By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer 

CASCO — If it is permissible, the Town of Casco may push ahead paying for whatever solution is most appropriate for the dangerous intersection known as Pike’s Corner.

The upcoming meeting between the new town manager and the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) may shed some light on what can be done, how much it will cost and, if and when the state will reimburse the town if Casco covers the cost to get the job done sooner.

The informal meeting between the town manager and MDOT staff is set to take place in August.

Casco Town Manager Courtney O’Donnell on Tuesday sought input from the Casco Board of Selectmen on what questions should be asked in order for the town to move forward with a solution for the dangerous intersection at the corner of Routes 121 and 11.

She reminded the board that there is no immediate solution and that any solution — whether it is a four-way stop or a new traffic signal — will take a while to be put into place.

“Anything we are looking at is not going to happen next month, but a year or two down the road,” O’Donnell said. 

“I am curious to know if there are other solutions they [representatives from the MDOT] are willing to entertain. Or are they adamant that a four-way stop is the only option,” she asked. “This will be a preliminary meeting to get me up to speed and to get the ball rolling.”

The town will be armed with current information: the numbers of vehicles passing through that area during a few weeks of July. A traffic sensor was put in place to collect that data.

O’Donnell explained that MDOT has a bi-annual or a two-year budget and project schedule.

“They had a work plan to put in a four-way stop. I was informed that because the town was against the four-way stop, it was taken off that work plan,” she said.

“The four-way stop is the most cost-effective way to address that problem. If we wanted to go beyond that, we would be on the hook for the cost,” she said.

“Obviously it is the state’s road so they would have to approve” whatever the town decides to do, she said.

Selectman Grant Plummer suggested O’Donnell ask MDOT not only what other solutions might be recommended but also if the town could pay for the solution and be reimbursed once the project is on the state’s work list.

“Ask the budget questions, how much to convert it, how soon can it happen?”

“I don’t want to waste anymore time in this process. I don’t want to sit here feeling responsible,” he said.

He said that once the town learns the dollar amount, “we should fund it immediately and then have the state reimburse us in two years when it is on their work list.”

“I think it is time for an outside-of-the-box solution, as soon as possible,” Plummer said.

Selectman Thomas Peaslee said the board is limited because the town does not have jurisdiction over the state road.

“None of us are traffic experts. The people in this town want this but we are really relying on this data to help us. Another town once hired an independent source other than the state,” he said. “At this point, we are really relying on the state.”

Meanwhile, Selectman Calvin Nutting weighed in on the state’s recommendation.

“I personally don’t believe the four-way stop is the answer,” Nutting said. 

Holly Hancock said, “It is a significant change to the traffic.”

Peaslee agreed with Plummer, requesting that O’Donnell pose those questions to the state.

O’Donnell told the board, “Those are good questions. We would have options to go that route, it might require a special town meeting to appropriate funds.”

Peaslee said the town manager should also ask MDOT about other solutions that were mentioned such as flashing LED lights to warn people about the upcoming intersection and reducing the speed limits.

“There are other things that were mentioned at the [public input] meeting as I read through them — they weren’t bad ideas. We need to have a budget to do some of these other things,” Peaslee said. 

“I thought the state would pick up the bill. I thought that road was their responsibility but that might not be the case,” he said.

Audience member Dave Geary brought up the fact that a bond passed at Town Meeting will help wrap up improvements at the Memorial Field, allowing more events to be held there and more activities to happen there.

“The Memorial Field [expansion] is going to add traffic to that corridor, people pulling in and out of that is going to increase traffic,” Geary said.

“I think there is a bigger corner to look at than just that intersection,” he said.

Hancock brought up the issue of speed and getting drivers to slow down.

Peaslee said that during the public hearing in early July, “someone made a suggestion that from Webbs Mills Village to Quaker Ridge Road, the speed be reduced to 35 mph. That is one thing that wouldn’t cost the state much — I don’t know how much.”

Plummer said that within the last year, the state has already reduced several hundred yards of Route 11 to 35 mph as it passes through Webbs Mills Village. 

For the short-term, it was mentioned that maintenance crews could trim back a couple of lilac bushes on Route 121 that are blocking the line of sight for drivers.