Portland's Franklin Street redesign

Max said:
A bit in the Phoenix about city staff recommending that city council once again take up this redesign as a transportation priority:

We're probably still a long way from any changes to Franklin, but I think it's an area where the right changes could drastically improve the city. Worth noting that even since the July 2015 report the east side of Franklin between Congress and Middle has basically been built out with 3 housing developments.

Glancing over the 2015 report reminds me of how great it would be to return Lincoln Park to its original footprint, but what kind of engineering would that require as the park edge now slopes off very quickly down to the street?

By the way I noticed another large section of fencing has been removed from the Congress Street side of the park for restoration, but at the rate they're going it's gonna take at least another ten years to restore the whole perimeter.
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I wholeheartedly agree.

Redesigning Franklin into an Urban boulevard will reconnect the East End to the rest of downtown, remove the ugly scar left from misguided urban renewal, and free up land both sides for meaningful development. It doesn't have to be a tunnel of high-rises, but mixed developments. It would change the city drastically for the better. Restoring the park to its original footprint would also be amazing.

I'd love to see the Forest Avenue corridor reimagined as a well-designed boulevard too. It basically already is, but there's room for some developments without ruining the character.

The biggest hurdle is selling the redesign to the people. As quoted:

"Embedded in his [Markos Miller, who co-chaired the Public Advisory Committee dedicated to studying and redesigning Franklin Street from 2008 to 2015] concern is a long-held feeling that the Franklin Street redesign effort is a housing and economic development plan disguised as a transportation plan.” - This and the fact that the neighboring areas are mostly poor, it could be seen as a scourge.
 
DanielPWM19 said:
I wholeheartedly agree.

Redesigning Franklin into an Urban boulevard will reconnect the East End to the rest of downtown, remove the ugly scar left from misguided urban renewal, and free up land both sides for meaningful development. It doesn't have to be a tunnel of high-rises, but mixed developments. It would change the city drastically for the better. Restoring the park to its original footprint would also be amazing.

I'd love to see the Forest Avenue corridor reimagined as a well-designed boulevard too. It basically already is, but there's room for some developments without ruining the character.

The biggest hurdle is selling the redesign to the people. As quoted:

"Embedded in his [Markos Miller, who co-chaired the Public Advisory Committee dedicated to studying and redesigning Franklin Street from 2008 to 2015] concern is a long-held feeling that the Franklin Street redesign effort is a housing and economic development plan disguised as a transportation plan.” - This and the fact that the neighboring areas are mostly poor, it could be seen as a scourge.
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Unfortunately the Forest Ave corridor does not have the land resources to make it truly amenable to a full redesign as does Franklin. Franklin could truly be redesigned to make it worth the while to reclaim much of the land and turn it into an urban oasis. Besides I don't think Forest could withstand the assault of another snake lamp sculpture.
 
PlantArch said:
Unfortunately the Forest Ave corridor does not have the land resources to make it truly amenable to a full redesign as does Franklin. Franklin could truly be redesigned to make it worth the while to reclaim much of the land and turn it into an urban oasis. Besides I don't think Forest could withstand the assault of another snake lamp sculpture.
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The section of Forest between the Hood / USM block and Park Avenue/ Park Street is a pedestrian disaster area — Could certainly benefit for from a "community design thinking" workshop. The blocks between USM / Hood and Woodford's Corner could be better utilized for housing and is a potential improved transit corridor even without a full re-build if paired with an up-zoning for higher building heights and lower parking minimums.

To complement, maybe make it easy for homeowners on the neighboring blocks to build accessory dwelling units as a transition-density zone.
 
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I believe that the best way to do this is to create a tunnel so that traffic can still flow easily from Commercial Street to 295. As it is now, it's an easy and fast way to go back and forth. The tunnel opening could be just after Whole Foods and near Luminato Condos on the other side (as the hills starts to rise). Yes, it will cost mucho dinero, but most great urban design does (just put the work in to find it). Look at what Boston did in creating the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Have you really walked around to experience that? It's probably the best example of American 21st Century era urban design of a green space connecting one part (waterfront to downtown buildings) to another. Manhattan's Highline is another great example, but then that was already a trestle train bridge, so the cost was substantially less. It's a truly stunning and fun way to see the city and travel down it. Portland needs to think of the *bigger picture*, and that bigger picture is that Portland is becoming a bigger and more prominent city. Otherwise, the easier compromise impedes and reduces lifestyle; only to surface again one day for another fix proposal (a la Cross Arena).
 
TC_zoid said:
I believe that the best way to do this is to create a tunnel so that traffic can still flow easily from Commercial Street to 295. As it is now, it's an easy and fast way to go back and forth. The tunnel opening could be just after Whole Foods and near Luminato Condos on the other side (as the hills starts to rise). Yes, it will cost mucho dinero, but most great urban design does (just put the work in to find it). Look at what Boston did in creating the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Have you really walked around to experience that? It's probably the best example of American 21st Century era urban design of a green space connecting one part (waterfront to downtown buildings) to another. Manhattan's Highline is another great example, but then that was already a trestle train bridge, so the cost was substantially less. It's a truly stunning and fun way to see the city and travel down it. Portland needs to think of the *bigger picture*, and that bigger picture is that Portland is becoming a bigger and more prominent city. Otherwise, the easier compromise impedes and reduces lifestyle; only to surface again one day for another fix proposal (a la Cross Arena).
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The irony is that they were supposed to build a tunnel and never did.
 
They should make a monorail or something that goes from marginal way parking to commercial street and hopefully expand it to go down commercial and loop around.....need some sort of bigger picture transportation options! And this is definitely and housing play. Markos is right...but it should be. Housing and transportation should go hand in hand. ~ C
 
Redfern said:
They should make a monorail or something that goes from marginal way parking to commercial street and hopefully expand it to go down commercial and loop around.....need some sort of bigger picture transportation options! And this is definitely and housing play. Markos is right...but it should be. Housing and transportation should go hand in hand. ~ C
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Portland's myriad opportunities to see the bigger picture are quickly dwindling. They need to wake up and take all facets of urban design and planning seriously before it is no longer possible without having to throw stupid sums of cash at it.
 

Could a revamped Franklin Street once again anchor a lively Portland neighborhood?​

A plan to redesign the four-lane thoroughfare in Portland – a vestige of 1960s urban renewal – has been in the works for nearly two decades. It may finally be gaining momentum.

https://www.pressherald.com/2024/02...once-again-anchor-a-lively-city-neighborhood/

Screenshot 2024-02-18 at 9.18.37 AM.png

:love:
 
I try to be a no-drama llama, but I'm going to be honest: I hope this whole redesign goes away and never happens. Portland doesn't need to be less drivable.
Portlander said:
Bringing the former section of Wilmot Street that used to connect to Congress Street back to life would be an easy fix.
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The hard part with that is that it was discontinued and sold to the parking lot owner. Unless there was some deed covenant that guaranteed the price the city could buy it back at, I am sure it would be incredibly expensive now
 
Found this on the "Rebuild Franklin Street Now" Facebook page - they credit MDOT - numbers are extended beyond those found in the 2015 Phase II study (is there a more recent one?)

Here are the RFSN takeaways:
  1. Traffic volumes decrease significantly as you move towards the waterfront. There is no justification for having as many lanes at Commercial street or Congress Street as there are at Marginal Way.
  2. Every traffic study performed over this nearly 30 year period has been premised on projected increases in traffic volumes.
  3. In the last 3 decades traffic has not changed significantly. There has been no long-term growth in traffic.

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nomc said:
Found this on the "Rebuild Franklin Street Now" Facebook page - they credit MDOT - numbers are extended beyond those found in the 2015 Phase II study (is there a more recent one?)

Here are the RFSN takeaways:
  1. Traffic volumes decrease significantly as you move towards the waterfront. There is no justification for having as many lanes at Commercial street or Congress Street as there are at Marginal Way.
  2. Every traffic study performed over this nearly 30 year period has been premised on projected increases in traffic volumes.
  3. In the last 3 decades traffic has not changed significantly. There has been no long-term growth in traffic.
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Indeed - a well-designed boulevard with four lanes and adequate turning lanes/lights will help a lot. Add traffic circles at both ends of Franklin, and it'll move even better.

Boulevards move traffic well even in NYC, so I'm not sure why we'd be so afraid of them in Portland Maine.

Except for the fact that drivers treat lanes too casually, come to complete stops for right-hand turns, don't understand how traffic circles work, slow down/brake/stop at green lights, and regularly don't pay attention. But aside from those things ...
 
If you add 1000 units of affordable housing along Franklin Street and a few hundred more units at Herald Square the traffic will definitely increase and if we think all of those new residents will not own cars and ride the Metro we're all being quite naive. You cannot have it both ways. An increase in the population base in a limited area leads to an increase in vehicles and adds more traffic. By removing lanes even more bottleneck will be created on an already busy corridor. As Daniel stated, you can improve Franklin Street with a better design, lights, turn lanes and improve the landscape but to sprinkle some fairy dust and turn it into Kramer's well intended mile of highway maintenance on Seinfeld is hoping for too much.
 
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I'm wondering (if the redesign happens and for the sake of gaming it out) things start backing up on the new Franklin, if East End/Wex/Sun Life/58 Fore traffic could be encouraged to use Mountfort or India/Washington Ave to help ease things. And I realize 295 access is limited at Washington, so it wouldn't be an option for everyone. However, in the past I've definitely been guilty of just going to Franklin without thinking if it's the most efficient route - and it isn't always.

If they wanted to encourage use of Mountfort/Washington they would need to make some improvements to Mountfort - at least removing the parking between Fore and Federal - driving up there now is a game of chicken.
 
Not a bad idea nomc but the cemetery would be the main obstacle that could not be resolved. For it to work the city would need to remove the street parking for the entire length of Mountfort and the residents would absolutely lose their minds on that proposal along with the increase of traffic in their quiet neighborhood.
 
Washington really only captures traffic for 26 North or 295/1/9 running up the coast, though, and while that's probably not insubstantial it does nothing for western traffic heading for 302/25/22 or anything southbound. I don't use 295 at all when I leave work but I still use Franklin.
 
I think you would only need to remove it until Federal - from Federal to Congress it is easily two-way already.
 
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