The Kennebunk Select Board rejected a proposal last week to put road acceptance of Gregory Way on the November ballot.

Residents of Gregory Way, which is located on Fletcher Street near Kennebunk High School, asked the board for approval to change its status from a private street to a public street.

Gregory Way is a recently constructed subdivision with six homes on a cul-de-sac, that residents say is used by community members daily.

A new town ordinance requires all streets looking for road acceptance from the town to provide examples of “public benefit.”

Town Engineer Chris Osterreider said the subdivision is in a growth area, and would have a very minimal impact on the town as a public road, since the subdivision has already been built, has all utilities and would not need to be paved for at least 10 years.

“This is the type of development the town is trying to get to,” Osterreider said.

Located on the second busiest street in town, Gregory Way is used by walkers, runners and bikers every day, said resident Dan Carpenter.

According to residents, the cul-de-sac is also frequently used as a turnaround for vehicles.

“Surrounding streets in our neighborhood have incorporated Gregory Way into their daily activities,” Carpenter said. “We really enjoy that.”

When Gregory Way was originally proposed and homeowners bought their houses, the developer told residents it would be easy to become a public road, Carpenter said.

However, the developer took longer than originally planned to build the homes, and by the time the neighborhood was finished, the town had enacted an ordinance that would require neighborhoods to show “public benefit.”

“I want to emphasize the proximity of our road to the high school,” resident Lisa Smith said. “If there’s an emergency, our road is one of the major ways that emergency vehicles can access the high school.”

Board chair Miriam Whitehouse said the town has seen an uptick in requests for road acceptance, and the town sees no reason to think that would change.

“That’s why we’ve started thinking very hard about this,” Whitehouse said. “It’s a matter of increased costs.”

Board member Lisa Pratt agreed, ultimately voting against the road acceptance.

“In 10 years, we’ll need to pave,” Pratt said. “We have so many roads right now that are behind in paving and maintenance.”

While the road acceptance proposal from Gregory Way was denied last week, board members said the neighborhood will have the opportunity to ask again in the future.