Safety, pollution concerns on the Eastern Prom | Letter
By Maine News Now
City residents call for safety upgrades and quieter food‑truck operations at Eastern Prom
Portland, Maine – A long‑time resident of the Eastern Prom has written to the Press Herald, urging the city to take action on what he describes as a “grossly inadequate” response to growing traffic and noise concerns at the popular summer park.
John Stewart, who has lived near the Eastern Prom for many years, applauded the park’s appeal to families but said the influx of cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians has made it “a common setting for cars and motorcycles showboating with speed and sound in both the day and night.”
In his letter, Stewart recounted seeing a bicyclist and a motorcyclist involved in minor accidents, and a close call in which a small child was almost struck by a speeding truck on Cutter Street. He also noted a drag race between a motorcycle and a car that began at the stop sign at Congress and E. Prom, “too often treated as optional,” he wrote.
“Someone, likely a child, is going to get hurt up here and there is no need for this,” Stewart said, adding that “the employment of speed bumps and other devices to slow traffic on the Prom and Cutter Street seems critical at this time to prevent tragedy.” He has reached out to city officials about the issue but reports having received no response.
Stewart also raised concerns about the seven food trucks parked near the park, whose generators have been running all day. “The noise and pollution from the seven generators is ridiculous,” he wrote. He questioned why a metered electrical service has not been installed to reduce the generators’ usage. “I enjoy having the trucks here to enhance this beautiful spot, but why we have the generators grinding all day long is beyond me.”
The letter appears in the “Featured Letter” section of the Press Herald’s online edition, dated early this summer. Local officials have yet to comment on the resident’s requests for speed‑control measures or a quieter power supply for the food trucks. The city’s public works and parks departments have not issued a statement in response to Stewart’s concerns.
