Safe paths part of larger Franklin Arterial planning

Stick around to the end of Wednesday's meeting on the future of Franklin Arterial if you want to hear about improving the safety for bicyclists and pedestrians at the street's intersection with Marginal Way.

The meeting, held at East End School Community Center, 195 North St., will start at 5:30 p.m., and at 7 p.m. officials will talk about improvements to Interstate 295 Exit 7 off-ramps and the state's ongoing "pedestrian safety evaluation process" to provide a bicycle/pedestrian connection to the Back Cove Trail from Marginal Way.

"We want to make sure that we've considered all aspects about making sure that connection is as safe as possible," said Mike Bobinsky, director of the Portland Department of Public Services.

The state plans to complete a comprehensive safety study to complete the trail link as part of $1.4 million improvements, officials said.

A big backer of bicycle and pedestrian improvements on Franklin Arterial is the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System, or PACTS, which is coordinating with the city and Maine Department of Transportation on improving the arterial.

The trail connection is part of a much larger effort, and from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. a variety of officials and concerned citizens will debate the rest of the Franklin Street Feasibility Study, a long-range plan focused on choosing from three proposed designs.

"The big priority is to get this study going," said Carl Eppich, transportation planner with PACTS, the regional planning organization.

Three possible layouts have been developed by the Franklin Study Committee, which met last year and identified the trio of designs that might help improve the arterial. The design alternatives include a multi-way boulevard with four lanes in the center and two side access lanes providing parking and bicycle use; an urban street with bicycle lanes and parallel parking; and an urban parkway with landscaped median, limited parking and parallel bicycle path.

 "We want to make sure that our scope descriptions are as comprehensive as possible based on the phase one work that we did a year ago," Bobinsky said. "It's really an engineering analysis of what is the most feasible design to redevelop or restructure Franklin to accommodate all modes of transportation as safely and efficiently as possible."

The feasibility study also "will look at the opportunity to connect to a degree the neighborhoods on the east and west side of Franklin," he noted.

The Urban Street proposal, for example, provides reconnection of Oxford Street, Federal Street and Newbury Street, as well as right hand turns at Lancaster Street. The Urban Parkway design provides reconnections of Oxford Street and Federal Street for vehicles, and all cross streets for pedestrians. The Multi‐Way Boulevard reconnects Oxford Street to vehicles, as well as Lancaster Street, Federal Street and Newbury Street to pedestrians, according to the proposals.

Bobinsky said it may take 18 months to complete the study, then a recommendation would be forwarded to the city council and the agencies involved. Once a recommendation was hammered out, the city could seek funding for implementation.

With over 20,000 average daily vehicles at the intersection of Marginal Way and Franklin Street, other changes will happen in the short term, Bobinsky noted.

Already, the state has installed a fence to facilitate safe crossing from Bayside Trail along Marginal Way, and a pedestrian signal will be installed at both sides of Franklin Arterial, Bobinsky said.

"The fence was put in there to ensure that pedestrians, bike users and runners would actually go to the signal and cross at that point," he said.

Other short-term kinds of improvements may occur, especially near I-295, he said. Already, construction cones line the exits onto Franklin Arterial.

The Exit 7 options are also on the agenda. From 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the city and its partners are scheduled to discuss possible Exit 7 improvements and the proposed trail link at the busy Marginal Way and Franklin Arterial intersection.

This city-supported trail link between the Back Cove Trail and the Bayside Trail, as tentatively considered, would run parallel to Franklin Arterial from the intersection at Marginal Way, pass under the I-295 overpass, then bend to the left, where it would connect with the Back Cove Trail. That path would also provide access to the nearly completed Bayside Trail, which when completed this fall will link the East End Trail with Deering Oaks Park.

"I think we all support the development of a crossing that can be safe from a pedestrian perspective, and that's what will unfold as part of an analysis by MDOT, the city and PACTS," Bobinsky said.

Eppich with PACTS said the trail link is a top ranked project for funding as part of the state's work to rebuild the off-ramps. 

 In March, when the city council endorsed a trail link, an amendment tacked on to the city's resolution asked MDOT to create separate bids for the Exit 7 project and the trail. That would allow potential contractors to include a cost estimate for the trail project.

At Wednesday's meeting, the public can expect an update on the trail link, and those attending can share their thoughts and suggestions on the trail and the broader redevelopment of the Franklin Arterial, city spokesperson Nicole Clegg said.

"We're excited to be looking at next steps for Franklin Street corridor and hope that through this conversation with the public we can bring a new vision to this important gateway to the city," Clegg said.

For more detailed information and to view the results of the Franklin Study Committee’s work, visit the city’s website at www.portlandmaine.gov/franklinstreetarterial.htm.

INSETS:

WHAT SHOULD FRANKLIN ARTERIAL LOOK LIKE?

Urban Street — A four-lane street, with bicycle lanes and parallel parking.

This alternative is a four-lane street from Marginal Way to Congress, and transitions to a three-lane street with a center left turn lane from Congress to Commercial. Left turn lanes are provided at each intersection to maintain through traffic capacity. The street is designed to minimize the footprint of the road to create opportunities for other uses of the public right-of-way. Redeveloment is emphasized, with the scale of the street appropriate for 3 to 4 story development. Parallel parking is provided to serve redevelopment facing the street. Bicycle lanes are not included on the street, but a parallel bicycle boulevard or bicycle route on Pearl Street would be established. Street connectivity is emphasized to provide additional capacity in the street network.

Urban Parkway — A four-lane street with landscaped median, limited parking and parallel bicycle path.

This alternative is a boulevard west of Congress, and a an urban street with three lanes or two lanes plus median between Congress and Commercial. Green space is emphasized by expanding the Lancaster/Oxford area as park and garden, and restoring Lincoln Park to its historic size. Parallel parking is only provided in segments where significant redevelopment is likely. Bike lanes are included in the Franklin Street right-of-way for its entire length. A two-lane roundabout is shown at Marginal Way
with a signalized crossing for the Bayside Trail. A one-lane roundabout is shown at Commercial Street.

Multiway Boulevard — Multiway boulevard with four through lanes in center, and two side access lanes providing parking and bicycle use.

This alternative is a multiway boulevard between Marginal Way and Congress, and a two lane urban street between Congress and Commercial. This alternative would be supportive higher intensity development of parcels identified on the map as “Possible Redevelopment.” The scale of the multiway boulevard is appropriate for 5 or 6 story development along its frontage. Lincoln Park is maintained at its current size, and better defined by development around its edge. Bicycles will use the side access roads or alternate parallel routes. Street connectivity is less emphasized in this alternative due to its higher capacity.

WHAT DID THE PUBLIC THINK?

A meeting Wednesday marks the beginning of the second phase of the city’s process to improve Franklin Street by gathering public input for a feasibility study. Last year, the public was asked to envision a new Franklin Arterial. Here are two public comments from a Sept. 2, 2009 meeting:

"I would like to see more SMART signal systems instead of road width/lanes to accommodate park times when Franklin is busy which (I feel) is a fairly limited time. I love connecting Pearl and Wilmot to Marginal, reconnecting oxford and Federal using land freed up by narrowing Franklin for development — especially mixed use with lots of housing. Alternative routes for bikes on other streets, not just Franklin. I thought coming in that the Multi‐way boulevard was the best — most human scale feel, accommodating most while allowing traffic flow. But I also now like some of the features of the mewhat urban street — if it could be softened so Thank you for all your on this project!"

"An enlarged Lincoln Park is good, but so is some development. The development shouldn’t wall off the park, and could include places to eat and drink that have some interior spaces (it snows here). Views are important to this town. Don’t wall us off. Trees are good for all as sound buffer, place for birds to rest and eat, clean air, provide shade for all, add beauty, humanize buildings.
If the urban street format is used, include green space, places to sit. Limit building height to 3‐4 stories. Two is even better. Build in context to our town. Building separate bike lanes will encourage bike usage. Add also bike garages (like in LA or park and ride to encourage the commuters to us a bike in town. They would be able to leave out of weather locked up, when not at work. This would cut down on auto traffic in town."