11/12/08
(updated 11/13/08)
Council tables decision on town-center intersection project
The Town Council on Nov. 10 tabled until May 2009 their decision on whether to accept and put out to bid the proposed redesign and signalization of the intersection at Route 77, Shore Road and Scott Dyer Road, in the town center of Cape Elizabeth.
Following a public hearing councilors voted unanimously to postpone their decision until spring, taking into consideration the many objections posed by members of the public.
Many citizens spoke on the cost and the advisability of a light. A few said the new traffic light on Route 77 at the High School has made the problems at Shore Road worse, and a second light would do even more harm. A number of citizens also spoke in favor of the project.
The work would install a full traffic signal at the intersection, which is now served by a blinking red-and-yellow light. It would also modify the geometry of the intersection, bringing Scott Dyer and Shore Roads to meet Route 77 at more of a right angle, and would add pedestrian improvements.
Left-turn lanes would be added to Route 77 to access Shore and Scott Dyer roads.
The hearing was the first that the Town Council has held on the project, which was developed by the Maine Department of Transportation. The MDOT plan is the culmination of several months of work, which took into consideration public input from two MDOT workshops held in September of 2007 and 2008. It was also the subject of design workshops held by the ad hoc Road Safety Group.
Cost of the project is estimated at just under $1.1 million, with $363,500 coming from federal and state funds granted through the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation committee (PACTS). The grant was recommended by PACTS in 2005, and was put on hold two years later because of a lack of available funding. Since that time project costs have increased, putting the local share of the project at $736,400. The local responsibility of PACTS-funded projects is 15 percent, but municipalities are responsible for 100 percent of costs that exceed the original budget.
A motion to kill the project and decline the PACTS funding, and to reimburse the state for up to 15 percent of design costs already incurred, ($20,000) was made by Councilor David Backer and seconded by Councilor Sara Lennon. After some discussion, Councilor Anne Swift-Kayatta suggested tabling the item to the spring, so that the expenditure could be considered in the context of next year's budget planning.
In a telephone interview Nov. 13, Swift-Kayatta said, "I always like to consider major expenses in the context of the budget cycle." The next budget year promises to be challenging, with the state predicting less money for state aid to education, she said. Putting the decision off will allow the council to weigh the project in terms of town revenues and other needed projects, she said.
Council Chairman Jim Rowe moved to table, which was supported by unanimous vote.
Monies for the project have already been borrowed, part of a $2.4 million bond issue made this spring to fund various capital improvements.
Previous stories:
|
