Alna selectmen are reaching out to Wiscasset and the state to have a voice in the Maine Department of Transportation’s downtown project. The traffic changes will impact Alna’s traffic also, so it makes sense for Alna to be part of talks as it was when the state was looking at a Wiscasset bypass, Alna Third Selectman Doug Baston said in a phone interview Sept. 29 and an email he sent officials Sept. 28.

Wiscasset Town Manager Marian Anderson said the town welcomes Alna selectmen to discuss the project. If Alna had a project that Wiscasset officials wanted to speak on, she knows Alna would do the same, she said in a phone interview Sept. 29. The two towns have a history of partnerships and working well together, Anderson said.

In a Sept. 29 reply to Baston’s email, Anderson writes, in part: “Wiscasset would be pleased to have you and your Board attend any and all of the meetings.” She adds, she will make sure he is on the email list to receive updates.

Baston said the Alna board isn’t looking for a big role, just a voice in the talks. “We fully appreciate that our role would be subservient to that of Wiscasset’s, as well it should be,”  Baston writes to MDOT’s Ernie Martin, who recently took over a leading role in the project. “Frankly, our (primary) concern is to assure that the overwhelming wishes of Wiscasset residents and voters be honored. If non-resident business owners and non-voting seasonal residents are to have a role in this process, we think our claim to a role is every bit as valid.”

When traffic ties up in Wiscasset, drivers take Sheepscot Road through Newcastle into Sheepscot Village, then Route 218 through Alna to reconnect with Route 1 past the Wiscasset downtown bottleneck, Baston writes in the email, copied to Wiscasset and Newcastle officials. “That means, from Alna’s perspective, a steady stream of traffic through Sheepscot Village, where there are no pedestrian shoulders whatsoever and a bridge with no pedestrian walkway.”

Alna selectmen decided Sept. 27 to “request inclusion in the planning process,” Baston writes. Martin did not immediately return the Wiscasset Newspaper’s email and phone messages. However, he replied to Baston Sept. 29 and sent copies to the newspaper and the other recipients of Baston’s email. Martin thanks Baston for the email and the interest in the project. “With the Town of Wiscasset’s overwhelming support for our conceptual improvements to Route 1, MaineDOT’s effort has transitioned from the planning study to the engineering phase where we develop the detailed design to bring the concept to reality.  I suspect this direction satisfies your primary concern to move forward with the voter supported option to reduce congestion on Route 1.

“I am working with Marian Anderson to identify a community advisory committee to provide input into the design details.  Marian copied me on her email to you today inviting you to future meetings and adding you to her mailing list.  We certainly appreciate input from Alna and I will continue to work with Marian to establish the appropriate roles and feedback process as we progress through the engineering phase,” Martin writes.

Baston replies to Martin that Anderson has been very welcoming, and that Martin’s assessment of Alna’s concerns was correct. “Our basic concerns are (a) that the democratic process be honored and that (b) Alna's burden of seasonal traffic congestion stays fair and proportionate. It has been unclear to us from the press reports whether or not there are other regulatory bodies or regulations that could be brought into play to obstruct the voters' decision,” Baston writes.

Newcastle Selectman Ben Frey on Sept. 29 praised Alna’s suggestion to include Wiscasset’s neighbors in the discussions. “Anything that happens along the Route 1 corridor affects other communities, so yes, I think that would be a good thing.” He said his experience in some local traffic planning could be helpful. Like Baston in Alna, Frey emphasized towns outside Wiscasset should have only a supportive role to Wiscasset and MDOT in the talks. “This is a Wiscasset project, absolutely,” he said.

Anderson said she had not heard from Newcastle with a request similar to Alna’s so she could not comment specifically on Newcastle, but that, with any project that could have a regional impact, Wiscasset would want to hear from its neighbors. Partnership with other towns is always a goal, she said.

Later in the day, Newcastle Town Administrator added an email to the mix, stating the town “also stands to potentially see an impact ... We would welcome the opportunity to work with Maine DOT to ensure negative impacts to the Town of Newcastle are minimized by such an effort.”

Asked in a subsequent phone interview how he felt about the dialog Baston’s email had opened up, Duke said, “I think it’s great. We all know traffic isn’t a one-way street. It has to come and go from somewhere, and Alna and Newcastle stand to see the biggest impact, so we’re just pleased to be part of the conversation.”