VOTE For The Worst Intersection In Ellsworth [POLL]

Ellsworth is probably best know for being "the crossroads of Downeast Maine".  The intersection where the actual "crossroads" happens is where Main Street intersects with Outer Main, High & Oak Streets.  This particular intersection got much better years ago when Dunkin' Donuts was taken out of the mix and moved out by the Mill Mall, but it still can be very challenging.

The particular intersection isn't all that bad, providing that everyone stops when the light is red.  One especially has to remember to stop at the red light when traveling south on Outer State and before making a right turn onto State itself, because there may be a surprise vehicle crossing the intersection from Friend & Friend's parking lot.

Okay, are they going to turn? Or, should I go?  That's the question of the day when sitting at the light on either Water or State Streets, and you're not sure if the car on the other side has the green arrow.  It's a guessing game.  Throw the evening rush hour into the mix and it's just a frustrating mess.

Cars traveling into the city via both Route 1 (Bucksport Road) and Route 172 (Surry Road) converge on West Main Street on Bridge Hill.  Once upon a time there was a blinking amber light on the hill, but now there's an honest to god stop sign stopping traffic coming down Route 1.  Things are normally pretty good, except during both the morning and evening rush hours when drivers become impatient and use Court Street to bypass the stop sign, creating a constant flow from the Surry Road and irritating those waiting lawfully at the stop sign.

Probably the busiest area of the city is where traffic converges on High Street by the north entrance of the Maine Coast Mall, especially on Saturdays when folks are shopping.  Hannaford, Walgreens, Harmon Tire, two hotels, banks, eateries and everything else produces vehicles traveling in every direction imaginable.

This intersection will increase with intensity as the Jackson Lab populates it's new facility located behind Dunkin and the car dealership.  The biggest problem usually occurs when folks traveling north forget that they have to merge with folks traveling south onto Myrick.

Here's another busy intersection where cars are traveling in four different directions and everyone is wondering if everyone else is going to turn right.  The lights don't stay green here for very long, so you better be on the ball. We'll talk about all the odd lane changes of Myrick Street and about the engineers who dreamed this mess up another day.

Here's another situation where the light doesn't stay green for very long, especially if you're coming out of Ellsworth and heading east on Route 1, otherwise known as Downeast Highway.  The other problem with traveling in that particular direction is that two lanes quickly turn into one, creating a dangerous merge.  It's another very busy city intersection, most of the time.