To be clear, the duties of the Abandoned and Discontinued Roads Commission cover roads that were once town or county ways, but have been discontinued.  They do not cover roads that were laid out as private roads in subdivisions, and which never were public roads.  However, there is some room for overlap where, under certain conditions, either a discontinued or abandoned road OR a private road may become a public easement.  So if the Commission is addressing what happens on a discontinued road that remains a public easement, there may be some spillover to private roads that have become public easements. 

One other place where the Commission's duties touch private roads is in the matter of terminology, which the Legislature also asked the Commission to look at.  The term "private way" was historically used for a road that was laid out by the town or county at the request of an owner of improved land not yet connected to the public road system.  It was called a "private way" because it was laid out at private request, and the damages for the road were to be paid by the person who requested it.  But it was in fact a public road, and members of the public could use it, although it was a dead end so the public would have little reason to use it unless they had business with the person to whose land it went.  Things have gotten confusing because we now have "private roads" which are generally NOT open to the public unless they have been dedicated and accepted as public easements.  So the title "private ways" on the subchapter in the statutes is misleading and confusing.  Section 3101 defines a "private way" as a "public easement."  So why not name the subchapter "Private Roads," and just use the term "public easement" where that applies?  The Commission is proposing renaming the chapter "Private Roads" and removing the obsolete term "private way" from the title of the chapter and from 23 MRS sections 3101-3105-A so it's clear the those statutes apply primarily to "private roads," and also to "public easements."