NEWS | City Council grapples with Biddeford Pool parking

During a Tuesday workshop meeting, a majority of residents said nothing needs to change along a narrow roadway that serves as a main thoroughfare in the congested, coastal neighborhood

By RANDY SEAVER | Editor

Public parking in the coastal neighborhood of Biddeford Pool has long been a source of tension, pitting neighborhood concerns about emergency vehicle access and congestion against visitors who want to visit one of the city’s most scenic and popular areas.

**SAFETY CONCERN?** A line of cars parked along Lester B. Orcutt Boulevard on Tuesday evening demonstrates how the narrow roadway shrinks as traffic increases. | *Randy Seaver photo*

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On Tuesday, an overflow crowd of coastal residents and others packed a Biddeford City Council workshop meeting that featured rigorous and sometimes tense public discussion about the results and recommendations of a property boundary survey that was completed earlier this year.

Following the recommendations of the council’s traffic committee last year, the city hired Dow & Coulombe, a Saco-based land survey firm, to complete a detailed boundary survey along the length of Lester B. Orcutt Boulevard, a narrow roadway that connects Mile Stretch Road to the site of a coastal bird sanctuary, which is a popular destination for tourists and other visitors.

That survey was intended to provide the council with a comprehensive examination of existing rights-of way and private property boundaries that could potentially improve vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the congested area, where traffic and parking demand swells during summer months.

Survey says | Residents speak up

**COASTAL RESIDENT KEN BUECHS** addressed the council on Tuesday, saying examination of public safety on narrow coastal roadways is long overdue. | *Randy Seaver photo*

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A majority of residents said they don’t support making any substantive changes to the current parking situation on Lester B. Orcutt Boulevard.

“This is a big waste of taxpayer dollars and not a serious issue,” said a South Street woman. “There is always someplace to park down there, and it is much easier than trying to park at Kennebunk Beach. It’s outrageous, you’re looking to ruin the most beautiful part of Biddeford, and I don’t want to pay for it.”

Rick Trottier told the council that he grew up visiting Biddeford Pool and visits the area frequently. He suggested small and “simple” steps the city could consider, such as improved signage.

Julie Smythe, a Parkside Drive resident, described the Biddeford Pool neighborhood as a “hidden gem,” and said she does not want anything to change in how people visit the area.

**LESTER B. ORCUTT BLVD**. is highlighted in blue on this Google map of Biddeford Pool.

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Coastal resident John Rowley invoked the memory of folk singer Joni Mitchell, telling the council to avoid “paving paradise to put up a parking lot.”

But coastal resident Ken Buechs said he is happy the city is finally addressing a public safety concern that is only growing worse with each passing year. “We’re off to a good start, and it’s about time,” he said.

Mayor LaFountain told the audience that his central concern is public safety, noting that the narrow roadway is not unique among many narrow roadways throughout the city.

“This is just a concept discussion,” LaFountain said, pointing out that the council will continue studying the issue.

A majority of councilors shared LaFountain’s perspective, saying the core issue is much more about traffic safety and emergency vehicle access than about increasing parking opportunities for visitors.

But Ward Five Councilor David Kurtz described the situation as “a solution in search of a problem.”

Councilor Patricia Boston represents the city’s coastal neighborhoods, and said she has been having several, ongoing conversations with residents and members of the Biddeford Pool Improvement Association about the parking issue.

Boston said the council needs to firmly decide which problem they are trying to address before offering any kind of solution.

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