In the fall of 2005, some of Kathy Simpson’s best customers were bidding her goodbye.

That was more than a year ago, as the city of Lewiston prepared to narrow the traffic lanes outside her Lisbon Road ski and snowmobile store.

“They all told me goodbye, that they wouldn’t come back once the work was done,” Simpson said. “They were really mad about it.”

In an effort to slow traffic and make it safer for turning cars, the city changed Route 196’s traffic pattern between the Lisbon town line and the Maine Turnpike overpass. Instead of two lanes traveling in either direction, there is one lane each way and a turning lane in the middle.

The dire warnings of Simpson’s customers didn’t come true.

It’s more than a year later, and they’re still stopping. Simpson is convinced they’re safer.

“It’s so much easier getting in and out of my parking lot,” she said. Before, customers coming from the east had to cross three lanes of swiftly moving traffic. Now, they cross one lane and can wait in the middle for traffic to clear.

Others along busy Lisbon Road, also known as Route 196, agree that it’s safer now.

Numbers bear that out: Police say it’s reduced traffic accidents by 13 percent.

And a traffic study released by the Androscoggin Transportation Resource Center concludes that the city won’t have to contemplate more expensive fixes – such as adding additional lanes – for another 15 years.

Route 4 drivers divided

Crews from the Maine Department of Transportation tried a similar tactic on Route 4 through Turner. But not everyone thinks it’s helped.

“The idea is fine. It makes sense,” said Anna Morneau, office manager at Turner Veterinary Service. Creating a middle lane would give customers and staff a safe place to wait to turn into the driveway.

“But that’s not how people use it,” Morneau said. “They treat that middle lane like a passing lane. They haven’t slowed down at all, so I think it makes things less safe.”

But Kathy Chan, a clerk at the Big Apple store on Route 4 in Turner, believes it’s helped.

“If nothing else, it’s slowed them down,” she said. “It’s just easier to get in and out of our lot now.”

Tom Merrill, an employment specialist for Goodwill Industries of New England, said he’s noticed a difference on both Lisbon Road and Route 4. He regularly travels both, visiting businesses and talking to employees. That means a lot of stopping at parking lots along the busy roads.

“In Turner, it’s made a tremendous difference,” he said.

However, Annette Spears, a hostess at the Chick-a-Dee restaurant on Route 4, said the road needs better police enforcement.

“People use the middle lane when they shouldn’t, and we need police out there to stop them,” she said.

Police say they increased their presence on the road, especially immediately after the new lanes opened.

Sgt. James Jacques, of the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department, said Route 4 traffic is slower.

“We’ve noticed a huge difference, especially in front of the Chick-A-Dee and the Big Apple,” Jacques said. “We’ve been out there, giving out tickets. People still drive fast there, but the number of accidents are down.”