WATERVILLE, Maine — According to centralmaine.com, Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey said he’s received complaints over the last few weeks about carwash traffic blocking the rightmost travel lane of Kennedy Memorial Dr. as customers wait to go through the carwash at J&S Oil.

He added that officers will start issuing tickets if people do not stop idling there, the article continued.

Some people have reported near crashes because of the carwash traffic, the article stated.

Massey admits that while this is an ongoing issue, the article noted, it is especially problematic in the winter when, after a slew of bad weather days, there are only a few sunny days when people can go to the carwash.

As a short-term solution, J&S Oil will instruct employees to park cars two abreast in the lot to save space, the article noted; in addition, the business will put up signs directing people to either wait in the parking lot or come back later and to not wait on the street.

In the future, the article continued, J&S Oil plans to look at redesigning its parking lot to see if there is a permanent solution to reducing carwash traffic problems.

Police will patrol the road to make sure people do not continue to idle on the road, the article added.

“I’m very concerned we’re gonna have a serious accident,” Massey said.

Officers will ask those still backing up the road to leave, the article stated, but if the problem continues, Massey says they will have to start issuing traffic tickets for obstructing public roads.

Massey is asking the public to comply so that tickets do not become necessary, the article noted.

“If the current line in the parking lot is full, please return at another time when there is space,” Massey said.

Read the original story here.