Saco Looks to GPCOG for guidance on Portland Road’s future

The Saco City Council hosted a presentation during its Feb. 3 meeting that is an early step in an effort to create a master plan for the U.S. Route One corridor. The upcoming study will focus on the segment from I-195 north to the Scarborough town line, recognized locally as Portland Road.

Describing the four-lane road as “a wide array of experiences,” Christian Roadman, a senior planner with the Greater Portland Council of Governments, outlined a project that will identify the challenges and the opportunities for a critical transportation corridor that is experiencing significant development pressures.

The city’s Long Range Planning Committee joined the Council for the presentation, and participated in a short discussion following Roadman’s description of what can be expected as the process moves forward. City Planning Director Emily Cole-Prescott introduced Roadman, and noted the city’s current approach to development along Portland Road frontage emphasizes commercial uses.

Mayor Jodi MacPhail is hopeful that greater familiarity with the Portland Road corridor will lead to productive relationships with landowners and tenants.

“To me the outreach portion is a huge piece,” said MacPhail. “I feel over the years we’ve gotten the wrong types of development because (the city) didn’t have a relationship with the landowners.”

Roadman shared slides of the corridor and described his impression of Portland Road.

“Car dealerships, amusement parks, homes, low slung commercial development, a lot of pavement and a lot of cars,” he related, “Designed to get people through town. The urban form is hard to define. How can we de-emphasize the impression of Portland Road as four lanes of just traffic?”

He cited challenges that include the potential for lane reductions, which he called “not always feasible.” He viewed the 3.7 mile stretch of Portland Road as “a big area” to be studied and suggested that “an inconsistent vision for the corridor” has led to a mix of uses that range from multi-family housing to large vehicle sales to seafood processing to self-storage facilities.

Next steps will include coordinating with existing plans and plans that may be ongoing, and public engagement. Such plans include the 2019 Saco and Scarborough Route One Corridor Complete Streets plan, and a current effort on GPCOG’s part called ‘Reimagining Route 1’ that “… will study Route 1 from Biddeford to Freeport and propose changes that make it substantially more complete…” by expanding the user base to include pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit in addition to the users that have dominated Route 1 since its inception, vehicles and freight operators.

Roadman went on to praise the Eastern Trail, a multi-use regional trail that roughly parallels Portland Road and connects twelve communities from South Portland south to Kittery.

“There is one amazing opportunity, which is the Eastern Trail, this pedestrian and cycling resource that has so much character,” said Roadman.

Members of the Council had questions and observations. Councilor Philip Hatch was curious about the scope of the GPCOG study.

“Will your effort cover a gamut,” he asked Roadman, “Ordinance changes, credit enhancements, impact fee reductions for desirable development?”

“Transit can’t be underestimated,” stated Councilor Michael Burman. “With the Eastern Trail and the new school, it will be very important.” A new elementary school is in the planning stages within the Portland Road corridor, with access being planned from Mill Brook Road.

Roadman said that the timeframe for the final report’s recommendations will cover “… three, five, ten years, which will work in terms of that vision being as implementable as possible.” That vision will also be subject to review and approval by the Maine Department of Transportation, he noted.

Roadman and/or other GPCOG staff members will return in the spring for further discussion and sharing of information.

Bob Hamblen can be reached at rhh0918@gmail.com.