paulin, of Saco. The business partners and property owners plan to build the coffee shop this year. They were represented by Danny Whitney at the meeting.

Aroma Joe’s opened its 100th store in 2023. They have stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Florida. The closest Aroma Joe’s to Bethel is the drive-thru at 1570 Main Street in Oxford.

The Portland Maine based company was founded in 2000. They use Topshams Benbow Coffee, the oldest coffee roaster in the state, to supply their beans.

The company’s website reads, “We examine traffic patterns to identify high visibility locations that can attract a steady flow of customers.”