Dear Editor:

The controversy surrounding the proposal to replace the four-way stop sign intersection in Boothbay with a roundabout reminds me of the time we proposed to build a waterfront park at the Town Landing in Boothbay Harbor. The proposal was met with angry letters to the editor and a heated town meeting.

After the “Whale Park” was built, we saw hundreds of people enjoying it every day in the summer and I have never heard anyone say “I miss that old parking lot, I wish we had it back”

Similarly, I predict that if Boothbay votes to build a roundabout by the Common, we won’t hear anyone say five years from now, “I miss that old four-way intersection, I enjoyed guessing if I had the right-of-way, and I loved waiting in line for an opening in traffic so I could turn north on Route 27.”

I agree that we need to carefully manage change to preserve our special way of life, but I think this roundabout proposal is a change we will all appreciate when it is done.

Jeff Curtis

Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shops