Staff Writer

Parking in a handful of spots on Kennebunkport’s Maine Street is changing in time for the tourist season. 

Selectmen unanimously approved limiting parking to three hours between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily for eight parking spaces between Spring and Union streets, as proposed by Police Chief Joseph Bruni. 

“This will get that continuous circle of traffic to calm down a bit and free up those spaces,” Bruni said, noting drivers circle the area looking for parking, which exacerbates congestion in Dock Square. 

Town Manager Larry Mead said timed parking will expire Oct. 12, allowing Bruni to report whether or not the restriction lessened traffic and for selectmen to determine if it should be a permanent amendment. 

Three residents spoke about the proposal at Thursday’s meeting, two objected to additional unlimited parking between North and Spring streets to compensate for the timed spaces – spaces that are not marked for parking but are not restricted in the town ordinance.

Residents Jennifer Shotwell and her sister, Tricia Shotwell-Concannon, raised concerns about the safety of parking near the corner. Growing up in their family home at 3 Maine St., Shotwell said she remembered the parking spaces being designated as “no parking” because of the “dangerous intersection” as people took the corner from North Street onto Maine Street. 

“It makes for a lot of congestion as cars are going by while people are getting in and out of their cars,” Shotwell said, presenting photos of cars passing by and crossing the median as someone was getting out of a car parked on the side of the road. 

“Getting out of cars is the same problem throughout town,” Selectmen Chairman Mat Lanigan said. He said traffic stops in Dock Square for people exiting their vehicles.

“It’s different coming down North Street though, at a higher speed and around a corner approaching a dangerous intersection. People slow down in Dock Square to begin with,” Shotwell-Concannon said. 

“It was already on the books, but could we consider trying this also for the same amount of time period? I see the argument from both sides and we don’t have to etch in stone now,” Bruni said. 

Bruni asked Shotwell and Shotwell-Concannon to report any problems they see, or have, with the new parking, and said he would monitor the spaces closely.

“If there’s a problem, it’s not going to be a problem at all,” Bruni said, adding he would ask for the parking spaces to be designated as a no parking zone if it poses a threat to drivers or pedestrians. 

Staff writer Emma Bouthillette can be reached at 282-4337 ext. 237.