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Community Corner

Merchants Anticipate Gridlock Challenge

With traffic restricted to one lane in each direction on the Arrigoni Bridge, businesses talk about what they expect.

Merchants on Main Street and several working in heath care were hoping they can cope with the traffic jams sure to result from restricted traffic on the Arrigoni Bridge, and that residents will learn to adjust. However, all anticipate a tough initial few weeks with lost business and with some cancellations.

Much of the apprehension is based on what was experienced during back-ups during bridge accidents in recent years. Long-time Portland residents also recall the difficulties during other bridge projects, including painting. 

A member of the pharmacy staff at the Medicine Centre handled a rush of orders but managed to say there was concern about parking in the town business area, specifically that drivers parked on the street in slant spaces, wouldn't be able to back out during heavy traffic and tie-ups.  

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A worker at the new Middlesex Hospital Primary Care at 270 Main St., said there's been word patients from the area have already been going to the hospital's Marlborough facility for blood tests. The Middlesex Hospital facility is just off of Route 66 at 12 Jones Hollow Road in Marlborough, about 10 miles away. The worker says people with medical conditions that make it difficult to cope with traffic jams might prefer the longer drive in distance but one that's easier. The primary care facility opened in a completely renovated buiding that was formerly the IGA Country Market.

In the next building over from the  doctor's office, Jan Janowski of J & J Portland News thinks bridge tie-ups could  hurt business badly, but she hopes things might stabilize if people living nearby look hard for what's available on Main Street. She says in her store they've learned to "personalize nearly everything"' they select to sell.

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Items they sell include cigarettes, cigars, cards and hand-made items, as well as newspapers, even paper towels for Quarry Heights residents. While she talked, a man came in and asked for an unusual brand, but Janowski said she'd be glad to order it. When the man left, Janowski said "case in point."

She says they also offer fax service and may be the only place in the immediate area that provides faxing for walk-in customers.

Curbside parking also concerns Janowski, but she hopes Portland residents will discover and make use of the improved town parking lot behind the MHS Primary Care office and the building she shares with Cavaliere's Bakery and Deli.

The parking lot was renovated with the help of state aid, and has dark asphalt paving and bright white lines marking spaces. It's also been landscaped and has a  new four lens street light near the back of the lot. Combined with the floodlights on the building, there is plenty of light at night. There is also a traffic light at the entrance to the parking lot which makes it easier to get in and out when there's heavy traffic on Main. 

Further down Main, at Portland Restaurant, manager Joe Lastrina was stoic about the bridge. He said "they have to do it, and get it over with."  He expects the beginning to be very tough but hopes people will gradually get used to it. Lastrina said when they announced it would start June 6th, he noticed a drop in business possibly because people were "freaked out" and unprepared.  Then the date for long-term two lane traffic was changed to the 28th and things smoothed out.  

He expects it will be hardest for business in the early evening when the restaurant is open and the traffic jams will be in Middletown and on Route 9. Lastrina thinks at the start, people will be worn out and just concentrating on getting home. But he hopes once they get adjusted to the situation "they'll be coming back in" so business recovers.

He also hopes lunches might be steady because people who work nearby will be "hemmed-in" and discouraged from going too far.

Lou Spada of Main Street Cycle was looking at the big picture.

"They've got to work on it because it's not safe,"  he said. "It's got to be done"

Spada had expressed some worry about access to his business. He says he met with the supervisor of the project, who promised a temporary ramp to get cycles in and out, and feels it will help. But Spada now worries when the town's Main Street beautification project and the bridge project coincide, "it  might become a bigger issue than anyone originally figured."  

The work to put in new curbs, decorative sidewalks and tree planting is scheduled to be completed sometime in July. Work is now being done within a block of the bridge.

Another business, Bud's Cafe, is closer to the bridge and the sidewalk project. One of the workers, Laura Esterbrook, who was preparing a sandwich for a customer, says they haven't seen any impact on business yet.  She hopes they can balance any loss with lunches and walk-ins after the worst of the afternoon traffic. Bud's is a bar and restaurant that is another long-time fixture on Main. It has a small parking lot behind the building which is next to the parking lot for Dunkin' Donuts.  

There is also a unique place with fishing supplies on Main Street. Zah's Tackle Shop may be the oldest retail business on Main. Owner Carl Winicki says it started out on Airline Avenue, underneath the bridge. But it was" the old bridge." Construction on the "new" bridge, the Arrigoni, was starting. The store opened in 1935, three years before the Arrigoni was completed.    

He sells live bait, including "Arkansas shiners" as well as lures and tackle. 

"You can't make much money" with a small place, he said, but people will always come for bait, tips and some talk on what fish are running and where. He spoke of examples in the Salmon River and another spot in East Haddam. He said fishermen who have known him for years, will find him in between the traffic jams. 

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