02/15/05
Town Council gives nod to funding
of traffic light, improvements to Town Center intersection
The Town Council Monday voted to accept the Portland Area Comprehensive
Transportation committee's endorsement to fund more than $2 million worth
of road construction projects in Cape Elizabeth, including a new traffic
light, re-configuration and pedestrian improvements at the intersection of
Ocean House, Scott Dyer and Shore roads.
In all the council accepted PACTS endorsement and matching local funds for
four projects. The one generating the most discussion was the one at the
Town Center intersection, which passed by a 6-1 vote.
"I going to vote in favor of all but this particular one," said Councilor
Carol Fritz. All of the other projects involve existing roads and involve
no controversy, she said, but she said she believed the proposed changes
to the town center intersection should not be approved without a public hearing.
"There's quite a diversity of feeling about this intersection and putting
in a traffic light," she said. "There are a lot of implications from having
a traffic light."
The intersection is currently serviced by a blinking yellow light along Ocean
House Road, and blinking red facing Shore Road to the east and Scott Dyer
Road to the west.
However, Town Manager Michael McGovern said that the final construction plans
will need to come back to the council for approval, at which time there will
be opportunity for public input. The Town will also want to work with abutting
property owners which will be most impacted by the work.
In a telephone interview, McGovern said the next step is for the Maine Department
of Transportation to schedule the work. He said plans will come back to the
council for approval, but it will definitely will not be this calendar year.
In total, the PACTs funding will allow the town between $2.24 and $2.25 million
in infrastructure improvements over the next two years, with 87 percent of
that money coming from state and federal sources, McGovern said.
The Ocean House/Scott Dyer/Shore Road project commits $297,500 in federal
and state funds, with $52,500 as a 15 percent local match.
Other PACTS endorsements approved by the council Feb. 14:
-
Shore Road shim and overlay from Fort Williams Park to Route 77 ($401,115
federal and state funding, $70,785 as 15 percent local match);
-
Sawyer Road shim and overly from Fickett Street to Eastman Road ($145,860
federal and state funding, $25,740 as 15 percent local match);
-
Preventative maintenance overlay of Spurwink Avenue ($753,100 federal and
state funding, $132,900 as 15 percent local match).
The latter project is less than the full-depth reconstruction the Town applied
for, but Public Works Director Robert Malley said the town was still getting
a good deal from the state.
Town Councilor Mary Ann Lynch thanked town staff for their efforts in securing
the funding, adding that in her tenure as councilor she hadn't seen this
much federal money come back to the town.
Local matches will come from roadway drainage account.
PACTS also agreed to fund a $650,000 shim and overlay of Route 77 from the
Grange Hall to the Church of the Nazarene. No local share is required and
consequently no vote on the funding was taken by the council.
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