It is all a matter of perspective. For many area residents and visitors, Bristol Road is a throughway to the Pemaquid peninsula. For Damariscotta and Bristol residents who live along Bristol Road, however, it is their home neighborhood, and just pulling out of their driveway or walking their dog has become a challenge.
They are dismayed by the speed of the ever-increasing traffic on Bristol Road, far exceeding the posted limits despite the enhanced efforts of police. A group of Damariscotta and Bristol residents who live along Bristol Road have launched a petition drive calling on the Maine Department of Transportation to lower speed limits.
Damariscotta resident Jean Lannan, who lives near the intersection of Bristol Road and LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus and who volunteers regularly at the hospital, considers that intersection one of the busiest and most dangerous in the area.
“Almost every car I see is exceeding the posted 35-mph speed limit as it approaches the intersection. And the intersection is at the bottom of a hill in both directions, so that increases speed,” Lannan said. “The Miles campus has two nursing homes, a residential retirement facility, a very active hospital, and a number of physicians’ offices. Emergency vehicles need constant access. A serious accident is just waiting to happen. We have to do something before someone is seriously hurt.”
An accident did occur in March 2015 just a couple hundred yards closer to town. Resident Lydia Atkins and her husband were slowing down to turn into their driveway when their car was rear-ended by a speeding vehicle. “Our car was completely turned around and badly damaged and I was knocked unconscious,” said Atkins. “It could have been much worse, but I don’t want what happened to me to happen to anyone else.”
Nearby neighbor Jean Moon said trying to cross Bristol Road to walk into town with cars far exceeding the 35-mph limit “is taking your life in your hands. The delayed sidewalk project makes lowering the limits urgent.”
Bristol residents Ted and Di Silar live near the town line where the posted limit is 50 mph. “But cars and trucks are often going over 60 mph as they approach the town line. Our house is on a curve. Pulling out of our drive is a nightmare,” said Di Silar.
After extensive consultations with other residents, with Damariscotta Town Manager Matt Lutkus, and with local legislators Sen. Chris Johnson and Rep. Mick Devin, the residents group has drawn up a petition calling on the state to replace the current 35-mph zone on Routes 129/130 from Day’s Cove to School Street with a 25-mph zone; to set 30 mph as the maximum speed between School Street and the Damariscotta-Bristol town line; and to encourage a real slowing of traffic approaching Damariscotta by reducing the Route 129/130 50-mph limit in Bristol to 40 mph beginning in the vicinity of Hanley’s Market. The petition also calls on DOT to provide the appropriate new signage.
For Damariscotta resident Bob Piper, Bristol Road is a busy mixed commercial and residential road as well as one which provides access to the entire Pemaquid peninsula. “Just the section between Day’s Cove and School Street contains three major intersections, two multi-home side streets, and approximately 30 private or shared driveways,” Piper said. “A number of small businesses are located in the area as well. There is too much turning activity for existing limits.”
Another Damariscotta resident, Muffy Myles, points out that beyond School Street the density of population is nearly as great. “In approximately one mile there are 14 multi-home side streets, 49 driveways, and at least 10 galleries or small businesses, each contributing exit and entrance traffic,” Myles said. “As someone who works in real estate, I can appreciate the value that prospective home buyers place on safe and reasonable speed limits in the neighborhoods they are considering. It’s in all our interests to stop excessive speeding on Bristol Road.”
The residents group is encouraged by the experience of neighboring communities where the DOT has lowered speed limits in recent years. On Route 130 in Bristol Mills and Route 32 in Round Pond, the limits fall from 50 to 30 mph for stretches of highway that are far less traveled and populated than Bristol Road.
On Route 27, the limit falls from 50 to 30 mph in Dresden Mills, a much less densely populated area. “We know simply lowering the limit in these villages isn’t enough,” said Piper, “but combined with enforcement these lower limits really do slow down the traffic. We need to do the same on Bristol Road.”
Recognizing that the slower speeds may not be appealing to drivers just passing through Bristol Road on their way down the peninsula, one member of the residents group carefully drove the entire length of Bristol Road from Business Route 1 to Hanley’s at the existing limits, and then again at the proposed speed limits. “It would add 90 seconds to a one-way journey. Surely for the sake of safety, that is not too much of a sacrifice to ask,” said Ted Silar.
Residents will be going door to door in the neighborhood to seek signatures on the petition in the coming month. Both residents along Bristol Road and the multi-home side streets, as well as Miles employees and frequent users of Bristol Road, are invited to sign the petition. To sign the petition, help in collecting signatures, or for more information, please contact Bob Piper, 560-2057; Jean Moon, 563-5948; Ted or Di Silar, 563-3141; Muffy Myles, 563-7872; or Dean Curran, 380-5103.
