GREENWOOD — The discussion on cycling road safety came to Greenwood last week, as a resident requested single-file bicycling on the Greenwood Road.
Bethel selectmen been having a debate over the issue since April, with concerns expressed, particularly by businesspeople, about the difficulty of passing cyclists on town roads, especially when they ride in groups and two or more across.
At last week’s Greenwood selectmen’s meeting, the board pondered the request for the Greenwood Road.
Chairman Fred Hendersen suggested the town might put up signs asking cyclists to ride single file.
The town already plans to put up signs, provided by the state, on Route 26 and 219 reminding motorists of the state law requiring that they keep at least three feet away from cyclists.
Selectman Amy Chapman said those signs might be helpful, “because I think there’s an awful lot of people who don’t know that.”
But as far as signs on the Greenwood Road, she said, “There seems to be such a one-side-or-the-other-side thing going on that I also can see that ticking drivers off.”
Chapman, who rides a bike herself, said she had talked with Bethel selectman Peter Southam, who is also the cycling coach for Gould Academy and has been involved in the debate there.
She said one reason cyclists don’t always ride single file or stay all the way right “is so people won’t pass them in a place that it’s not safe to pass.”
She said bikes should be treated “like a slow car. You shouldn’t really expect to be able to pass them in the lane they’re in. Like you would if you’re coming up behind a car – wait until you can safely pass in the other lane.”
She added that it makes sense to first “match their speed. Don’t assume you’re going to be able to pass them right there.”
Jordan said cyclists have a right to the full lane, and he did not think signs on the Greenwood Road would “help a bit.”
Chapman said it might actually be less safe if cyclists are riding single file, for the reasons she described earlier.
The board decided to take no action for now, and follow where the issue in Bethel goes.
Mill update
In other business at last week’s meeting, selectmen signed a quit claim deed for the Saunders Brothers Mill, following payment of back taxes.
Sparks said AVCOG was successful in getting federal Brownfields assessment grant funding for Oxford and Androscoggin counties, in order to assess potential hazardous waste sites for cleanup. She said the old dump on the mill site will be evaluated, along with other sites in the counties, “to determine who has the worst site” and may qualify for cleanup funds.
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