RAYMOND – Raymond Cape residents upset with a proposal to build a parking lot on the mainland for users of the Frye Island ferry are circulating a petition and lobbying their town leaders in hopes of derailing the plan they say could impact the natural character of the area.

As proposed by the town of Frye Island, the illuminated parking lot would sit on 25 acres the town purchased in 2005. The land is located directly across from the ferry access road near the end of Raymond Cape. While the lot would start out at 50 spaces, Frye Island is seeking permission for expansion to 250 spaces if further parking were needed in the future.

According to Frye Island Selectman John Nun, the impetus for the parking lot is safety. Vehicles waiting to board the ferry, especially on holiday weekends, quickly fill the access road and spill out onto Cape Road.

“The queuing up, when the line gets long, they end up on Raymond Cape Road, and it is downright dangerous,” Nun said. “It’s a curvy road. People tend to zip down the road, and you go down those hills and around those curves and if there’s a line of cars, you’re liable to kill somebody.”

Frye Island’s town manager, Wayne Fournier, said the parking issue has been an ongoing one for the island. When the town bought the 25 acres for $260,000, it did so eyeing the property for a future parking area. With more visitors and residents living on the island, now’s the time, Fournier said, to try to solve the parking issue before the situation on Cape Road gets worse.

“It’s been an issue, not every day, but primarily during peak holiday weekends. And it’s been going on for a while, but it’s expected to increase. We’re trying to look into the future as best we can,” Fournier said. “There are approximately 500 homes on the island. We can have as many as 750 homes if it’s built out. If that 50 percent increase occurs, one would expect the traffic to the island might increase, as well, which will exacerbate the whole problem.”

The new parking lot would start out as a “ring road” of sorts, Fournier said, that would extend Quarry Cove Road, located on the other side of Cape Road from the ferry access road, through the 25 acres the island owns. The new road would end across from the existing ferry access road. Cars could park on the new road and then cross Cape Road when the ferry starts boarding. In all, the new road would allow about 50 parking spaces, as well as a queue for about 75 cars, Fournier said.

If in the future the island decided to expand parking, it would create spaces on the interior portion of the ring road.

Resident concerns

Residents in that area of Raymond pay many thousands in property taxes for the chance to live in a quiet area at the end of a peninsula extending miles into Sebago Lake. Most have lakefront frontage, and the last thing they want is a large parking lot in their neighborhood complete with overhead lighting.

“Everybody on Raymond Cape has found out about this, and of course everybody is up in arms saying what the hell are we going to do, since it’s a quality-of-life issue. I looked into it, and I’m upset,” said Tom Ewig, who owns property on both sides of Cape Road within a mile of the ferry. “Why should Raymond Cape’s quality of life suffer to make the quality of life better for Frye Island? What’s the trade-off?”

Ewig is concerned about the lighting of the parking lot, increased traffic, pollution and runoff. Ewig and others don’t believe the parking lot will be limited to 50 cars. He believes islanders would quickly prefer to leave their cars on the mainland, since ferry fees are high. Instead they will park and opt to walk over or take golf carts, which cost less to transport ($10) than vehicles, which can be up to $35 round trip.

“Once they sprinkle the holy water on it, then I don’t think you protest that it’s all right for 50 but not 250,” Ewig said. “I think once the die is cast, I would think the die is cast.”

Raymond Cape would be forever changed, he said.

“Raymond Cape is really unique in my mind. It’s not much traveled, except for people who live on the cape and Frye Islanders,” Ewig said. “There’s no through traffic, and the more traffic you put on there, the more you’re going to ruin the quality of life of the people who are immediately abutting Cape Road and also those not directly on the road. It’s going to be a completely different complexion.”

Barb Lovell, who lives a half-mile from the proposed lot and walks daily by the access road, couldn’t agree more with Ewig.

Not only does Lovell worry about the aesthetic impact, but she also is concerned about the runoff from a large parking lot.

“I think it’s deleterious to the environment, whether it’s aesthetic or physical,” Lovell said.

Peter Lowell, executive director of Lakes Environmental Association in Bridgton, is already in the loop on the proposal and says he is working with the Portland Water District to review the plans.

“The important thing is that the stormwater be addressed,” Lowell said. “There are always two issues. There’s the social issue of having that much activity near somebody’s house and camp, and that’s kind of an individual concern, but the water quality is also a concern. Is the stormwater being treated properly? And we are working with the water district in looking at the plans, and we will be collaborating with them to make sure there is no impact on the lake.”

Barb Lovell is also concerned about the commercial nature of the parking lot operation.

“No matter how it is phrased, or covered or draped, it is going to be a commercial operation,” Lovell said. “They are going to charge, in some way, a tariff for rental of their golf carts, etc., perhaps even for rental of [spaces]. And since money is exchanged, that’s a commercial endeavor. This is zoned residential. And I think it would be a travesty if the board were to fly in the face of this.”

Former Raymond Fire Chief Denis Morse, who lives nearby, sees the lot as a commercial endeavor, as well.

“A parking lot is considered commercial in my mind, and they’re in a residential area. So the question becomes one of whether you give them a variance. And I think that’s an appeals board question. A parking lot is more commercial,” Morse said.

While he understands neighbors’ concerns, Nun, the Frye Island selectmen, said the lot would not be commercial since “there is no paying to park there. It is not commercial. It is municipal. And there will be no charge for parking.”

Nun also doesn’t see people opting to avoid the ferry fees by parking in the lot and walking or using a golf cart.

“The intent at the time was to solve our long-term transportation situation, which is parking,” Nun said. “Most people who are out on the island take their cars back and forth. They don’t want to walk with their groceries or even in a golf cart. So I don’t think we’re going to see a lot of people parking over there just to save a ferry fee.”

Nun said Frye Island has been spending a lot of time trying to solve the queuing issue on the mainland. He sees the parking lot across from the access road as a “long-term solution.” Some residents have suggested building a third lane on the ferry side of Cape Road to handle overflow. However, Nun said that may solve the issue but it would have to be paid for by Raymond, which he doesn’t see as a likely proposition in cash-strapped times.

“It’s their road, so we’re frankly standing back and saying, if you need parking to make your road safe that’s your bill. And so we haven’t come to an agreement on that one yet,” Nun said.

Next steps

According to Raymond planning consultant Jim Seymour, of Sebago Technics, the Planning Board has two considerations in their review of the parking proposal. Since the lot lies within the shoreland zone, the board needs to make sure the proposal follows state and local ordinances for that area.

Secondly, in its site-plan review capacity, “the board must consider public safety, wastewater, stormwater, traffic generation, noise, lighting, all of those technical components,” Seymour said.

As a result of the mid-July meeting, the board requested that Frye Island consult with a traffic engineer to determine a baseline for the design, Seymour said.

“We’re trying to get a sense of what is the need based on peak operations at the ferry terminal, what is the traffic being generated and what is the traffic-queuing length. How is the traffic performing and how does it move through the area,” Seymour said.

The town of Frye Island may not go forward with the project depending on cost. And, according to Fournier, the town manager, the town can’t determine the project’s final cost until it determines the scope of the project and what systems need to be incorporated to ensure such things as water quality and traffic safety.

“What we’re trying to find out is what it consists of so we can then figure out what it would cost. Because we have to pay for it ourselves, and there are only 500 homes here,” Fournier said. “We may find out once it’s all said and done, it’s too expensive to build. I don’t know. If that’s the case, to be honest, I don’t know what we’d do. But the situation isn’t going to get any safer out there, so we’ve got to figure out something that works for all of us.”

Parked cars queue on the access road leading to the Frye Island ferry terminal near the end of Raymond Cape. Some choose to park their cars along the access road. During peak usage, on holiday weekends mostly, the line of parked cars and those waiting to board the ferry can spill out onto Cape Road, which island officials say could cause serious safety issues. (Photo by Rich Obrey)

The Frye Island ferry, which runs across “The Gut” to the island in the background, lines up with the ferry landing area last Friday afternoon. (Photo by Rich Obrey)