Portland, Maine, is Getting Serious About Speed Limits at Woodford’s Corner

The City of Portland is going all out to ensure drivers know the speed limit on Forest Avenue, and they're doing it in a really big way... literally.

I drive in every weekday morning at a time when no one really should be awake. The route I take to downtown Portland is one many people take along Forest Avenue. The speed limit on Forest is 30 mph from downtown Portland at the intersection of Forest and Congress Street to the intersection of Forest and Riverside Street, near 7-Eleven, just before the Westbrook town line. It's a distance of four-and-a-half miles, and has a speed limit of 30 mph.

Recently, a big change was made in the area around Woodford's Corner. When I say big, I'm not messing around here. It's physically big.

Excuse the odd angle of the photo below, but I took it on my way to work and stopped for a red at the traffic light you see above.

That's a GIANT speed limit sign on the road. It's one of several and doesn't look like it's painted, but seems similar to a giant sticker. I could be wrong, but I've seen those kinds of road markings that aren't painted but applied in Portland before. They were arrows on the pavement in lanes to direct traffic, which indicated which directions they could proceed in.

If that wasn't enough, there are now two radar detectors on either side of Woodfords Corner that will show your speed and flash at you if you are going too fast.

I can report that all this new signage has done nothing to slow people down at Woodfords Corner so far, as cars zip by while I obey the giant speed limit signs on the road. How big are they? Well, knowing that a white-painted lane divider line is 10 feet long, these signs have to be at least 30 feet long.

We'll see if this new addition gets people to slow down, but if I'm betting it won't do squat.