Thanking Sens. King, Collins Standing up for recycling infrastructure

It’s encouraging to see Congress working in unison on crucial legislation that will greatly benefit Maine’s roads, bridges and railways as well as bring jobs to our state. We’re especially grateful to Sens. King and Collins, who served as integral members of the bipartisan group that worked to advance the Senate’s infrastructure package.

On behalf of Maine’s beverage industry, we’re especially happy to see federal funds devoted to improving recycling infrastructure and educating consumers about how best to recycle. These investments will help encourage more private-public partnerships like our industry’s Every Bottle Back initiative to ensure discarded materials are collected and recycled into new, environmentally friendly products. That will conserve resources and help keep recyclable materials out of our ocean, rivers and landfills.

We thank Sens. King and Collins for their leadership, and we look forward to working together to promote a more sustainable environment for all of Maine.

Newell Augur,
executive director of the Maine Beverage Association

Brunswick’s traffic problem extends beyond Pleasant Street

The headline states: “Easing Brunswick road’s traffic congestion could cost millions”; “Brunswick’s Pleasant Street sees thousands of vehicles daily, and experienced dozens of crashes in 2020” (The Times Record, Aug. 4). I think Maine has been keeping tourists statistics since 1971. Mill Street is nothing more than a widened foot path.

Traffic year around is very heavy. During tourist season it is worse. We have known this for years. This heavy traffic has been essentially ignored for 50 years? Perhaps we placed priorities erroneously.

And now we have a problem with increasing traffic on Mere Point, Middle Bay and Harpswell roads, as well as the road going through the golf course around the former Navy base, all due to Brunswick reaching a saturation point of traffic.

People go anywhere to avoid in town Brunswick, to avoid traffic. There is no longer anywhere to go to avoid this problem. Walking and bicycling can be an alternative, however, both have become increasingly dangerous no matter how bright one’s clothing is. All roads and intersections have become too congested with increasing dangers.

Then we have the cell phone usage while driving problem. Speeding is a huge problem on roads not designed to handle any more than 25 miles per hour traffic and with blind hills and blind curves. I have brought this to the attention of the state DOT as well as Brunswick police.

I think the greatest traffic problem is not simply congestion, but cars and trucks exceeding speed limits combined with congestion. Of course one can analyze the reasons for drivers who speed.

Joseph Ciarrocca,
Brunswick