Saco says ‘No Thanks’ to OOB and MDOT for I-195, Ocean Park Road study

Any thoughts that Saco’s City Council was in the mood for a lovefest with neighbor Old Orchard Beach during its March 10 meeting were put to rest early, as councilors declined to adopt a resolution that would have created a partnership between the two communities and the Maine Department of Transportation with the objective of improving traffic conditions along the I-195 and Ocean Park Road corridors.

Monday’s meeting was the third since January as the City responds to a request from Old Orchard Beach to partner on a cluster of improvements involving I-195 and Ocean Park Road. Saco’s neighbor initiated the process in September 2022, leading to a traffic analysis a year later and completion of a draft report in September 2024.

The report was finalized in November, at which point the OOB town council reached out to Saco with a proposal for a “collaborative process” that would commit the two communities to “at least 10% of the project costs.”

Saco’s representative to the series of meetings that included consulting engineering firm Gorrill-Palmer and MDOT representatives was Patrick Fox, then the city’s director of public works, now recently departed for another job. (Saco’s newest director of public works, Travis Moore, was appointed during Monday night’s meeting).

Prior to Monday’s meeting, City Administrator John Bohenko had prepared a second draft resolution that reflected the Council’s consensus, the result of a meeting a week earlier, when discussion about the project was initiated on a formal basis.  

The amended resolution called for three edits of the resolution proposed by Old Orchard Beach:

·         • Removing a reference to “The Interstate 195 and Ocean Park Road Feasibility Study” as “final,” suggesting that changes will be needed before the Council chooses to move forward.

·         • Editing language that recognizes a future commitment of local funding from each community by deleting the phrase, “…anticipated to be at least 10% of the project costs.”

·         • Addition of the following language: “The City of Saco has concerns with the Exit 2A proposed design and requests additional study and engineering to determine whether access to Ocean Park Road be maintained. The City of Saco endorses the remainder of the proposed study.”

Councilor Joseph Gunn made the motion to adopt the resolution, initially seconded by Councilor Michael Burman. Gunn made clear that he intended for the initial motion, without the amendments, to be considered. Upon hearing that, Burman withdrew his second. No other council member offered a second to the motion.

“The lack of a second killed the vote,” said Councilor Philip Hatch this week. “We left the door open for a revisit, though.” He indicated he is willing to bring the issue back, “but let’s focus on the Exit 2A and 2B piece.”

Gunn noted during the meeting that the objectives of the two communities are not the same.

“Their (OOB’s) major situation is getting the halfway intersection fixed,” he said during the meeting. “We do have an opportunity to reimagine our side of the line on our terms in a way that makes sense for the City of Saco, and I look forward to future discussions, perhaps in the form of a workshop.”

Councilor Nathan Johnston also indicated willingness to pursue the project with Old Orchard Beach.

“I would have been a no vote on it if it had come before us (rather than dying for lack of a second),” said Johnston. “I think it’s the end of that chapter, but it’s the beginning of the next chapter in terms of how we re-imagine that intersection.”

Old Orchard Beach Town Manager Diana Asanza indicated that the town intends to stay the course.

“Old Orchard Beach will be moving forward with the project that affects Old Orchard Beach, from the I-195 spur to the Halfway Intersection,” she stated in an e-mail two days after the meeting. “This is a very important project for the Town, and we have worked closely throughout the 2-year process with the City of Saco and ME DOT.”

Asanza went on to say that about twenty meetings occurred over the course of the study, which included the project engineers, ME DOT traffic engineers, OOB staff and Saco staff, and that feedback and comments received during three or four public meetings were incorporated into the final report. 

While the city council chose on Monday night not to proceed with the resolution as set forth, there is little question that the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and Ocean Park Road (also Route 5) needs a redesign and has for years, if not decades.

Eastbound traffic uses Exit 2A to turn on to Route 1 or cross Route 1 toward Old Orchard Beach. The off-ramp’s intersection with Route One is recognized by the MDOT as a High Crash Location (HCL), with 52 crashes in the three-year period of 2019-21.

Other HCLs in the study area include Exit 2B, the off-ramp that allows eastbound drivers to proceed north on Route 1 (19 crashes in the 2019-21 period), and the Halfway intersection, where Ocean Park Road, Old Orchard Road, Temple Avenue and Saco Avenue all meet, with 27 crashes over the same period.

Saco council members did not question many findings in the report compiled by Gorrill-Palmer consulting engineers, but did voice frustration that details beneficial to Saco’s portion of the study area, and to certain user groups in Saco, were not to be found in the document.

“I think if Saco had been engaged earlier in the process and we had our public input prior to the drafting of the final report, some of our concerns might have been met,” said Councilor Michael Burman.

Both the Feb. 24 public informational session and the most recent meeting on March 10 included members of the public asking why greater attention is not being given to improvements for bicycle and pedestrian use.

“We heard from members of the BPAC (Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee) and Friends of the BPAC during the public hearing about the lack of consideration for pedestrian and bicycle access,” said Burman, “And I think that would have been resolved, too, had Saco citizens been involved earlier in the process.”

Bob Hamblen can be reached at rhh0918@gmail.com.