Longfellow Square Crossing

This crosswalk across State Street has always been a bit of a bottleneck. It located right after the major Longfellow Square intersection of State and Congress Streets and provides pedestrians a direct route for heading into the West End via Pine Street. Here is a Bing maps bird's eye view photo of the area. I'm not sure how long ago they added the little flashing flashing LED lights below the yellow pedestrian sign on the other side of the street from this photo, but it's a nice touch to signal when people are trying to cross. Ultimately, this crossing and the rest of State Street would be vastly improved by slowing traffic that is cruising through Portland as fast as possible to cross the Casco Bay Bridge. 

A Way Across Marginal Way

Looks like this pedestrian refuge island on Marginal Way, conveniently located across from the entrance to Bayside Village and Walgreens/Trader Joe's, is complete. It also appears that they might even add some flashing lights on the poles. similar to the nearby crosswalk on the Preble Street extension near Hannaford. If all of the proposed development in Bayside comes true, I imagine that this intersection may someday have a full set off traffic lights.

Bicycle Faux Pas

Here are a couple photographic examples of improper bicycle etiquette. 

Bike to the Movies

A popular bike rack outside of the Nickelodeon Cinemas. 

Go To: Gilsland Farm Audubon Center

So this is the first post in a new series called "Go To." This series will feature occasional posts looking at places to go within the greater Portland area that are easily accessible by foot, bike, and/or public transportation. Of course, you can also get to these places by car if you must.

Today's stop is the Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth. The address you can punch into your mapping system of choice is 20 Gilsland Farm Rd, Falmouth, Maine 04105. Here is the website for the center, which is part of the Maine Audubon. The red dot on this map indicates the location, which is quite close to downtown Portland:

How can you get here? It is a nice bicycle ride up Route 1 or you can take the #7 Metro Bus which goes right by the entrance to Gilsland Farm Road. 

What is here? There are 2.5 miles of scenic trails to explore, which feel like they are much further from Maine's largest city than they really are. Gilsland Farm is also the Maine Audubon headquarters, and features their teachers' resource center and Maine Audubon Nature Store. This is a beautiful area to explore, here are a few photos:

And  look, the Portland skyline beckons! I will have to go back here on a less hazy day for photos: