It's been causing quite a lot of debate for the last several years, but the Bangor City Council has decided in a very close 5-4 vote, to keep the buses moving in and out of Pickering Square downtown.

In just the last few weeks, the rumble on social media caused quite a stir. Many folks thought there must be a better place to off the service. Bangor spent a good deal of money on a study to determine the best way to utilize the city bus system, and the results were published recently.

Even City Councilor Ben Sprague offered up a solution. He posited the idea that maybe buses could pick up and drop off on Exchange street, and open Pickering Square back up as more of a pedestrian area, and ease traffic through that spot. But ultimately, the council chose not to go that route.

Even some council members felt the study was arbitrary and incomplete, according to News Center Maine. And still others pointed out that no one on the council is a traffic engineer, and that's why they hired out the study in the first place. But the recent vote settled all those arguments.

City officials say now the real work begins, which is the best way to spend the $1.2 million in grant money that the city has to redesign Pickering Square. I bet that leads to a lot more discussion and debate. We'll of course keep you posted on how that all shakes out.

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