I heard the sirens and watched the fire department pass by my house on Mechanic Street a little after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, December 4. I often see them return to the station quickly and feel relieved, but that’s not what happened.

After years of my kids walking or riding a bike to the nearby middle school on Knowlton Street, I'm doing a lot more driving now that I have a son in high school. More than 20 years ago, when the school was built, there was much talk of developing safe walking and biking routes to the new facility and it is very clear to me why that is. I often remark at the staggering percentage of people who seem to be glancing back and forth at their phones while driving, teenagers and parents alike.

But that morning, I had to scold myself as I glanced down John Street from the intersection with Simonton Road, distracted a little too long by the clear presence of emergency vehicles. They were still there when I returned home and I knew that was a terrible sign.

I learned later that a woman in a powered wheelchair had been hit and killed as she made her morning run toward Hannaford or possibly Maritime Farms. I knew instantly who it must have been and I burst into tears. The woman who never let us forget that John Street needed a sidewalk won't be here to enjoy it when it happens. I was dreaming of telling her that she helped make it happen. I know a lot of people are feeling the same.

Sometimes the measure of a community is how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. Those who can't get to a meeting to advocate for themselves and those who can't get out of the way for a powerful vehicle. Deaths like this one always make me relive the death of my sister Kristen, who was swimming in Damariscotta Lake in 2018 — waving a yellow flipper in the air and yelling — when she was hit by a power boat. The man at the wheel said he didn't see her since it was getting dark, but the children he had as passengers reported that they had in fact seen her.

So Kristen was visible, but not visible enough, and the legal case centered around the idea of a reasonable standard of care and the idea that operating a watercraft prudently means traveling no faster than your ability to see and respond. At least that was the opinion of the first district attorney I spoke with. The deadly, more powerful vessel or vehicle is the one that has the greatest resonsibillity. 

No one wants to hit a pedestrian and the man who hit my sister did not want that to happen either, but he told the wardens who responded to the scene that he thought swimmers were supposed to be in the roped off areas and that says a lot about the level of caution he was using as dusk fell in early August. No training of any kind is required in order for an adult or tourist to operate a boat in Maine, so it's no surprise that these types of accidents are increasing. 

For accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians, the causes range from conditions being too dark to blindingly bright.  A child was hit in the crosswalk on Mechanic Street several years ago and the same explanation prevailed and temporary blindness caused by sun glare was cited as the reason. Just an accident. Wrong place, wrong time. But the thing about these accidents is that the stakes are a lot higher for the swimmers, cyclists, pedestrians, and even kayakers than they are for the drivers and power boat operators. 

She had introduced herself to me as “Shell” one day when I stopped to see if she needed help. It was raining and she was pushing her wheelchair backwards down the road, propelling herself forward by pushing with her feet. 

She lived at Merry Garden Estates and the charger for her powered wheelchair had been damaged, forcing her to use the regular chair.It was the weekend and that meant there were no staff available to help with transportation. At least that’s how I understood it. But with one arm in a sling, she still wasn’t going to let that keep her from rolling where she needed to go on wheels designed to be turned with her upper body. 

Her full name I’ve now learned was Michelle Bishop. It was a little difficult to understand her when we spoke. She told me she had had a stroke and couldn’t speak well because of it — perhaps multiple strokes — but she wanted me to know that she used to be a nurse. 

The image of Michelle pushing herself down the road as cars whipped by was jarring. I remembered the times I’ve ridden a bike on John Street and found myself at times too nervous to continue. With no paved shoulder, you have to either trust that the passing cars will give you enough room or risk riding into the sand trap of a shoulder. I’ve never been a very confidant cyclist and found myself a little shaky, looking behind me for cars and trying to get out of the way, even resorting to dismounting rather than take the risk. 

Shell agreed it was scary, but she did it often and it wasn’t as bad when she had her powered wheelchair, she told me. I found her unconventional approach to be refreshing, even inspiring. Rejecting the idea that assisted living should be gated off and hidden from the rest of the community, Michelle had every right to be on that road and there’s no reason that riding half a mile to the grocery store should feel like such an act of bravery. 

She just wanted a few things at Hannaford and I managed to convince her to let the Police Department give her a ride back to her apartment and I would do the shopping for her. I also had a car full of dogs and other things and she wasn’t going to fit well (even though she told me she was a big dog lover and wouldn’t mind). 

I thought I might have the right charger for her wheelchair among the donations we had received for Partners for World Health so she brought me to her room to take some photos of the charging port. 

It was the first time I had visited since singing Christmas carols with the high school chorus more than 20 years ago and I felt a mix of emotions. The apartments and the overall facilities are practical and inviting and I could see myself living there one day. But the place might as well be an island. People unable to drive are essentially stranded and dependent on others if they are unable or unwilling to risk the pedestrian experience of John Street. Maybe I’ll live there some day but will I be brave enough to go to the grocery store?

Residents can have a pet and Michelle’s was Ringo Starr, a cat adopted from neighboring P.A.W.S. and who greeted us eagerly at the door. Michelle was beaming at this point, happy to have had her groceries delivered, but I was feeling bad. There are a lot of people living there and it feels like we’ve forgotten them. 

Michelle is who we often saw, but a lot of other people would be out there, too, if it were safer. Not to mention those who might like to walk to church or take one of the dogs at P.A.W.S. for a walk without having to say a prayer and cross their fingers. I asked her if a sidewalk would help and she raised her hands in the air, as if gesturing toward the heavens, making a singing sound with a big smile that erupted into laughter. 

Spending a little time with Michelle that day reminded me that for as much as I think I know about Camden, and for as many people as I do know, there are still many parts and people who are a little bit invisible. People in wheelchairs or motorized scooters need the pavement in order to use roads and sidewalks safely. They can’t really jump off the road like I can if they suspect a car might not see them, but that doesn’t mean they should be stuck.

 I had snapped a couple photos of Michelle out on the road, initially thinking I might need to use them to reunite her with someone if she refused help, but she turned out to have her wits fully about her and knew exactly where she was coming and going. But I asked her if she minded me sharing the photos with anyone who needed convincing of the value of making John Street safer.

“Oh I don’t care," she said. "We just need a sidewalk. And I need the charger so you can take a picture of me out on that one.” 

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the right charger, but I was glad to see that she had found another solution and the powered wheelchair was soon spotted up and running again. I took some pictures of that, too, and was glad to see how visible she was. 

But the best part was learning that Michelle and I weren’t the only ones thinking about a John Street sidewalk. It turns out John Street has long been identified for not only a sidewalk but also an extension of the sewer in the Town’s Comprehensive Plan (approved by voters before I was even on the Select Board). 

The fact that Merry Gardens is right across the street from the Camden Public Works garage and the John Street Methodist Church and next door to P.A.W.S. means that a lot of people have noticed how nerve-racking the road is and a lot of people had seen Michelle. 

This made John Street a natural fit for a cost sharing project with the Maine Dept. of Transportation. The state is putting in the sidewalk and the Town will pay for and oversee the sewer extension (partially with the use of federal funds made available to municipalities for covid recovery).

This means people will also be able hook up to the public wastewater system and those who choose will have the ability to build desperately needed housing in this centrally located part of Town. Merry Garden Estates and the Public Works property are the only properties currently serviced by public sewer.

Some have asked why it took so long. How could we possibly have senior housing and assisted living so close to town without extending the sidewalk there? It certainly should have happened when the apartments were built, just as the Mechanic Street sidewalk should extend all the way to Windward Gardens and the existing sidewalk should be brought up to a safe and usable standard. 

The probability of death of those involved in vehicle-pedestrian crashes increases exponentially as the rate of vehicular speed increases. When you are driving a vehicle capable of doing immense damage, you must be willing to slow down to a crawl or even pull over when you are unable to see. I don't believe anyone ever taught me this, but I hope it is a part of all drivers ed classes today. 

Polarized sunglasses, a clean windshield, and route planning with plenty of time are all basic expectations for anyone operating a vehicle. 

We cannot continuously place the burden on those wishing not to be hit. It's our job as a community to build roads that give drivers and pedestrians a good chance of coexisting and we owe it to Michelle and our future residents to prioritize long term visions that benefit the majority rather than short term efforts to appease one or two people.

The burden to see what’s ahead and adjust course when you cannot see must be taken more seriously by drivers, law enforcement, and the courts. Let’s all focus on reminding all drivers, young and old, to have a plan for when we cannot clearly see the road, whether it’s sun, fog, rain, darkness, or a dirty windshield. 

Alison is a Camden Select Board member. The views represented in this piece are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Camden Select Board.