Portland's Sustainability & Transportation Committee meeting: Wednesday, 3/8/23 at 5pm

[Winston Lumpkins]

Finally the delayed Sustainability & Transportation Committee meeting will take place tomorrow at 5PM. 

I think there will also be a S&T committee meeting on March 22nd, so we won't have lost one after all! 

The S&T committee is a Portland city council committee, Chaired by Councilor Zarro, Councilors Pelletier & Rodriguez are also voting members.  The committee is charged with developing Sustainability & Transportation policy for Portland. 

While there won't be public comment on anything, there will be updates about some issues that interest members of PBPAC, namely the Franklin Street project and State + High Street. 

The meeting will be recorded, and I look forward to discussing what we learn here.  Feel free, once you've had a chance to watch it, to post your thoughts. 

portlandme.civicclerk.com/Web/Player.aspx?id=6217&key=-1&mod=-1&mk=-1&nov=0

~Winston

Winston Lumpkins IV (he/him/his)

Chair, Portland Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee
https://www.portlandbikeped.org/

winston....@gmail.com
207-408-1508

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[Scsmedia]

While the S&T Committee has some important work on its agenda, State and High Street does not appear to be part of it.  the Major Transportation Priorities memo make no mention of it and I could not find another agenda item that does.

Attached is the Major Transportation Priorities Memo that has some significant updates on several of our pet projects, plus some others I was not aware of.

Franklin Street Master Plan 

Libbytown Safety and Accessibility Project

Brighton Avenue (Route 25) Multi-Modal Project 

Smart Corridor Study Phase II: Forest Avenue from Marginal Way to Park Avenue

Smart Corridor Study Phase III: Morrill’s Corner

Smart Corridor Study Phase IV: Bedford Street to Woodford Street

This is the first time I have seen this Morrill's Corner Diagram.  I spent five minute confused until I realized I was looking at it backwards.

This would be a significant improvement for both vehicles and bike/pedestrian.

Steven Scharf

207-415-4662

SCSM...@aol.com

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[winston.lumpkins]

I thought it was mentioned in there somewhere, but, you're right, it's not in the material for the transit priorities presentation- thanks for catching that! 

It is mentioned in the S&T committee's draft work plan however, which must be how it got stuck in my head.
There it says: 

Staff presentations / recommendations
● Present transportation priorities including discussion of implementing the Franklin Street
Master Plan and converting State St. and High St. to two way traffic

We shall see if they discuss it when they discuss their work plan- perhaps it's a S&T committee priority, but, not a staff priority, or it's simply not as advanced a plan as the others. 


~Winston

[winston.lumpkins]

An interesting article I dug up about the history of the last State & High Street study:

https://www.pressherald.com/2015/11/10/portland-plan-for-2-way-traffic-on-high-state-streets-faces-roadblocks/

[Emilie Swenson]

Thanks so much for sharing that Morrill's Corner picture - interesting to see. Looks like it helps with some of the identified issues from our walk audit (the gas station's 3 entrances/exits and maybe makes it so that you can't turn from Forest outbound onto Bishop? It's hard to tell what's happening with the McDonald's.. but perhaps that no longer has its own light?)

Would like to hear more! 

(No bike lanes?)

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/PBPAC/46b36735-0b4b-43a3-a0fc-f48499964a49n%40googlegroups.com.

[winston.lumpkins]

Transportation priorities starts at 14:00

I really recommend people watch it. 

Jeremiah presents:
Jeremiah does say on Franklin Street that the design needs to be updated for best practices for bicycles & Pedestrians, which I'm glad to hear. 
Franklin Street Project Managed by the city.  Project to cost at least 30 million, partly due to storm-water things that need to happen anyway.

(I really wonder how much the feds paid through urban renewal to build the damn thing)

The next steps will be to engage with the public, move to an RFP for an urban design consultant, update the feasibility concept from somerset to commercial, and look for opportunities for funding, due to the unique nature of this corridor there are more than a few opportunities for funding.

Most are familiar with the Libby-town project.  Managed by Portland and the Maine DOT in partnership.  The partnership feels different, in a good way.  Transitioning from planning to design. 

Keith Gray presents:
Brighton is paused waiting on the rapid transit study.

The pavement is fast deteriorating.  May have to do some re-paving before the final design, hopefully working to incorporate bike lanes at least in any interum repaving.

Keith Gray shows a design with a 2 way separated bike-way, says that's what the city aspires to build in the eventual design. 

Also waiting on hearing more about the Gorham connector. 

Thoughts on Brighton:
I do think that there's a phenomenon of progress over time towards safer infrastructure, the delay may result in a better outcome...  that's just my take.  Integrating the design with rapid transit also seems like a great idea.  Perhaps if they do build the Gorham connector, we should really push for Brighton to shrink alot.  I do worry/hope that the connector would kill the big box stores there.... 

Morrills corner:

Need is painfully obvious- next steps are refine the design with the DOT, public outreach, explore funding opportunities. 

Forest from Marginal to Park
5 Million plus
Re-balance design for all modes of travel, realign Kennebec & High street. 
Including bicycle detection for some traffic lights.  Next steps are refine the design with the DOT, public outreach, explore funding opportunities.

Forest from revere to Bedford. 
5-10 million
High fatality area.  Improvement needed.  RFP has gone out for project scoping. 

Aspirationally includes raised 2 way separated cycle track, dedicated bus lanes?

Thoughts:
If they can get some bicycle signal phases, which traffic lights that can sense bikes would allow..  might work. 

Then the we go into questions & comments at 47:00

I'll hopefully watch the rest  of the meeting tomorrow! 

~Winston

[winston.lumpkins]

Ah yes- a link to the presentation to go with my notes:
portlandme.civicclerk.com/Web/Player.aspx?id=6217&key=-1&mod=-1&mk=-1&nov=0

[Scsmedia]

(I really wonder how much the feds paid through urban renewal to build the damn thing)

The Feds did not pay a dime of it. The Portland City Council appropriated $3 million to build the Franklin Arterial in 1964. $1.7 for the first phase which included blasting through from Cumberland Avenue to Congress Street so that it would be easier to build phase two 10 years later.

The gas crisis and recession on the early 1970s killed phase two.

I had photocopies of the articles about it, but they are packed away in my storage unit.

Steven Scharf

207-415-4662

SCSM...@aol.com

https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/PBPAC/43be57af-e502-45e4-a571-decee1740b0dn%40googlegroups.com

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