WILTON — A set of pedestrian-activated crossing lights have been donated to the town to help make a dangerous crosswalk at a blind curve on Depot Street safer for pedestrians.

The town will install the lights, a gift from the Maine Department of Transportation, probably the first week of September, Town Manager Rhonda Irish said Wednesday after discussing the plan with Selectmen Tuesday.

The crossing lights will cover the crosswalk at the intersection of Birch Street and Route 156 also known as Depot Street where pedestrians, including children walking to school, have a diagonal crossing.

Complaints from parents last spring prompted Wilton Police Chief Heidi Wilcox to observe the crosswalk, Wilcox said Wednesday.

Drivers came around the blind corner not expecting to find an immediate crosswalk with children on their way to school. Some parents won’t allow their children to walk the street, she said.

A concrete wall on the curve doesn’t allow room for a sidewalk on one side and a steep gully on the opposite side of the street eliminates the sidewalk, necessitating the diagonal crossing.

Earlier this year, the town applied for a federally funded Safe Routes to Schools program grant of $25,000 to improve the sidewalk situation.

Safe Routes to Schools is a program used for projects within 2 miles of an elementary or middle school that helps and encourages children to safely walk and bicycle to school.

As part of the application, a site visit was completed with Dan Stewart and Mark Hume from Maine DOT, Joan Walton from the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, John Welch, road foreman and Irish.

The pedestrian-activated lights similar to those used on Main Street at the University of Maine at Farmington was suggested as the best solution at this time.

Extending the sidewalk closer to Academy Hill School to create a better crossing location would be difficult with the wall and gully to consider. There’s not enough space and the grant was not large enough to cover the work. Maine DOT is not expected to work on the road anytime within the foreseeable future.

“There are other options down the road but this is an immediate thing to make it safer now,” Irish said.

After viewing the site, participants agreed that Wilton stood out from all that applied as the community that needed it most, she told the board.

The department came up with the set of lights and pulled Wilton from the grant process. The town only needs to install the lights with help on placement from a Maine DOT engineer.

The board also discussed ways to make the intersection safer for vehicle traffic. Some town officials said they have had close calls there.

A separate light to warn vehicles of traffic turning from Birch Street was discussed but the plan was not expected to work in this situation. A mirror is posted across the road from Birch to help drivers see cars approaching on Depot Street after passing the former Forster Mill.

A three-way stop idea was turned down by Maine DOT because of poor visibility on Depot Street and the potential for rear-end crashes as vehicles come around the curve, Irish explained to the board.

Irish and Welch plan to pursue a discussion on possible solutions with the MDOT engineer while he helps install the crosswalk lights.

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