Nearly four years ago, the Town of Kennebunk’s Karen Winton secured a grant to provide transportation for residents in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Arundel who were unable to drive due to medical conditions or vision loss. Thanks to her and the many volunteer drivers, the Kennector, as it was called, provided what older Mainers and those with disabilities identify as their greatest barrier to independence: transportation. In communities with no public transportation infrastructure, and nearly non-existent Uber service, this has been a welcome and well-used service.
It was with profound disappointment I learned that the Kennector will cease on May 31, with the town citing staffing and volunteer burnout as the cause.
The Kennector is a franchise of the Independent Transportation Network, which started in Portland, Maine, and is now available and working well in many states nationally. With all the recent lip service the town has given to low-income and elder housing, it is most unfortunate for Kennebunk’s community leaders to drop the ball on such a vital, well-used service, one that so clearly fits into the town’s stated goal of growth.
Steve Kelley
Kennebunk
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