Carless in Portland

In case you haven't seen it yet, the Press Herald ran a story today about the steady decline in car ownership in the city. To summarize, the statistics show that the number of passenger vehicles registered in Portland has been declining for several years while ridership on the local bus system has gone up. The article features some brief profiles of car-free individuals, such as city councilor David Marshall. It's nice to be reminded that I'm not alone and I look forward to some possible follow up stories on the subject. I wouldn't mind being interviewed as well as someone who has lived a generally successful life here without a car since 2008. As noted on the Rights of Way blog, the city's housing and transportation policies are "focused overwhelmingly on building cheap or free parking" despite the trend that people are driving less and demanding better/safer/healthier/more sustainable neighborhoods.

The Right Direction

You might have seen it already, but you should be aware of a report published by the Alliance for Biking & Walking which found that "the number of Mainers who commute to work by bicycle increased by 120 percent between 1990 and 2009." Impressive! You should check out this press release by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine for all the details. Here are a few more highlights they noted:

• Maine ranks 10^th nationally in the number of people who bike and walk to work

• While 12 percent of all trips in the U.S. are by bike and foot, the report notes that only 1.6 percent of federal transportation dollars go to biking and walking.

Express Bus

As part of the big development proposal at Thompson's Point,which will be known as "The Forefront at Thompson's Point," the city may be getting some additional tax revenue for public transit. Per this Press Herald article from today's paper, the city council "decided to set aside 25 percent of the money the city will receive [in taxes from the development once completed], to be used for transit projects." 

City councilor, public transit advocate, and mayoral candidate David Marshall, profiled on this blog in 2009, pointed out while talking with the Press Herald that the money from this development "...would be enough to pay for an express bus from the Portland International Jetport to the Portland Transportation Center – next to the proposed Thompon’s Point development – and then on to the Maine State Pier." Here's a quick Google maps map of the route from these three public transit hubs: 

I'm not sure of this bus route would by managed by the Metro or not, but I think this would be a good route that would kind of combine two existing Metro routes, the #5 (The Maine Mall bus) and the #8 (the peninsula route). 

The #5 currently goes from the Metro Pulse on Elm Street and out to the mall, but also services the Jetport and Portland Transportation Center. Speaking as a weekday rider of the #5, I see a decent amount of people going directly between the jetport and the transportation center. Perhaps this new route would allow the #5 to skip over those two stops and make more frequent and less-congested trips between downtown and the mall area. 

The #8 is the peninsula route bus, which stops at the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal while meandering around the rest of the peninsula. One suggestion I would make, without in-depth research on the issue, is for this newly envisioned express bus bus is to also swing by Monument Square and the Metro Pulse in order to fully connect with the rest of the bus system. Either way, the fact that public transportation continues to be on the radar of our city council is a good thing. 

Pedestrian Detection System

Pictured below is a newly installed pedestrian detection system at the intersection of Commercial and Franklin Streets:

As highlighted in this press release by the city, these new cameras have been installed at the pedestrian crossings at Commercial Street/Franklin Street and Park Avenue/Deering Avenue.These cameras use infrared stereo LED cameras (kind of like the Microsoft Kinect?) to detect pedestrians and sync the pedestrian and vehicle signals. This technology is being developed by Migma Systems, out of Massachusetts, and more technical information on the product can be found here and here. The system isn't currently for sale, as it is in field testing and Portland was picked as one of six demonstration cities for the technology.

I look forward to seeing the results of this trial, and stopping by these intersections to see it in action (I don't think it was on when I took the above picture). To sum this up, here is a commendable comment in the city's press release by Michael Bobinsky, Portland Public Services Director:

"Portland has long been a leader in advancing pedestrian safety and accessibility and it was great news that the city was chosen by FHWA and the Maine Department of Transportation for the installation of this cutting edge technology as it will help us continue our efforts to make this city a safe place to get around, whether on foot, bike or car."

Shopping Carts and Urban Living

As recently reported at TheCityFix.com, a site about sustainable urban mobility, the Sydney, Australia city council recently denied an urban supermarket the ability to provide it's customers with shopping carts (or as they call them: trolleys).

From this article from down under, the city council "...approved a development application last September for a small local supermarket with no trolleys, but six months later the developer wanted to change it to include trolleys." The city council denied this request and the market will remain trolley-free. Apparently part of what the city council was aiming for when they approved this urban supermarket was to provide a place to shop for city dwellers without increasing the amount of automobile traffic in the already congested area. Similar to how markets used to work in cities before cars, I believe the idea was that people would make a quick stop by the local market on foot a few times a week to pick up the goods they needed for just the next few days. Here's a quote from article:

"Labor councillor Dr Meredith Burgmann says the decision was based on maintaining traffic levels in the area.

She says she has never received so many emails and letters from residents concerned about the impact of trolleys.

"It does have to remain a local drop-in-as-you're-walking-along-the-street supermarket," she said."

The Sydney Morning Herald also reported on this, prior to the city council's decision upholding the trolley ban:

"The Friends of Erskineville [the village where the supermarket is] warns that trolleys are a gateway conveyance that will hook shoppers on the car habit. ''Without wanting to sound like the League of Gentlemen, no trolleys restricts the amount of people who will drive so it's only local people, on foot, not people driving to the site,'' the group's spokesman, Brett Mason, said."

These Friends of Erskineville seem to be a pretty dedicated bunch of individuals, interested in promoting livability and sustainability in their own neighborhood. The stance against shopping carts is rather interesting and I'm not sure if this issue has ever been discussed in America. I'm not advocating that shopping carts be banned or the use of them curtailed, but it's worthwhile to think about the connection between our current infrastructure and our lifestyle. Banning shopping carts at the IGA in Erskineville is a small act, but it is a solution that make sense and seems to be popular with the people it affects on a daily basis.

What's in a name? From Arterial to Street

I can't find the official documentation of this, but someday soon the signs saying Franklin Arterial will say Franklin Street. I'm sure this is a minor victory as far as the Franklin Reclamation Authority is concerned, but it's a step in the right direction by the city. As you know, where the Franklin Arterial (Oops, I mean Street) is was once an urban street and not the mini highway that it is today. A look at official city maps reveals that the actual name of the thoroughfare has actually always been Franklin Street, so it's interesting that it became to be known as Franklin Arterial and the street signs even said so. Either way, this is a good move and I look forward to further discussions concerning the future of this street.

Vote MilNeil - District 119

If you live in Maine's District 119 (Bayside and Parkside neighborhoods of Portland), please consider supporting Christian MilNeil, author of Rights of Way and Vigorous North, in his bid for a seat in Maine's State House. The current representative is leaving, so it's a great opportunity to get some new blood in the system and Christian is a strong candidate and people who read this blog will agree with a lot of his views. Read more about his bid here, and donate to his clean election fund if you live in the district.

A Safe Place

Is Portland a safe place to walk, bike, run, etc?

For the most part (I'm looking at you, Franklin Arterial!) the peninsula is home to pretty calm streets that enable and encourage pedestrian usage year-round.

At the Maine Personal Injury Law Blog (run by local firm Joe Bornstein) they recently had a post about an update to pedestrian safety law.

Here's a snippet:

Pedestrians, by law, now have more room to run and walk when on the road. A new law protecting pedestrian safety states that drivers must leave at least three feet of clearance between their vehicle and a pedestrian when passing. The decree is a continuation of a similar law for passing bicyclists.

The new law went into effect on September 12th and is being considered by many as an awareness act. Known as “An Act To Improve the Health of Maine Citizens and Safety of Pedestrians," drivers must now be more cautious of their actions around pedestrians or they will be fined.

I applaud the effort, and although we all know that traffic calming and common sense are more effective tools to enhance pedestrian safety in Maine, the law certainly means well. Fortunately, most roads in downtown Portland have adequate sidewalks, and this law seems to be more focused on pedestrians utilizing roads without sidewalks.

And back to the issue of safety in Portland, I rarely hear of fatal incidents involving pedestrian/bicycles. Most of the areas that pedestrians have access to in downtown Portland are low(er) speed areas, compared to the high-speed roads that connect the suburbs and rural areas that are purely designed for automobile use. In turn you rarely have incidents on the higher speed roads outside of cities and town centers because they are rarely used by pedestrians since nothing is within reasonable walking distance.

In a broader sense, the streets of Portland are relatively safe as far as crime goes. Despite the occasional crime spree, most people would report experiencing few serious problems. Perhaps more on this topic in the future...

Skateboards and Cobblestones

Tip of the hat to the Press Herald, which reported here about the public safety committee's authorization of a plan to put some cobblestone on Exchange Street.

The photo below is from this spring and shows cobblestone on Milk Street, which currently ends where Exchange Street crosses its path.

From what I've gathered, they are going to put patches of cobblestone down which will be even with the current surface. They say it will cost only $6,000 and take two days so I'm thinking the street will remain mostly asphalt.

The main reason for this action is to deter skateboarders from going down Exchange Street and 'scaring tourists.' I have mixed feelings about this, since skateboarding is a healthy and 'green' method of personal transport. The sidewalks will remain brick, and there is the chance that a lack of enforcement of a skateboarding ban on the street will push skateboarders onto the sidewalks. They will also start utilizing the next street over, Market Street, which is a one way which may be more dangerous than cruising down Exchange Street since it is a one way going up the incline.

I don't have anything against with the idea of skateboarding and in a perfect world skateboarders, bikes, and pedestrians could get get the roads and sidewalks all to themselves. The city deserves praise itself for its' (currently under construction?) skate park but it is located off the peninsula and would not attract the skateboarders that hang around down town (I would consider the people who use skate parks to be more 'sport' users than recreational or transportational). I think the fact that that 'the kids' with skateboards tend to hang around this area is also a reminder that there isn't much to do in this town on most nights for the under eighteen crowd. It's a tricky situation.

What are your thoughts?

Moped Parking

Here is a view of the new Moped and Motorcycle parking spaces at the corner of Temple and Free Streets. According to this release from the city's website, there will soon be a total of 7 other Moped parking areas like this one spread around the peninsula, with anywhere from two to six spaces. These spaces offer up to 10 hours of free parking, which is a pretty good deal I say. I have certainly seen an increase in moped transportation over the last few years and applaud any efforts to city takes to make the streets more compatible with them.

Also from the article cited above:

Encouraging commuters to use a moped or motorcycles can reduce traffic congestion downtown and help in the city’s efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption and avert greenhouse gas emission. Dedicating motorcycle and moped parking spaces is also a safe and legal way to ensure that two-wheeled vehicles are properly parked on the street.

“Improving access to the downtown for mopeds and motorcycles is a part of the city’s long term transportation strategy to promote different modes of transportation,” remarked City Councilor and Transportation Committee Chair Kevin Donoghue. “With rising fuels prices, more and more people are looking to mopeds and other low-impact, efficient modes of transportation. Adding these spaces is an economical way to maximize parking in the downtown and make the two-wheel option more attractive for residents and commuters.”