To the Editor:
A couple of days ago I had an interesting email from a Bristol Road neighbor who knew that I belong to a neighborhood group that is gathering signatures on a petition requesting the Department of Transportation review speed limits on the Damariscotta section of Route 129.
He had not been in the area for awhile and had missed the Oct. 15 LCN article describing our group’s activity. (“Community group circulates petition to reduce speed limits on Bristol Road,” Page 11)
His note was precipitated by the long standing interest he had in the issue and a recent traffic incident he had witnessed. I called him and we chatted about the neighborhood and the problems we shared involving Bristol Road. He said that he felt that while speed was a factor, it was the inherently unsafe nature of the road itself that was his major concern. He commented on its physical condition including tiny or non existent shoulders, poor sight lines, crowned surface, and the undulating nature of the terrain.
He suggested that we include these factors as important ones when we present a request to the board of selectmen that it ask the DOT to do an updated review of Bristol Road speed limits.
His email and our conversation prompted me to write this letter as a reminder to others who may have read that Oct. 15 article. Things are moving along and if readers are interested, they could help by signing the petition in the next few weeks.
Fifteen members of our group are soliciting signatures via a door to door visit to folks who live on Bristol Road, or on any of its feeder roads. They will continue doing so for the next week or two. If for some reason they miss you, or if you don’t live in a Bristol Road neighborhood and are one of the many frequent users of Bristol Road who share our concerns, you can still help with a signature.
A copy of the petition is available at the main desk of the Skidompha Library. The group will also have a table outside the Damariscotta Town Office on election day and if we can arrange it, possibly downtown during the Early Bird Sale.
Signers do not have to have Damariscotta residency. The key words on the petition are “frequent users of Bristol Road.” That covers residents of Damariscotta and neighboring towns. It covers the patients, visitors, and employees of Lincoln County Healthcare, with its many medical offices and residential facilities.
These folks all use Bristol Road several times a day. We are also interested in signatures from the many tradespeople, UPS drivers, mail and newspaper delivery folks and others who take a risk every day by partially stopping in or at the edge of a driving lane on this busy road in order to make deliveries to those who live here. (I see that happen in front of my house 8 to 10 times a week.)
While our group is aware the DOT does not include citizen opinion as one of the factors it considers when setting speed limits, we are asking for signatures from as many people as possible because we believe that it should. We think the opinion of the major users of Bristol Road should be a “factor” in the DOT process as well.
Your signature on our petition will help us make that point.
