Traffic speeds along Monday on Lake Road/Routes 117 and 118 in Norway. The large oak tree next to Lake Pennesseewassee marks a popular fishing spot, where people will park on the shoulder and climb over the guardrail. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

NORWAY — Resident Joan Woodman says she drives only 35 mph in the 50-mph zone on Routes 117 and 118/Lake Road, along Lake Pennesseewassee nearly every day to get from her home to the downtown business district and back.

“I don’t usually get people pushing me,” Woodman told the Select Board last week. “I don’t get tailgated. Every once in awhile, someone will go whipping past me. ”

When that happens, she said she thinks, “I hope you’re getting where you want to go safely” or “If you had left 10 minutes earlier, I wouldn’t be in front of you.”

Concerned with all the people who use the road with the wide shoulders and upset with the response she received in a letter from the Maine Department of Transportation, Woodman pleaded with the Select Board to do something to lower the speed limit.

“I don’t want to hear the screeching of brakes and go out and see someone was unnecessarily hurt,” Woodman said.

“I think it would be very nice if we would send a letter to DOT asking to have a meeting so that we can express our concerns,” she added.

In the letter to Woodman, Maine DOT said it is willing to meet with town officials to discuss the issue.

Members of the Select Board agreed that speed on that stretch along the lake is a problem.

“I am an avid walker and cyclist,” Selectman Sarah Carter said. “I ride my bike on (Route) 117. It’s terrifying. I have been yelled at, honked at, run off the road. This is a big issue, not just with speeding, but with disobedience.”

That stretch often has walkers, bikers, people pushing carriages and people carrying fishing poles. The road is flat with shoulders 8-to-10 feet wide, according to the Maine DOT.

The road is also considered a state road, which means the town does not control the speed limit. The only way to lower speed would be through enforcement and possibly changing the traffic pattern to keep it from being a straight shot from downtown to where Routes 117 and 118 split.

An official with Maine DOT, in a letter to Woodman, defended the 50 mph speed limit.

“This extra width encourages some to walk, bike and even fish, but it also encourages speed. Maine DOT sensitive approach to speed limits does consider other road users. Artificially low speed limits that don’t match the roadway are often ignored as most drivers tend to travel at speeds comfortable with their surroundings.”

That response angered Woodman. “They don’t really care if I’m safe. Just let the people who want to drive fast go fast.”

Selectman Danielle Wadsworth said she was told something similar when she complained about the speed on Route 118.

“What I was told was that they would do a speed survey in front of my house and if they determine the average speed is higher, they’ll go up in the speed limit,” Wadsworth said. “So, I kind of backed off. I know the average speed is higher than 50.”

While the town is working with Maine DOT to improve traffic flow near Rowe Elementary School on Main Street at the opposite end of town, officials said they would consider seeing what changes in traffic patterns could be accomplished to slow down vehicles.

“I think it is a very severe problem and it’s not getting any better,” Woodman said.