Resident supports no-parking signs

OTISFIELD —  A summer resident at the October 4 selectmen meeting told the board that the intersection of Silvaqua and Shore roads can be dangerous, especially when vehicles attempt to pass one another. 

Phil Corneliusen said the town should look into erecting no-parking signs on a particular section of the road in order to allow more room and prevent accidents.  

"Anything that can be done to alleviate the congestion of that junction would be a positive thing," he told selectmen. 

Corneliusen is currently a resident of Norway, but is also a summer resident of Otisfield –  he lives on the north end of Shore Road, and has for years, he told selectmen. 

"I go around the corner of Silvaqua Road and Shore Road frequently," he said, "and quite often, there are vehicles parked in the northbound lane of Shore Road right at the junction – so really, it is reduced to a one-lane road." 

Corneliusen said the cars parked on the roadside has become a safety issue. "Not only have I had close calls there, my wife has, too," he said. 

He also expressed concern as to whether emergency vehicles can squeeze by to respond to fires and other emergencies on the road. 

"If we have a structure fire, there are some two dozen homes ... on the north end," he told selectmen, "and the only way in and out is through that junction."

Dangerous 

Chairman Hal Ferguson said he drives the road at least once a day and many times there have been at least six or seven cars parked alongside the road.

Even at 10-15 mph, he said, cars have the potential to get wiped out.

Corneliusen said he's driven behind trucks that have had to make three-point turns just to get through the intersection. 

Ferguson, who used to own property on Shore Road, said no-parking signs were posted at that intersection some 30 years ago, but have seemed to disappear over the last three or four years. 

He said the signs were well within the town right-of-way. 

Resident Gary Jackson, of 59 Shore Road, disagreed with Ferguson, saying the road has never had no-parking signs in his 42 years of owning the property.

He said he's also never heard of any accidents at the intersection or trucks not being able to get by.

According to Jackson, he currently does not have a driveway on his property so he parks his vehicles on the roadside. 

The problem has been that water flows directly down the town-owned hill and causes a washout where his driveway should be. He said he's tried maintaining a driveway in the past, but erosion has made it difficult. 

"It's not the cars parked there that's the issue, it's speed," Jackson said. 

"If you want to address safety issues, you might want to talk about a three-way stop sign or something," he told selectmen. 

No parking

Selectmen said they will begin drafting an ordinance on October 11 that will enforce a no-parking/tow-away zone at the intersection of Silvaqua and Shore roads. 

According to Ferguson, the town did not intend to post any signs until it heard complaints, but recently there's been a handful.

"Right now, it's a safety problem," he said.  If the town does not post no-parking signs it could become liable, Ferguson warned.

According to Ferguson the town installed no-parking signs over a month ago, but because the town did not have an ordinance it could not be enforced. 

"We are going to have to post it [the road] as a no-parking and tow-away zone," said Ferguson. 

Once written, the ordinance will be posted on the town website.