MDOT to consider studying feasibility of traffic light at Smithwheel intersection in Old Orchard Beach

OLD ORCHARD BEACH — The increase of summer traffic caused by the planned expansion at a local campground could warrant a traffic signal at the intersection of Smithwheel and Ocean Park roads.

Ocean Park Road brings vehicles in and out of town from the highway spur, and is heavily trafficked during peak hours and in the summer.

 A few years ago, a Dunkin Donuts coffee shop opened up at the corner of Smithwheel and Ocean Park Roads. This brought forward a redesign of the three-way intersection. To the dismay of some residents, this did not include a traffic signal, which need to be approved by the Maine Department of Transportation.

Town Manager Larry Mead said at Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting that the Old Orchard Beach Campground, located on Ocean Park Road across the street from Dunkin Donuts is planning the addition of 150 RV and Park Model camp sites.

As this expansion would add more left-turn traffic, MDOT is now supportive of conducting a traffic signal analysis and working with the town to possibly reconfigure the intersection of Smithwheel Road at Ocean Park Road as a four-way signalized intersection, said Mead.

“It’s all very preliminary, still, at this point, but it’s a good step, I think, forward to have MDOT supportive of this study,” said Mead.

Mead said the town should know within a few weeks whether the study will go forward. If the study is conducted, it would take several months to complete, and would be complimented by a traffic analysis that is already underway at the nearby Halfway Intersection, he said.

Should a traffic signal be approved, it would be the second traffic light in the town. The sole traffic light in town is at the intersection of E. Emerson Cummings Boulevard and Saco and Union avenues.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at [email protected]