TOPSHAM

What would Route 24 look like if you could change it?

The question was posed Wednesday at a Midcoast Council of Governments forum on the Route 24 corridor.

Citizens cited an array of issues such as road conditions, signage and traffic congestion along the highway from Harpswell to Richmond.

In addition to carrying summer tourists, the road is a main thoroughfare serving construction trucks, logging trucks and trucks moving lobster products out of town, Harpswell resident Tony Barrett said.

One of the main issues for Brunswick and Topsham is a desire to remove Route 24 from downtowns. One person suggested diverting it from Middlesex Road in Topsham to the Route 196 Coastal Connector and onto Route 1, reconnecting it with Route 24 in Brunswick.

Brunswick Town Councilor Margo Knight said Brunswick is trying to slow traffic along Route 24, which becomes Maine Street downtown, to make it safer for pedestrians. Anna Breinich, town planner, added the town is trying to “right-size” Maine Street to make it fit the character of the downtown, whether that means bringing in the sides of the street or putting in a median.

Breinich noted there also are significant economic development opportunities and possible future access issues in the area of the former Atrium Inn across from the Sears entrance in Cook’s Corner.

Participants talked anecdotally about issues of signage for visitors who have ended up in Bowdoinham while trying to find Bailey Island in Harpswell.

Harpswell Town Manager Kristi Eiane said a common complaint is the condition of the road and lack of paved shoulders beyond Mountain Road in Harpswell.

Eiane also said the state could do more to accentuate the historic and scenic opportunities along the road in Harpswell by, for example, directing people to the landmark Cribstone Bridge.

In Richmond, there was discussion of the railroad overpass along Route 24 that has repeatedly been hit by trucks, as well as how the approach of the scheduled bridge replacement of the Richmond Dresden Bridge will affect Route 24.

There was discussion about a traffic feasibility study to looked at access around Brunswick Landing, the former Navy base.

Bob Bruce of Wiscasset of the Merrymeeting Wheelers Bicycle Club said maintaining shoulders helps preserve roads longer and enhances bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Sarah Curran, a planner working on the corridor management proposal with the Midcoast Council of Governments, said the state has asked regional planning councils to come up with plans for “corridors of economic significance.”

Route 1 was identified as the No. 1 corridor of economic significance in the Midcoast region; Route 24 as the second most important, Curran said.

Citizens are invited to serve on the advisory committee to the Route 24 corridor plan. Call 443-5790 or email info@midcoastcog.org.

dmoore@timesrecord.com