The 2025 Damariscotta Comprehensive Plan has been steadily emerging from a process that began two years ago and includes public engagement events like this one in October 2023. (Photo courtesy Derek Webber)
PSAC, as you may recall, is the Public Safety and Accessibility Collaborative, which contributes this “Sole and Tread” column, addressing such matters as safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists in the local area. What is the plan of the title?
This refers to the 2025 Damariscotta Comprehensive Plan, which has been steadily emerging from a process which began two years ago, and has involved many stages of public engagement.
The comprehensive plan is nearing the stage, after another upcoming opportunity for Damariscotta voters to review, at which it will be ready to be submitted to the state of Maine for approval, which would thereafter provide guidance (and open up funding opportunities) to the town for the next decade. Among about a dozen areas of focus within the comprehensive plan, there is a section addressing transportation matters.
Part of this plan has been developed with close involvement from public safety and accessibility advocates. A main theme of this section is the preparation for the gradual move from a car-focused community towards a healthier more active way of life, where it is easier for pedestrians and cyclists to get around. We thought you would be interested to know something about those elements of the plan.
In many respects, the transportation section represents an important implementation stage for matters Public Safety and Accessibility Collaborative members have been working on in since the projects inception.
Public Safety and Accessibility Collaborative members made important contributions in terms of survey data of the needs and hopes of the town’s pedestrians and cyclists in order to provide guidance to this part of the plan.
So, here, in no particular priority order, is a summary of some of the transportation-related elements and recommendations of the current draft of the 2025 Damariscotta 10-year comprehensive plan, to which collaborative members have contributed;
1. The town’s maintenance policy for road markings, particularly at crosswalks, will be improved.
2. Various ordinance changes affecting infrastructure will be introduced to include, e.g., aspects of sidewalk design to include street trees.
3. The town will work with Maine Department of Transportation for roadway improvement projects, including provisions of shoulders and bike lanes, and in particular addressing the safety of all users (including pedestrians and cyclists) of the School Street/Route 1B intersection, possibly including roundabout solutions.
4. The town will continue to develop the necessary infrastructure for the switch to electric vehicles and e-bikes.
5. Specific prioritized improvements to the pedestrian/bike infrastructure will be introduced, including paved shoulders on Bristol Road, sidewalks, and bike lanes all the way from Rising Tide/Coastal Car Wash along Route 1B to Biscay Road and onwards to Great Salt Bay Community School, and furthermore along School Street from Route 1B to High Street.
6. Further sidewalks and bike lanes will be introduced as needed for the new growth areas identified in the plan.
7. A safe pull-off for the Concord bus service will be addressed.
8. A walking audit and a parking study will be conducted.
9. The town will continue to advocate to bring rail travel to the region.
These elements, together with the remainder of the plan, are not yet “set in stone.” There will be another opportunity for townspeople to express their agreement later in the fall, before the select board has to vote to accept the comprehensive plan as being ready to send to Augusta.
You may think that this list is a lot, and that therefore nothing remains for the Public Safety and Accessibility Collaborative to do! There is plenty more to do, both in monitoring that all of these items are indeed being implemented over the next decade, and furthermore in identifying additional matters affecting pedestrian and cyclist safety requiring Damariscotta Select Board action and community support.
As we announced last month, the Public Safety and Accessibility Collaborative is beginning to address and advocate for the needs of Newcastle, too. We are always glad to have new members join us.
To express interest or for more information, email Anton Lahnston, at antonlahnston@aol.com.
