On Thursday, April 27, Boothbay Harbor School Resource Officer Larry Brown was in the roadside parking lot at Boothbay Region High School. With him was Boothbay Harbor Public Works Foreman Chris Leeman. The two were there to install new signs at the entrance of the parking lot.

The entrance has been used for both entering and exiting. Recently, a parent of a student at the school expressed concern to Brown about the safety of cars entering the lot while cars are leaving the school.

“When people are exiting the driveway in front of the school, they’re looking up (Route) 27 and they’re looking down 27,” Brown said. “They’re not necessarily noticing cars pulling out from the lot.” Brown spoke with Leeman, Town Manager Tom Woodin, Police Chief Bob Hasch, Fire Chief Nick Upham and BRHS Principal Dan Welch about the potential safety hazard.

They all agreed it was a concern, and a decision was reached to make the entrance/exit closest to the school an entrance only.

Leeman arranged for the signs to be made. “NO EXIT” signs are now posted inside the lot, and “ENTRANCE ONLY” signs are posted outside the lot.

Brown said he was glad the parent made him aware of her concerns, and hopes people will adapt to the change, but he probably won’t be issuing tickets anytime soon. “There’ll be a learning curve. We want to encourage people to obey the signs for safety reasons.”

Leeman said he’s not aware of any accidents there, but “there have been some close calls.”