South Portland High School project wins waiver

SOUTH PORTLAND — The new South Portland High School may be years away, but the school department got its first waiver for the project, June 18, by unanimous decree of the City Council.

Harriman and Associates, of Auburn, has called on the creation a new bus loop off Mountain View Road, which will become possible when a section of the school dating to 1962 is taken down.

“One of our primary goals is to take buses off of Mountain View,” said Superintendent Suzanne Godin. “Right now, the buses really stack up there.”

An April 26, 2006, traffic study done by Gorrill-Palmer Consutling Engineers, of Gray, documented 275 autos using Mountain View Drive from 7 to 7:45 a.m., including 245 passenger vehicles, 21 buses, and nine service trucks

Partly for that reason, Harriman also is suggests adding a “parent drop-off zone” at the Nelson Street extension, off the northwest side of SPHS.

However, the city’s director of public works denied the curb cuts necessary to create the new driveway loops. South Portland ordinances say one lot cannot have more than two curb cuts. SPHS already has six. Plus, curb cuts may not come within 200 feet of an intersection. The new bus loop, as well as a parent drop-off zone, would encroach within that limit at all cuts, coming as close as 105 feet of the Nelson Road intersection.

“This is not a contentious item within city staff,” said City Manager James Gailey. “The public works director always denies items of this nature and bumps it up to the City Council for their review.”

The council was only too happy to grant the waivers.

“This is just a formality,” said Councilor Alan Livingston. “The plan can’t be approved based on the ordinances, but its necessary in order for the project to go forward.”

“It really an issue of safety,” agreed Councilor Tom Coward.

The council also allowed a temporary curb cut on Nutter Street to facilitate construction. That one will be filled back in when the new building is complete.