Neither anticipating in 1995 the growth that has since occurred around Little and Big Lake Wassookeag and Echo Lake, nor expecting the automation that would occur in the postal service, town officials numbered the fire lanes.

Those changes have now created a safety issue, Dexter Town Manager Judy Doore said this week.

Public safety personnel have found it difficult to reach some people needing emergency services and some mail has been disrupted because automated machines fail to read longer addresses, she said.

"We want to address these issues before they do become critical," Doore said.

Town officials have re-assembled the Enhanced 911 committee to begin changing the fire lanes to names. The committee will meet next in mid-September.

At a meeting this week, the committee agreed to rename the fire lanes on Lake Wassookeag after mountains.

The names will be alphabetized with the lanes on the south side of the lake beginning with letters A to P. The names on the north side of the lake will have names that start with the letters R through Z. For example, a lane on the south side of the lake may be called Big Mountain Lane, Doore said.

Letters will be mailed soon to those property owners on fire lanes advising them of the process.

Doore said the committee will offer a couple of suggested names, but residents on specific lanes can suggest their own. It will be a democratic process and the names most supported will be adopted, she said.

A similar process will be done for the lanes on Little Lake Wassookeag and Echo Lake, but using a different feature, according to Doore.

Looking toward the future, Doore said, "We have anticipated footage necessary for future development."
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Thursday, August 31, 2006 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."