Elm Street utility line project: Six months of patience called for

The City of Biddeford will be overseeing a sewer – and water main, gas main and storm drain line – separation project on Elm and Hooper streets beginning this Spring, with completion scheduled for November.

The City of Saco is bracing for a re-routed influx of northbound traffic as a result: in order for the project to proceed expeditiously, Elm Street in Biddeford will be restricted to southbound traffic only. Northbound traffic will be diverted onto Alfred Street at the Five Points intersection, then to Main Street in Biddeford and across the bridge to Main Street in Saco. The restriction to a single southbound lane for Elm Street is scheduled to begin April 28.

Saco’s Traffic Safety Committee met March 20 to consider a grab-bag of transportation-related issues. While the Elm Street/Route One project was a primary topic of discussion, the TSC – meeting jointly with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee – also heard a presentation on an upcoming Route One demonstration project to be overseen by the Greater Portland Council of Governments; heard a request for an additional crosswalk at the intersection of Ocean Park Road and Main Street/Route One; and heard newly appointed Public Works Director Travis Moore discuss the potential for a “road diet” in the wake of a scheduled paving project on Beach Street.

The Elm and Hooper streets work will be done by Gorham Sand and Gravel, a Gorham, Maine-based excavation contractor at a cost of $3.4 million. GSG staff and equipment will begin work April 1 with mobilization, site preparation and signage.

•    April 14 – May 2: Main Street to Center Street

•    May 5 – July 23: Diamond Street to Thornton Avenue

•    July 24 – October 31: Thornton Avenue to Main Street

•    August to October: Hooper Street

The extensive improvements would have been necessary regardless of the large mixed-use projects that are taking place on Upper Falls Road, and projected for Diamond Street, said Danica Lamontagne, Assistant to the City Manager. Sewer separation from stormwater lines mandated by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection triggered the need to open the road, and the opportunity to complete other work followed.

The sewer, water and storm drain lines date back to the 1930s and ‘40s, said Lamontagne. When complete, a sixteen-inch water main and a forty-two inch storm drain will be in place. All this work precedes an Elm Street above-ground improvement project that will be overseen by the Maine Department of Transportation, tentatively scheduled for 2026, she confirmed.

Discussion during the TSC meeting took into account a number of events that will be impacted by traffic conditions in both cities over the duration of the project. The Memorial Day parade on May 26 will likely require re-routing and Saco Main Street has announced that the June 21 Saco Sidewalk Arts Festival will be moved to CK. Burns School parking lot. A new fully functional traffic signal will replace the blinker on Saco’s Main Street at the Run of the Mill entrance located at the foot of York Hill. It will be installed before the start of summer – as soon as early April according to Moore -- in order to provide service for the 24-unit condominium now under development on the east side of Saco Island, as well as those departing the west side of the intersection.

Finally, the Maine DOT has scheduled paving of Saco’s section of Elm Street from North Street south to the river, for the upcoming season. That project is out to bid at this time, with a deadline of April 2. No schedule has been established to date, said Moore.

Deputy Police Chief Corey Huntress, chair of the TSC, took note of the pedestrian fatality that occurred in 2023 at the intersection of Main Street and Water Street, as a woman in the Water Street crosswalk was struck by a truck turning left from the signalized intersection with Main Street.

“Something is needed at the intersection,” suggested Huntress, “Bollards?”

A number of other topics were discussed during the joint meeting, including:

•  An existing crosswalk on North Street allowing pedestrians to cross to or from Nott Street will be moved from the westerly side of Nott to the easterly side, and a flashing beacon will be installed. Significant vegetation at the corner of North and Nott and the angle of the crosswalk are factors that reduce visibility and motorists’ awareness of those using the crosswalk, said a local resident who requested the changes. Members of the TSC and the BPAC agreed. The flashing beacon will be installed this year, while moving the crosswalk roughly sixty feet to the east will await the pavement moratorium that’s in place until 2026.

• The change of Pleasant Street to a one-way street (from Main Street west to Elm Street) will stay in place. The change took place in November, and the ninety-day review concluded that the one-way limitation is an improvement. Pleasant Street resident Beth Johnston spoke in favor of retaining the one-way configuration, saying that traffic volume has declined, while Bill Kany, speaking on behalf of Saco and Biddeford Savings Institution suggested that the bank’s parking lot had become an alternative for those hindered by the one-way limitation.

• A request for a new crosswalk enabling walkers and cyclists to cross Main Street/Route One from Ocean Park Road to the west side of Main Street and access to the sidewalk and Eastern Trail was supported by several people. However, the complicated intersection (Exits 2A and 2B from I-195, in immediate and close proximity, respectively) are each High Crash Locations according to the MDOT) and high volume of traffic flowing north/south dictate that it’s not as easy as simply installing a crosswalk. The Department of Public Works was asked to look more closely at what a new crosswalk would entail in order to ensure safe passage for users and for motorists, and report back with findings.

• The Greater Portland Council of Governments presented a proposed Route One demonstration project based on funding received from a 2024 federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant. From 2025 to 2027, three demo projects will take place in Saco, with the first this summer focused on Main Street between Beach Street and Hannaford. In the next two years, Route One from Spring Hill Road to the Scarborough town line will be featured, and then Saco’s Main Street and the two bridges that link Saco and Biddeford will be reviewed and demo projects proposed and installed.

• Public Works Director Travis Moore presented his thoughts on how Beach Street could be made more user friendly in the wake of a repaving job scheduled for this year (but could also be bumped to 2026, said Moore). Beach Street measures 37-38 feet from curb to curb, meaning there is room for two travel lanes and the potential for a five-foot-wide bike lane on each side. Or, the travel lanes could be narrowed to eleven feet, or even to ten feet with MDOT approval, leaving 14-15 feet of width for bike lanes and possible barriers to separate cyclists from vehicles.

Saco Parks and Recreation Director Ryan Sommer reminded attendees that the opening of the new elementary school off Route One may mean the end of Fairfield School.

“With Fairfield gone and Pepperell Park redesigned, this street needs a change in character,” said Sommer.

On-street parking became a point of contention. A Beach Street resident reminded all that pickleball during warmer months on the courts behind the school department’s office results in on-street parking for dozens of vehicles. Another attendee believes that removing parking on the street would encourage faster speeds; he would like to see speed bumps installed. City Councilor and TSC member Nathan Johnston supports keeping on-street parking until the park redesign is accomplished, several years in the future.

Mayor Jodi MacPhail shared her point of view: “Get rid of the (on-street) parking,” she suggested. “Beach Street is heavily walked, biked and scootered. Narrowing the lanes will slow traffic and make it safer.”

Beach Street and plans for changes will likely return to the TSC in the near future for further review.

• Director Moore rolled out plans for an improved crosswalk at the Ferry Road and Bay View Road intersection.

“Sight distance issues for westbound motorists are a problem,“ he said. A plan showing existing conditions shows that those stepping from the Bay View Road sidewalk into the crosswalk across Ferry Road are likely not visible to westbound drivers until several steps into the crosswalk.

A solution would be to wrap the Bay View Road sidewalk around the corner onto Ferry Road for a short distance, providing a landing spot for the relocated crosswalk: it would be shifted east just past the existing driveway for a utility building. The resulting crosswalk would be at a right angle to Ferry Road, creating a shorter crossing for pedestrians.

Currently a single stop sign exists at the intersection, for those traveling south on Bay View Road as they approach Ferry Road. No more: at the urging of Police Chief Jack Clements, the combined TSC-BPAC voted to support the intersection becoming a three-way stop. Vehicles coming from all three directions into the intersection will be required to stop, further increasing the safety factor for walkers, cyclists and those using the improved crosswalk.

Saco’s Traffic Safety Committee meets the third Thursday of every other month at 6 p.m., with the next meeting scheduled for May 15.

The Saco Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meets the fourth Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.

Bob Hamblen can be reached at rhh0918@gmail.com. He is a member of the Saco Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.