The Highland Lake Grange in Westbrook was filled with neighborhood residents last week, all on hand to hear the latest on what the state had to say about a fix for the problems at the busy Route 302 and Hardy and Duck Pond roads intersection.

But once again, neighbors who believe the state’s previously proposed solution – a roundabout – is not the answer came away with little encouragement.

Officials from the Maine Department of Transportation, as well as traffic engineers from T.Y. Lin, led a public meeting last Wednesday, explaining the complexities and difficulties of the intersection. The consensus among them is that a roundabout is the safest solution. The engineers said a roundabout could solve the speed issue on Route 302 through that intersection, as it would require vehicles to slow down.

“From a safety perspective, roundabouts are superior,” said traffic engineer Tom Errico of T.Y. Lin.

While the roundabout proposal seems likely, Department of Transportation Project Manager John Rodrigue said during the meeting that no plans have been designed. Last June, the Westbrook City Council voted 5-2 to allow the Department of Transportation to proceed with preliminary engineering and design for a potential fix at the intersection.

However, many residents aren’t sold on the roundabout solution, and because of a slow timeline, are concerned for safety in the meantime. Rodrigue said the construction of any solution would most likely not occur until 2018.

Bill Umbel, who is opening Lenny’s Pub in the coming months in the former Hawkes TV building, said in the meantime, he’d like to see speed enforced in the area, and many agreed that it was the biggest safety concern.

“In the interim, what can we do just to get folks to slow down a bit?” he asked.

Heath Cowan of T.Y. Lin said that as part of the engineering, three alternatives are being looked at – a traffic light, added turning lanes or a roundabout. The meeting, they said, was intended to solicit feedback from residents.

“I want to stress that we don’t have a solution yet to the problem that’s out there,” he said.

Many in the area believe the intersection has become more dangerous in the past several years, owing to the high speeds on Route 302. The only traffic control is a flashing yellow light on Route 302 and flashing red facing Duck Pond and Hardy roads, along with stop signs.

Two public meetings were held in 2012, with City Councilor Mike Sanphy and other neighborhood residents pushing for a full traffic light at the intersection, which would allow commuters coming from Hardy or Duck Pond roads easier access, as well as a pedestrian crossing.

However, traffic studies conducted by the state have indicated that the intersection doesn’t meet the traffic count required for a light. Instead, the state has taken the position that a roundabout would provide the safest option for improvement there, while not disrupting traffic flow.

Errico said that in order to look at whether a traffic light was warranted, the intersection was studied for a 12-hour period, from 6 a.m.-6 p.m., with an emphasis on peak commuter hours. He said there are about 14,000 cars on Route 302 on any given day, but that the traffic count of vehicles coming onto Route 302 from Duck Pond or Hardy roads “doesn’t even come close” to the number required to warrant a light.

He said their study showed that three vehicles turned left from Hardy during the morning peak hour, and seven during the evening peak hour.

“It’s really hard to get out from those side streets, and sometimes the wait is very long,” he said. “But there isn’t enough volume from the side streets to trigger a need for a signal.”

Many residents argue that the reason numbers are so low is because most people familiar with the intersection avoid it completely.

Errico added that the state study also showed there are not enough pedestrians crossing the intersection to warrant a stoplight, and that the number of car accidents there, while high, could be amplified by a stoplight, not avoided. He said stopping traffic completely on Route 302 would add the possibility of rear-end crashes at high speeds.

“We find that sometimes signals increase crash rates,” he said. “Because of the speeds, I think the rates would go up.”

Adding turn lanes, he said, could also create more problems, as vehicles sitting in the turn lanes could create blind spots for other drivers.

While roundabouts, according to Errico and Cowan, have many advantages in terms of safety and have no energy costs, construction costs are high and roundabouts can also take up more space. One of the arguments from a group of residents led by Sanphy is that a roundabout would destroy the historic nature of the neighborhood.

Cowan said the group will return to the Grange in December to present their recommendation and a possible concept design.