The traffic study at a bustling, sometimes congested downtown Freeport intersection concluded earlier than expected this week, citing positive results with no degradation in traffic, according to town officials.

The trial, which started Sept. 9 and was expected to last up to 10 weeks, examined the intersection of Main and Bow streets. It wrapped up early on Thursday, Oct. 16. Data collected from the traffic study showed the all-way stop sign configuration worked and is worth further analysis with a dramatically improved traffic flow from Bow onto Main, Freeport Development Director Brett Richardson said during a presentation at a Town Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

During the trial period, the data showed car queues increased, especially during the peak season at the Freeport Fall Festival. However, Derosier’s owner Philip Wagner observed that the Bow and Main intersection worked best compared to the other intersections along Route 1.

“It certainly slowed traffic, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it didn’t stop traffic,” Wagner said. “It kept traffic moving in all directions.”

Some challenges revealed by the traffic study included tight turning for larger vehicles, visual clutter with the delineator posts and pedestrian visibility, limited bus parking for tour buses and the Metro BREEZ line, and limited access and passage for public safety vehicles.

Richardson said constant communication with the town’s police and fire departments mitigated the issues.

During the Freeport Fall Festival, the crosswalks saw three times the average use during the trial period, but Main and Bow streets performed better when compared to other nearby intersections, including School, Elm and Main streets, Richardson said.

In the spring, Freeport’s Economic Development staff will come back to the Town Council with a new design based on what they learned from the fall traffic study. However, Freeport Councilor Eric Smith said that further tests were necessary on other intersections along the village corridor.

“What we have heard from a number of residents is that they are concerned” about the intersection at School and Elm streets, regardless of what happens with Main and Bow, Smith said. The School and Elm intersection “is really the next thing to tackle in addition to Mallett,” he said.

Stantec will look at the northern and possibly southern ends of the village corridor to consider different traffic controls for the intersections, including converting Mallett Drive and Main Street to all-way stops, Richardson said.

“The benefit of this is we learned a lot in a high-visibility situation,” Richardson said. “We now have an opportunity to pause and take a breath and look at the corridor based on what we learned.”