By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

CASCO — The chair of the local board of selectmen was driving in another town when she got an idea of something that might work in Casco.

“I saw signs that as you are approaching that said ‘dangerous intersection.’ They were big and they were flashing. I was wondering about that: Would it work if we had signs that said ‘dangerous intersection’” for Pike’s Corner, Holly Hancock said.

The Casco Board of Selectmen has been talking about solutions for the intersection of Route 11 and Route 121, known as Pike’s Corner for a few years.

This summer, the board plans to hold a public hearing to see what the public thinks about the state’s latest solution — a four-way stop. That public hearing has not yet been set but the board meets twice in July and twice in August.

Hancock said the flashing lights definitely alerted her to the dangerous intersection sign as she was traveling through another town. 

Selectmen Peaslee responded with enthusiasm.

“Well, that option would be easy and inexpensive,” Peaslee said.

Casco Town Manager Dave Morton said that the general public ignores a sign once they have seen it three times, and the reason Hancock was alerted to the sign is because she was seeing it for the first time.

“Signs don’t work,” Morton said. “After passing a sign for a third time, people don’t notice them anymore,”

“I have had the conversation with parents who have a blind child. They want ‘blind child’ signs. I tell them if they are relying on those signs, they have false hope,” he said.

“I run into that issue all the time. When people ask for the safety signs or ‘Slow, children playing’ signs, I tell them that signs aren’t a guarantee. The only guarantee is if they are with their child, when their child is near the road,” he said.

People tend to ignore the signs that are part of their daily commute, he said.

Selectman Grant Plummer testified to that fact. He said he was talking to someone who lives in Casco right near Pike’s Corner. Plummer mentioned the signs that had been put up on Route 121, and the person said that there weren’t any signs there. When the man saw Plummer again, he said he noticed the signs for the first time although they had been up for months.

The signs that have been put up on Route 121, also known as Meadow Road, say that the traffic does not stop on Route 11. Currently, there is a blinking orange light in the intersection and technically Route 11 has the right-of-way.

The Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) has proposed turning Pike’s Corner into a four-way stop.

Morton clarified the plan.

“They didn’t say it would eliminate the accidents. It will reduce the severity of the accidents because the chances are better that one of those vehicles will be stopping and proceeding slowly.

 “The state is afraid that if they put a working stoplight there, nothing is going to change,” Morton said. “It is politically loaded solution.”

Selectman Mary Fernandes said she thought the reason MDOT ruled out a traffic stoplight is because “Town of Casco does not meet the traffic volume requirements.”

Morton agreed.

“It does not. The volume on Route 121 doesn’t meet MDOT’s parameters,” Morton said. 

Plummer spoke

“The safest is the four-way stop. I think we need to take the next step. I don’t think any signage explaining to people what is coming is going to work. The people on Route 11 don’t understand what is happening. They are in a 40 mph zone and they aren’t really going 40. They are going faster,” Plummer said.

He asked if it had been two years since the board sat down with the state to discuss this dangerous intersection.

Fernandes said, “Yes, we were meeting with the MDOT liaison and 15 minutes later there was an accident there.”