Grassroots Group Report Slams Gorham Connector Proposal

Opposition to the proposed Gorham Connector has reached a crescendo, with a grassroots group releasing a report outlining its preferred alternatives to a project more than 30 years in the making.

Meanwhile, city councilors in Scarborough, one of four communities that would be affected by the connector, are poised to oppose the Maine Turnpike Authority project unless the proposal is significantly changed to address growing public concerns.

Mainers for Smarter Transportation (M4ST) this week released “Alternatives to the Gorham Divider,” a 38-page compilation of “cheaper, faster, greener, and reversible” ways to solve commuter congestion west of Portland instead of “costly, harmful, and irreversible freeway expansion.”

The volunteer organization discussed some of the alternatives at a community meeting Thursday evening at the Westbrook Community Center, which was attended by more than 75 people from across the Portland area.

“Congestion is a real problem, but there are different ways to deal with it,” Westbrook resident Cary Tyson, a member of M4ST, said at the beginning of the meeting.

A show of hands was called for, but no one at the meeting indicated they supported the connector project. M4ST members said they invited the state and the Maine Department of Transportation to Thursday’s meeting, but both agencies declined.

Tyson and others say the connector proposal is based on outdated commuter data and outdated highway design goals to reduce morning and evening drive times by an average of 4 minutes. They question the project’s design, cost, safety and need, as well as its impact on the environment, the regional economy and the overall quality of life in South Portland, Scarborough, Westbrook, Gorham and elsewhere.

M4ST is a coalition of individuals, nonprofits and other groups seeking alternatives to highway expansion in Greater Portland. So far, more than 12,000 Maine residents have signed the group’s petition calling for a halt to planning for the Gorham Connector.

The coalition includes GrowSmart Maine, Trout Unlimited, the Maine chapter of the Sierra Club, Smiling Hill Farm, Moving Maine Network, the Portland Bike Ped Advisory Committee and the Westbrook Safe Mobility and Access Committee.

The M4ST report blames local rush-hour congestion on poorly designed and outdated intersections along Routes 22 and 114, which have become choke points for regional traffic.

It recommends installing roundabouts and smart traffic signals at chronically congested intersections; redesigning existing roads to better accommodate rush-hour traffic, cyclists, pedestrians and other vehicles; and continuing the long-planned rapid transit corridor between Portland and Gorham.

Most of the recommendations came from earlier proposals by other city, regional and state agencies; commission members said the report was reviewed and approved by a panel of five renowned local and national city planners.

The authority has spent at least $4.5 million to buy land to build the 5-mile, four-lane branch, which is expected to cost more than $200 million to complete, from Maine Turnpike Exit 45 in South Portland, through Westbrook and Scarborough, to the Gorham Bypass at Route 114 in Gorham.

The project has drawn growing concerns from opponents who say it will worsen the suburban sprawl and commute problems it aims to reduce, as well as those who want to keep the project from going through Smiling Hill Farm on County Road in Westbrook.

In July, the office announced it would extend its original schedule for public comment and permit applications on the increasingly controversial connector project, in an effort to ensure thorough review and integration of public input and to accommodate upcoming leadership turnover at the office.

The decision to extend the timeline came after a community meeting hosted by the authority in Gorham in March, when agency officials and their consultants heard more than three hours of public comment on the connector proposal. Similar meetings were to be held soon after in Scarborough, Westbrook and South Portland, but were never scheduled.

Peter Mills, the authority’s longtime executive director, announced in June that he would be leaving the agency in early September. The authority did not respond to a request Thursday for an update on the agency’s leadership changes. However, M4ST members attended the authority’s board meeting Thursday, where Mills was honored on his final day at the agency.

Mills previously said design applications to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection would be submitted by the end of the year.

Recently, Peter Merfeld, acting deputy executive director of the authority, sent a letter to city and town councillors in four communities that had previously signed a memorandum of understanding to support the connector project.

“We recognize that the delay in public meetings has raised questions about the project at council meetings,” Merfeld wrote in the Aug. 5 letter. “While we have thoroughly evaluated the public comments received to date, we will begin communicating through smaller public sessions and regular website updates.”

Merfeld said authorities will continue to consider feedback and take into account alternative solutions, road alignments and mitigation strategies suggested during public meetings, “even if they have been previously rejected.”

One such meeting will be a workshop on September 18 with Scarborough City Council, where officials are expected to present the history of the connector project. Later that evening, the council is scheduled to vote on a resolution calling on the authority to speed up public review of the connector proposal and align it with community expectations.

“(Turnpike officials) lost public support and began to lose the trust of city officials,” said Jonathan Anderson, chairman of Scarborough City Council.

“A lot of people, myself included, are not convinced that a four-lane toll road is the best solution,” Anderson continued. “It may be too big of a solution to the problem it’s supposed to solve, and it creates other problems that I’m not sure are worth creating. And it may be the best solution on paper, but it’s not the solution that our communities want.”

The resolution will also call on the council to halt the purchase of land in Scarborough for the connector and to commission an impartial outside firm to review the connector proposal to ensure it is the best solution. Anderson said he has discussed the resolution with councillors from other communities but does not know if they will take similar action.