On Aug. 15, there was a shooting on Route 302 in Windham. Someone on a motorcycle was shot and killed. As bad as this incident was, the town of Windham made it even worse. Police shut down Route 302, creating one of the worst traffic jams I’d ever seen, and I come from New York City. Side streets, parking lots and all access roads, jammed with cars and trucks, were at a complete standstill.

It’s Friday, tourists are on their way up, people are coming home from work and locals are shopping, and with little regard, 302 is shut down with no alternate solutions or remedies. There are only two routes in this state that go east to west, and 302 is one of them. Worse still, this happened in the Lakes Region, where there are very few alternatives.

Then, making matters even worse, local residents are moved into panic mode: “There’s a man with a gun out there! Lock your doors, close your windows, stay inside!” This wasn’t some lunatic shooting up a mall, this was a one-on-one tragedy. What was described on TV news seemed to be road rage, or a personal issue between two people.

I am in no way discounting the severity of an incident like this, but common sense seemed to be at a loss. Yes, this was a crime scene, but Windham should have been better prepared, and maybe this could have been avoided with better gun laws.

Doug Davis
Windham