03/19/04
High School renovation site plan
will include Ocean House Road traffic signal
The School Board is planning to include a traffic signal and a left-hand
turn lane on Ocean House Road in front of Cape Elizabeth High School as part
of its site plan for the school's renovation.
The Planning Board on Tuesday delayed approval of site plans for the $7.9
million renovation to the High School until the School Department submitted
a proposal for alleviating traffic congestion that occurs at the intersection
during peak hours.
At a workshop meeting Thursday, the majority of Town Councilors said they
agreed with a traffic consultant's finding that the level of service at the
intersection warrants a traffic signal.
"The School Board is going to change their application to say that the town
plans to install a light and turn lane," said Town Councilor Mary Ann Lynch
said Friday. Lynch is also a member of the schools' Building Committee.
A report submitted by Wilbur Smith Associates gives the intersection a
level-of-service rating of "F", the lowest grade possible, for vehicles turning
left out of the High School access road during peak hours. The report sites
a delay of nearly 4 minutes per vehicle during the peak hour of 6:45-7:45
a.m., and a backup of vehicles averaging 302 feet. During the evening peak,
5-6 p.m., the same turn also received a grade of F.
And, although the intersection does not have a history of accidents, school
and town officials have a numerous letters and anecdotes of "close calls."
"The School Board continues to be concerned not only for the safety of our
school population but also the liability issues that must be considered when
there is documented failure for an intersection and no action is taken,"
says a letter from the School Board submitted to the Planning Board and to
the Town Council.
The letter says the board supports the findings of the traffic consultants.
"While the final decision for our projects lie with the Planning Board and
action to address traffic issues at the intersection lies with the Town Council,
the School Board supports resolution of this safety concern before injury
or litigation occurs," the letter says.
The cost for a signal and left-hand turn lane is estimated at $185,000. Lynch
said the council will apply for a grant from the Portland Area Comprehensive
Transportation Committee, which might fund 80 percent of the cost.
At a public hearing before the Planning Board Tuesday, Lynch pushed for a
resolution to the traffic issue and said that she, as one council member,
would encourage the council to apply for a grant, and/or to increase the
borrowing for the project, rather than have funds come from the amount already
approved by the voters. "This question isn't or shouldn't be about money,"
Lynch told the board. "We have an intersection with the worst traffic grade
possible. Our most inexperienced drivers use this intersection every day.
Plain and simple, it's a safety issue," Lynch told the board.
Funding details need to be worked out, Lynch said Friday, and drivers won't
see a light there for a couple of years.
The School Department's site plan for the High School includes a reconfiguration
of the vehicle and bus dropoff in front of the school, additions to the front
entrance and rear entrance at the cafeteria, and expanded parking. Once approved,
plans are to begin the site work in the summer of 2005.
At their meeting Tuesday, Planning Board members Peter Hatem and Barbara
Schenkel both said that if the applicant, in this case the School Department,
were a private developer, they would most certainly be required to bring
any similar traffic issue into compliance with Town ordinances. "It wouldn't
even be a close question," said Hatem.
The Town's zoning ordinance requires ingress and egress to sites be safe
and convenient.
Lynch said on Friday the council would not seek public input on the traffic
light. The majority, she said "felt it's not a question of what people want.
It's a question of what the town needs in terms of safety and convenience."
Also, Lynch said, a public hearing could not be held until May, which would
delay the renovations and related construction of a kindergarten addition
to the Pond Cove School. School Superintendent Dr. Thomas Forcella said plans
are to have the kindergartners move from their current location at the High
School to their new building next February. The Planning Board's vote to
table the renovation plans until the April 29 meeting does not adversely
affect the project now, but further delay would be a setback, he said.
"We don't want to delay the school project," said Lynch. The town and school
department, as applicants for site-plan review, have an obligation to meet
its own ordinance and to fix a traffic situation that does not come up to
standard, she said.
Police Chief Neil Williams testified at the Planning Board meeting that his
department has received complaints for the last several years about traffic
at the High School. Last spring, the town opened Jordan Way as an alternate
entrance to the High School campus to try and alleviate some of the congestion.
The move has helped some, Williams said, but it is not a permanent solution.
He urged the board to consider a traffic signal, as recommended by the
traffic consultant, as a possible option.
Lynch said no one on the council wants a traffic light, but after hearing
a presentation from the traffic consultant and reviewing the reports,
the majority feel that a light is needed.
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