Town needsto be more walkable/bikeable

To the editor,

According to the recent 2023 Town of Scarborough Community Survey, the highest priority is to address the flow of traffic and ease of getting around within the Town. So far this issue seems to be interpreted by the Town Council as entirely a problem of managing supply e.g., how can we make commutes on Route 1 faster?, can we add better traffic signals? A deeper look at the survey results shows that respondents seem to prefer that Scarborough would grow into a walkable, bikeable community and reduce the need for even being on Route 1. For example, the survey’s top infrastructure priorities were quality and quantity of sidewalks and quality and quantity of bikeways. This future depends on having places to walk and bike to in our neighborhoods. I would suggest the Town Council to instead focus on how they can help reduce demand for getting around within town including reducing zoning requirements (current zoning ordinance document is 548 pages), greater application of mixed-use zoning (most residents live in low density, residential-only R2 zones requiring a drive to complete most errands), removing/reducing off-street parking requirements which push buildings out of walking distance, and acting on the survey’s suggested infrastructure priorities of sidewalks and bikeways instead of more infrastructure for cars. Scarborough should be for its people, not its cars.

James Cronican
Scarborough