Photo credit: Kathy CorbettMiddle Jam Road looking toward the intersection with North Gorham Road. The rip rap on the pond bank is on the left, followed by the stone blocks swimmers use to access to the water. There is no parking on Middle Jam Road and limited safe parking space on North Gorham Road.Middle Jam Road looking toward the intersection with North Gorham Road. The rip rap on the pond bank is on the left, followed by the stone blocks swimmers use to access to the water. There is no parking on Middle Jam Road and limited safe parking space on North Gorham Road.
For years Middle Jam Road between North Gorham Road and Route 35 in Standish has been a nightmare of potholes and crumbling asphalt. Every summer children scrambled down the bank near the corner to swim in North Gorham Pond. But since Gorham Public Works repaved the road this summer and installed rip rap to prevent further erosion of the road bed, an already dangerous condition has worsened.
The shore land that swimmers use at the beginning of Middle Jam Road is owned by Brookfield White Pine Hydro LLC, the company that owns the power plant. As part of their licensing agreement they were required to designate the land up to the power plant as a recreational area “open to the public without discrimination for daily recreational use.” According to David Heidrich, Brookfield representative, Maine Liability Law shields the company from liability for accidents on the property.
When asked about the situation, Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak said that Gorham has no responsibility for access to the pond. However, Town Counselor Seven Siegel said he is looking into what might be possible to improve the area.
“Installing rip rap on the pond bank was necessary on the pond side of the road,” Public Works Director Terry Deering said, “ to stop erosion that was putting soil into the pond and undermining the roadbed.” But the rip rap is known to be hazardous to walk across and will cut off safe access to the shoreline. Currently access is only possible by a few uneven flat rocks.
Photo credit: Kathy CorbettIn addition to the unsafe conditions on the shore bank, the corner itself is hazardous because of the narrow shoulder on both sides of North Gorham Road and Middle Jam Road. Although there is a stop sign at the corner, when vehicles park on the side of North Gorham Road next to the pond, visibility from Middle Jam Road is cut off , particularly when large trucks are being filled with pool water. People swimming or using the picnic tables provided by Brookfield further down toward the power station also park haphazardly in the area.
“Although we are glad that the road was repaved,” said Polly Lawson who lives on Middle Jam across from the pond, “these problems will only get worse.” Her husband, George, alerted the Gorham Times to these issues last spring. He is a merchant marine currently at sea, but wrote to reinforce his concerns, particularly about the parking on North Gorham Road.
“This forces some folks to either walk in the road outside the parked vehicles or on the stone wall on the other side of them. I am very concerned someone will be hit by a car there,” he wrote.
The additional traffic on improved Middle Jam Road only exacerbates the situation. Solutions to these problems are complex, but in terms of safety cannot be ignored.