NORRIDGEWOCK — The Board of Selectmen took no action Wednesday on a controversial speed hump on Upper Main Street after taking more than an hour’s worth of comments on the hump from residents.

Most residents who spoke at the board’s meeting Wednesday voiced opposition to the hump, saying it has caused traffic problems on nearby Wade Street, was not advertised to the public before its installation and is a danger to drivers and their vehicles.

But some residents, mostly residents of Upper Main Street, supported the hump, saying it has slowed traffic on the road and is a safety consideration for the neighbors’ children.

“I understand people are concerned about their kids, but somebody is going to go over that hump and lose control,” said resident Jim May. “It needs to be taken out and a stop sign put in.”

About 35 people attended Wednesday’s meeting, and the board unanimously approved a motion to table any action for the time being rather than vote to keep or take out the hump.

“We don’t want to rush to make a decision,” said Chairman of the Board of Selectman Ron Frederick, who said it is likely the issue could end up in a referendum in November. “There were some good suggestions and we want to make it clear we are taking it seriously.”

The hump was installed last fall as part of a road reconstruction project on Upper Main Street after some residents brought it up in committee meetings related to the construction of the fire station on the street.

The hump was approved by the selectmen against the recommendation of former Town Manager Michelle Flewelling and the town’s engineering firm, Dirigo Engineering.

Vice Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Jim Lyman said Wednesday that he voted to support the hump because some residents on Upper Main Street had voiced concerns about speed on the road, which turns to a 25-mph zone after it branches off from Main Street, which is also U.S. Route 2. Selectman Matt Everett also said that two public hearings were held on the road reconstruction project, which included the hump.

Residents who spoke against the hump Wednesday included some who live on Winding Hill Road, which is an extension of Upper Main Street, and who said they were left out of the discussion to add the hump.

“The people of Winding Hill Road feel like they weren’t in the loop and that our opinions haven’t been heard in the matter,” said resident Mike Obert, who said he was one of the few people who was aware of the hump before its installation because he is a member of the town’s road committee.

“Our opinion matters because we have to travel it just as much as the residents of Upper Main Street,” Obert said. “We need to work on a solution together, but it’s not the right answer to have the speed hump there.”

“It’s dangerous,” resident Sonia McBride said. “If a motorcycle comes down the road and doesn’t know that hump is there, somebody is going to get killed and we’re going to get sued.”

Gail Quimby, who also lives on Winding Hill Road, said she feels the hump is a danger and that two of her granddaughters almost broke their cars when they drove over it.

“It’s not a speed hump. It’s an enormous something or other that’s a danger, especially to people who don’t know it’s there,” Quimby said.

Several residents voiced concern about the way the hump has been executed, including that it is 2 inches higher than it was expected to be because of a mistake by the company that installed it. Town Manager Richard LaBelle said Wednesday that “it’s still up in the air” whether the hump will be lowered to a height of 4 inches, but said it will be painted to make it more visible.

Residents who support the hump have argued that traffic in the neighborhood has slowed down since its installation and say they do not want to see it removed.

Cheri White, whose home borders the hump, said that in her 39 years of living on the road, she has seen traffic increase.

“We don’t send our kids out to play in the road, but they are out there,” she said. “We walk our dogs along the road. We shouldn’t have to have our kids and dogs run up the neighbors’ lawns or driveways. We want safety, and that’s what the hump has created.”

Aaron Dyer, an engineer for Dirigo who was in the audience Wednesday for an unrelated matter, spoke about the hump, saying his firm was against it because of the large volume of truck traffic on the road and because it is a narrow street.

“My professional opinion is that it should be removed,” Dyer said. “It doesn’t fit in that scenario.”

Earlier this month Bruce Obert, a resident who owns a gravel pit for his construction company on Winding Hill Road, presented a petition to the board asking for the hump’s removal. As of Wednesday the petition had 99 certified signatures and another 47 that have not yet been certified, according to LaBelle.

“We wanted (the board) to take it out,” Obert, a member of the town’s Planning Board and sewer commission said after the meeting. “With all the people here tonight you would have thought they’d have done something.”

Members of the board said Wednesday night that they are taking the issue seriously but did not want to rush to a decision.

“I don’t consider this time wasted,” Selectwoman Charlotte Curtis said of the discussion. “We can’t just make a decision, bang, like that.”

Rachel Ohm — 612-2368

rohm@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @rachel_ohm

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