Dear Editor:

I can’t remember a time when the town of Boothbay has been so divided over an issue as it has been with the proposal of a roundabout. It appears to me that those who support the roundabout believe a developer will bring in jobs with competitive wages and benefits for year-round work. Perhaps those who are against the proposed roundabout doubt that will happen and dread seeing our town damaged any more than it has been.

The personality and quaintness of Boothbay have been erased by someone who may want our town to be as cookie cutter as other coastal towns. I believe we are attempting to solve a problem that doesn’t exist and adding a roundabout will benefit only the developer who proposes it.

Safety is being highlighted as a major benefit of the roundabout. A representative from the Department of Transportation has said that this roundabout has nothing to do with addressing safety, but in improving the flow of traffic. This isn’t Wiscasset or Route 1. Our traffic flow is not delayed for even five minutes. Why is the roundabout being promoted for its added safety and improved traffic flow? I think it’s because those are an easy sell to the public rather than the real reason: to direct traffic into a developer’s new businesses.

We could never have imagined that our local hospital, St. Andrews, would be taken from us. We could never have imagined that one of our focal points, the Kenniston Hill Inn, would also be taken from us. Could we imagine that Boothbay Center would be reduced to a roundabout?

This roundabout is not good for Boothbay. When you step into the voting booth, remember the old adage, “If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”

Judy Pinkham

Boothbay