Stillwater Ave On/Off Ramp Bangor, ME -
Bangor
At the on-off ramps for I-95, there are always problems. It doesn’t take much to realize that this intersection is a huge mess. If you are a commuter trying to get to work, coming off of the highway at exit 186, you better plan for some extra time at this intersection. First of all, if you need to turn left to go towards Broadway, think again. Left hand turns at the light are not permitted. Most drivers don’t know that because the sign that shows no left hand turns is located on the island between the people entering the on ramp, and the vehicles exiting. If you are one of the first cars in the unnecessarily long line of vehicles, you probably won’t see that sign. The no-left turn sign should also be located on the light, so it is not missed.
Another problem that I’ve noticed every time I exit at 186, is that there is only 3 lanes of traffic. There are two right turning lanes, and all the way to left is the lane where you can only go straight. If there are only 3 lanes, then why on earth are there four signs on the light cable? Yes, two signs that correspond to the two right turning lanes are necessary. However, why are there two signs indicating the one lane that is allowed to go straight? Many drivers get mistaken, and think that the middle lane is a lane to go straight, when it’s actually a right turning lane. This backs up traffic hugely, because once the mistake is made, you will never be able to sneak into the lane you should be in. You will have to risk going straight and getting hit by another vehicle, or turn right and tack on extra inconvenient minutes to your trip.
Sometimes, the light to go straight doesn’t turn green at all. Why? Because if you aren’t exactly at the stop line, the light won’t change. If the town would actually paint these stopping lines, maybe stopping at them would be a little easier. I work at the mall across the intersection and I can’t count on both hands how many times I’ve had to wait for almost 10 minutes at that light, before I’ve had to run a red light. Since you can’t see the line to stop at, most people go too far ahead, and the light doesn’t register your vehicle. So the light won’t change at all, but the right turning lane will turn green. Unfortunately, trying to turn into the right turning lane is almost a promise to get hit with the amount of cars coming through at 35 mph. Not only that, but the lanes are angled, so even if you want to turn into the other lane, it’s almost impossible to tell if there is another car coming unless you have a passenger to help you.
Amongst those extremely annoying problems, the lights at this intersection take a good few minutes to change, and when they finally do, they last long enough for only a few cars to pass through. This aggravates many drivers, who then just run the light and then delay the other cars from being able to proceed with their green light. That’s only if they are paying attention. If they aren’t paying attention, they see the green light and just go, and hit the car who is running a red light.
Please do something about this intersection, and lessen the stress and frustration for everyone who needs to use it.
