Dear Editor:

The Board of Directors of the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce would like to go on record as supporting the proposed roundabout at the Boothbay Common as it has been presented in numerous public meetings. After conducting a brief poll, our membership is of the opinion that the proposal is a viable solution and deserves support.

We recently conducted a poll of our membership with the following results:

“Should the Chamber take a public position on the proposed roundabout project?” 50.4 percent of respondents answered “yes” while “no” and “not sure” together accounted for 49.6 percent.

“Should the Chamber take a public position in favor of the project?” 57 percent answered “yes” while “no” and “not Sure” totaled 43 percent.

While this does not represent overwhelming support, it does show that there is a majority in favor among our membership. There has been a steady stream of emails to the Chamber office from members asking the Chamber to take a public position.

While we are neither engineers, civil or other, nor are we transportation specialists, we do feel that with the continued clear growth of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and the increased traffic expected if development plans for the area south of the Common are realized, the roundabout will alleviate much congestion and will serve as a pleasant gateway to the Boothbay region. We also feel that being able to get this project funded by a public/private partnership is a practical and efficient way to stretch tax dollars and may be the only way that the project can be reasonably accomplished.

We feel that the economic implications of the project strongly favor supporting the proposal.

Lorna Weber

President

BHRCC Board of Directors