Council sends
short list of downtown fixes to engineers
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
CITY MANAGER JIM BENNETT goes over one of several routes proposed to address traffic concerns downtown, during a joint meeting Monday night with members of the City Council, Planning Board and the Downtown Revitalization Committee. Recommendations included: extending Academy Street to connect with Riverside Drive and Chapman Road, create a three-lane Main Street between Blake and Cedar streets, extend Riverside Drive, and create an alternate traffic route by putting a street connecting State and Academy through what is now known as Downing Park.
PRESQUE ISLE — Downtown transportation alternatives were the focus Monday night of a joint meeting of the Presque Isle City Council, the Planning Board and the Downtown Revitalization Committee.
Present for the meeting were City Manager Jim Bennett; City Clerk Bev Labbe; Planning Board members Bruce Roope, Ward Gerow and Pat Cote; Council Chair Emily Smith, and Councilors Peter Hallowell, Bruce Sargent, Randy Smith and Jessica Chase Smith; and DRC Chair Leigh Smith, Vice Chair Cathy Beaulieu and members Tim Lavin and Scott Violette.
Following a study by Eaton Peabody/Gorrill-Palmer Consulting Engineers last fall and the subsequent proposal to change the flow of traffic through the heart of town that met with strong opposition by business owners and individuals, it was decided alternatives should be sought. City officials worked with members of the Planning Board and Downtown Revitalization Committee earlier this year, asking each organization to come up with two recommendations. Those ideas were brought to Monday night’s meeting, with City Council voting on which two proposals will now be forwarded to Eaton Peabody, for the engineers to work out the details of how each plan would work.
City Manager Bennett began the discussion, reviewing each group’s alternatives and how they would affect traffic and address safety concerns.
“The consultants that have been employed by the city will model two alternative methods. In addition, they will model the existing conditions, for a total of three different models. However, each model will also have two different alternatives that will be run. The bypass/connector will be run as if it was completely built. They will also run it with the assumption that only the preferred first phase is constructed,” said Bennett.
“In all, there will be nine different versions run, with the city receiving information regarding the impacts of the different alternatives,” added Bennett.
“We’re doing an interesting dance, as we try to look at the issues,” said the city manager, as he began to describe each proposal. The DRC’s first suggestion was to continue Academy Street to Riverside Drive. To do so would involve removing several businesses, changing the railroad crossing and creating a new road to the east of the courthouse. The plan would also eliminate Riverside Drive and re-route a section of Chapman Road. Bennett said this would create a larger parcel to the west along what he considered “prime real estate” that other communities would be envious of. He indicated government funding would compensate displaced businesses, assisting with moving costs and other expenses. The Planning Board also proposed this as one of its options.
Bennett noted that if the extension of Academy is the ultimate route selected, it would affect the construction of the proposed Community Center. Currently planned for the left side of Chapman Road, if Academy is extended, more space would be created to the west of Chapman, with construction of the facility taking place closer to the water.
The DRC’s second recommendation was to extend Riverside Drive and somehow work along the railroad track, cutting back to U.S. Route 1 (Main Street) somewhere in the area near the outdoor pool. Bennett said the down side would be that such a proposal would change downtown and make a one-way system, which would “lose the essence of downtown that you’ve worked to retain.”
Looking for ways to re-route traffic, especially trucks, the Planning Board suggested creating a route from State to Academy, using property known as Downing Park. This would reduce turning traffic on Main Street. While the benefits include the fact the city already owns Downing Park, the negatives include moving traffic into a more residential area.
The Planning Board also recommended making Main Street, from Blake to Cedar street, three lanes — with one lane each for northbound and southbound traffic, with the middle lane for turning only. Bennett said this would allow more space for people exiting parked vehicles and more room for downtown businesses to make use of the area in front of their properties. He said it would also help reduce speed, since a single lane of traffic would eliminate drivers switching lanes to get through town quicker by passing slower motorists.
Cote said more needed to be done to address safety issues downtown, not just move some of the traffic. He suggested better signage and more visible crosswalks.
Beaulieu said it was a “failure of the committee to ensure safety by relying only on ‘applied friction’ (reducing traffic to three lanes would result in a slower flow of traffic, since the lead vehicle would dictate the speed for those following). To go through and make people whole (aiding displaced businesses) is extremely expensive.”
She said these were the ideas the DRC chose to model but not necessarily by choice.
“I don’t want anyone to think the DRC chose to go through successful businesses. We had options presented and these were the ones we settled on,” said Beaulieu.
“Everyone says they’ll ‘Take one for the Gipper,’ and if it’s me, it’s me. But this by no means says we’re on board with this. This says we’re willing to explore it,” said Beaulieu. “When this idea was presented to us, we weren’t remotely thinking a thing like this would happen. We thought we were working to fix what we have — slow traffic. My thing is, it still doesn’t address east-west truck traffic.”
Roope said the Planning Board’s ideas were derived in an effort to “give cars and anyone who doesn’t want to go through the business district an alternative to go around.”
“Anything that improves traffic downtown would be eligible for federal money,” said Bennett, adding the downside to that would be getting those funds could take five years or more, once “in the cue.”
“It wouldn’t be simple with the feds involved,” said Bennett.
Roope reminded those present that another issue concerning traffic flow is how to get farm machinery through town.
“As a farmer, if we go three lanes, moving heavy farm equipment through town could be difficult,” he said.
Citizens Craig Green and Mac Smith also offered comments on the alternatives being discussed.
Green urged city officials not to “rush the brick and mortar system,” saying demolition of buildings to extend Academy Street wasn’t something that could be undone, once it took place. He asked councilors to instead consider reducing traffic to three lanes, since that would be easier to undo, should it be found to not work.
“One thing that bears some certainty — look at a three-lane road diet. It doesn’t change the infrastructure, simply changing lines or whatever. And you can change back at no major expense,” said Green, adding he also liked the Planning Board’s recommendation involving rerouting traffic through Downing Park, since it too would not greatly affect the infrastructure.
Mac Smith told councilors to check out how Caribou handles pedestrian safety along Bennett Drive, near the Rec Center. Using a brightly-lit system, Smith said it’s obvious when motorists need to slow down. “When lights light up, you know something’s happening,” he said.
With discussion concluded, Councilor Jessica Chase Smith made a motion to send the Academy Street recommendation and the three-lane traffic option to the engineers, with councilors voting unanimously to do so.
