PETITION: Stop the Maine Turnpike Expansion
A petition for individuals and groups opposed to the Maine Turnpike Authority’s “Gorham Connector” as proposed. 
Sign in to Google to save your progress. Learn more
Email *
Petition Text
We, the undersigned, are opposed to the Maine Turnpike Authority’s “Gorham Connector” due to one or more of the following reasons:

High Cost
  • Costs us at least $50 million/mile, yet MTA’s own report says the highway will not solve the problem.
  • Overlooks less expensive, greener ways to reduce congestion through public transportation, walking, and biking, better design of local roads, and increased housing in urban centers.
  • Ignores national and state data that shows building more roads creates ongoing maintenance and replacement costs that we can’t afford.
  • Requires municipalities to spend money on upgrades and ongoing maintenance of local feeder streets to address additional traffic.
Negative Environmental Impacts
  • Sacrifices Smiling Hill Farm, an iconic Maine small business and one of the oldest farms in the country.
  • Irreparably harms a delicate habitat for native brook trout, one of the last in our region.
  • Blocks wildlife migration and walking trail connections.
  • Creates a new sound and light pollution corridor that will impact homes and natural areas for miles.
  • Expands Maine’s biggest polluter and vehicle emissions, undermining Maine’s Climate Action Plan.
Increases Traffic and Reduces Quality of Life
  • Erodes our access to trails, open space and natural landscapes.
  • Increases pressure for more commuter parking in downtown Portland, making it harder to develop housing near jobs.
  • Encourages sprawl development in our region, further increasing traffic.
  • Invites more car traffic to the areas near the corridor.
Reduces Equity
  • Subsidizes improvements for people who already have transportation options, and ignores our residents who are young, old, disabled, lower income, or just prefer to have alternatives to single vehicular travel.
Overall, we believe that the proposal is Illogical and short sighted, and is counter to the direction Maine should be going.

We ask that state leaders pause this project, convene a full public engagement process, evaluate the costs/benefits of an alternative transportation and land use solution that is durable, long-term, and cost effective.
First Name *
Last Name *
If you are signing on behalf of an organization, please specify the organization
Home Zipcode *
If you commute for work, what is the zipcode of your workplace?
If you would like, please share why you are opposed to this highway expansion.
Petition information & disclosures
Mainers for Smarter Transportation is circulating this petition. We are a volunteer-led group of people and organizations that includes Smiling Hill Farm, Trout Unlimited, GrowSmart Maine, and others. Your name and organization name will be used by MST in public fora to indicate the breadth of opposition from a broad coalition of unheard voices. We will use the data you submit to help us communicate to state leaders about the need to pump the brakes on this project, and to communicate with you about our progress and ways you can pitch in. You will be able to opt-out of these emails. You will not be contacted about any issues unrelated to highway expansion in Maine. Thank you for signing!
Submit
Clear form
Never submit passwords through Google Forms.
This content is neither created nor endorsed by Google. Report Abuse - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy
Google Forms