Our family lives in Ferry Village, near the intersection of Broadway and Sawyer. Some of you are familiar with the pointless flashing yellow light right by the Getty Station. That light simply flashes yellow to drivers heading on Broadway to and from Southern Maine Community College. But for the neighborhoods on either side of Broadway, we get flashed red. What that means for those drivers and South Portland residents who have to turn left or simply cross Broadway, is that it requires the driver to either wait 10 to 15 minutes or to take the aggressive tactic and just hit the gas and hope for the best. For the two days a week when my child is in daycare, I cannot avoid this intersection. Not only do we run the risk of being late, but we also run the risk of a collision. 

Those who have kids at Small School go through this daily and I can’t even fathom how the bus line that runs on Sawyer makes the turn onto Broadway. 

This intersection needs an actual traffic light before someone gets killed. The SMCC students driving on Broadway are in a rush to get to school and drive over the speed limit. Why can’t the city make this a traffic light? I’ve left voicemail messages to the city and my calls have not been returned. The individual who handles this apparently works just one day a week. Why isn’t the safety of the residents, who pay taxes here, taken into consideration? 

I know I’m not the only person who has complained about this. A bus line runs on Sawyer, isn’t that enough of a reason to have an actual traffic light? Maybe walking to daycare or school would avoid this issue? Not! Tried it, and crossing Broadway with a stroller with students racing to get to class is like attempting to cross I-95. We need a traffic light. The electricity is already there. All you need to do is replace the light! City of South Portland, please make this a priority before someone has an accident!

Rebecca Bing

South Portland