Portland Population Growth(?)

Is Amtrak not considered a rail connection to Boston? At last check there is no rail service from Manchester or Nashua to Boston which would qualify as New Hampshire's LARGE cities. Amtrak now serves Freeport and Brunswick from Portland which is a start, have not heard much excitement surrounding the idea to continue service to the tiny capital city of Augusta. Lewiston/Auburn would be a much better venture. Portland is Maine's only true "job hub" with an honorable mention going out to Bangor.

A final thought, Portland has become what it is today because of it's 110 mile distance from Boston. Sometimes being a little isolated can work in your favor when it comes to being a regional hub/service center. Manchester and Nashua are slowly becoming more like Massachusetts and less like New Hampshire with every passing decade! We can live with our meager city population count up here, there are many other qualities that determine the success of a city besides how many people can be squeezed into 22 square miles : )
 
Portlander said:
Is Amtrak not considered a rail connection to Boston? At last check there is no rail service from Manchester or Nashua to Boston which would qualify as New Hampshire's LARGE cities. Amtrak now serves Freeport and Brunswick from Portland which is a start, have not heard much excitement surrounding the idea to continue service to the tiny capital city of Augusta. Lewiston/Auburn would be a much better venture. Portland is Maine's only true "job hub" with an honorable mention going out to Bangor.

A final thought, Portland has become what it is today because of it's 110 mile distance from Boston. Sometimes being a little isolated can work in your favor when it comes to being a regional hub/service center. Manchester and Nashua are slowly becoming more like Massachusetts and less like New Hampshire with every passing decade! We can live with our meager city population count up here, there are many other qualities that determine the success of a city besides how many people can be squeezed into 22 square miles : )
Click to expand...

Should be Electrified Regional Rail , the current Amtrak service isn't enough for the growing coastal corridor... Between Lewiston and Bangor and Augusta and Bangor should be Amtrak type Service. But South of that should regional Rail service levels... Service similar to this between North Station and Augusta and Lewiston , during peak hr every 35mins and off peak every 60 mins , same for the weekends.... North of these 2 important stations , it should be every 60 mins. Service should run between 5am and 11pm , and to 2am on Weekends...
 
Portlander said:
A final thought, Portland has become what it is today because of it's 110 mile distance from Boston. Sometimes being a little isolated can work in your favor when it comes to being a regional hub/service center. Manchester and Nashua are slowly becoming more like Massachusetts and less like New Hampshire with every passing decade! We can live with our meager city population count up here, there are many other qualities that determine the success of a city besides how many people can be squeezed into 22 square miles : )
Click to expand...

Agreed--Portland is about the perfect distance from Boston in terms of being self-contained but not truly isolated, if you ask me. It's not so isolated and insular as Burlington, but far enough away to create its own draw. I often think that if Manchester wasn't so close to Boston (and if it shared some of the positive traits of Portsmouth without being as small, and if the state better funded education and infrastructure), more college students and graduates would move to Manchester as opposed to out-of-state for city life. Portland seems to attract a lot of young people from elsewhere in Maine, not to mention the rest of New England, who might overlook it if it was closer to Boston.

That said, there are strengths and drawbacks to its distance and to Manchester's relative proximity to the city. Manchester needs to harness that proximity better, while retaining and improving its own draw, similar to Providence. For instance, it needs commuter rail--five-trains-a-day Amtrak won't cut it with the proximity to Boston and the greater population through the Merrimack Valley. And Manchester needs to better integrate planning, marketing and so forth with Concord and Nashua. Portland is not only farther from Boston, but also farther from other, mid-sized cities that it needs to compete with.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top