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Route 302 Traffic Woes Spread Toward Raymond

February 24, 2009 - WINDHAM — The traffic issues that plague the commercial district on Route 302 in North Windham are creeping toward the Raymond town line, as development moves north on the busy highway.

That has prompted the town to hire an engineering firm to study traffic trends on the road and recommend improvements, possibly including widening, adding turning lanes, signals or other measures.

Town Manager Tony Plante said officials are also considering developing an impact-fee system for the mile-long study area, between Whites Bridge Road and Mineral Spring Road. Businesses in that area would have to pay the fee to fund highway improvements.

"That's part of the policy decision that the Town Council is going to have to make," Plante said. "I think at the very least we would be looking for development to pay a substantial part of the cost."

Route 302 is the major commercial artery through Windham and up the eastern shore of Sebago Lake. It carries traffic volumes that average some 21,000 vehicles a day, according to the most recent data published by the Maine Department of Transportation.

Traffic levels jump in the summer, when tourists and vacation home owners flock to lakefront camps, cottages and campgrounds. The result is congestion, dangerous intersections and nightmarish commutes, especially through the North Windham commercial area.

Development has begun to move west on Route 302, concentrating in an area near the Enterprise Development District. The town has approved a Microtel hotel on that section of highway, and a number of retail stores have opened in the Firestorm Business Condominiums mall.

Planning Director Brooks More said the state transportation department may require a traffic signal at Enterprise Drive if more development occurs on that road. But he said a bigger, long-range traffic plan is needed.

"We don't want to be looking at this one development at a time and then getting into a situation where the last development in the door has to pay for the improvements," More said.

The Town Council recently agreed to spend $9,700 on an engineering study, with $7,760 of the funding coming from the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Study, a regional group.

The study will include a 10-year projection of traffic levels with recommendations for Route 302 improvements, said Plante. He said the job should be done within six months.

Town councilors will then have to decide whether to create an impact fee program to fund the work. Plante said it's unlikely the town would get any state money for the project because of the weak economy and the strong demand for highway funding for other jobs.

As part of Windham's planning process, at least two meetings will be held to gather comments from businesses and residents in the area. Those meetings have not yet been scheduled.

The section of highway includes the Mineral Spring Estates neighborhood along Sebago Lake. Residents of the neighborhood have to access Route 302 from Mineral Spring or Linnell roads.

"It's horrible, actually," said Tony Schwarz, who has lived in the Mineral Spring neighborhood for 10 years, describing the ordeal of getting into his neighborhood from the busy highway.

"The speed limit is 50 or 55," he said. "Most people generally want to go faster than that."

John Jaques, who manages Genest Landscape and Masonry Center on Enterprise Drive, agreed that traffic can be difficult but said the location has worked well for Genest.

A Windham resident, Jaques said the town should consider reducing the tax rate it charges to businesses if it makes them pay for Route 302 improvements.

Otherwise, the impact fee could discourage a business from locating in the development district, he said.

By DIETER BRADBURY, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, February 24, 2009


Lakes:
Regions: Sebago


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