Final Report - VHB.com

there were safe access. They include: Mt. Ararat Middle School, Mt. Ararat High School, the Merrymeeting Adult
School, the Orion Arts Center (at the Middle School), the Topsham Municipal Complex, the Post Office, the
Topsham Fair Mall, as well as businesses that will emerge at the redeveloped NASB Topsham Annex. 1.2. Outer
Pleasant Street from I-295 to Mill Street serves not only many local businesses that generate a lot of left-turn traffic
from the roadway and from parking lots onto the roadway, but also neighborhoods of short side and parallel streets
that now must use Pleasant Street. Some businesses, such as the Salvation Army, serve a population that may not
even own cars. 1.3. Mill Street provides or impedes access to the Androscoggin River and popular pedestrian
destinations such as the canoe portage park, the Swinging Bridge, and the Androscoggin Riverwalk. 2. Through
traffic between points south on I-295 and Cooks Corner, Bath and Coastal Route One should be directed to use the
Route 196 Coastal Connector. Local traffic between those areas should be encouraged to use the Coastal Connector
even though it is longer. They should be discouraged from using Pleasant Street and Mill Street by making them
slower streets, appropriate to urban communities with pedestrians and cyclists. 2.1. South of Exit 28 on I-295 install
signs that 2.1.1. Direct traffic for Cooks Corner, NASB (a/k/a Brunswick Landing), Harpswell via Route 24, Bath
and Coastal Route One to Exit 31 and the Coastal Connector 2.1.2. Stress that Exit 28 is for Downtown Brunswick,
Bowdoin & Harpswell via Route 123, only 2.2. On Route One South in Cooks Corner, install signs to direct traffic
to I-295 South via the Route 196 Coastal Connector. 2.3. On Outer Pleasant Street, slow traffic and provide safe
routes for pedestrians and cyclists. 2.3.1. Given my past life in New Jersey where they are eliminating traffic circles,
I was leery of roundabouts but am now persuaded that they might safely and effectively slow traffic if installed on
Pleasant Street at the intersections with the I-295 off ramp, River Road, and Mill/Stanwood Street. 2.3.2. Reduce the
width of outer Pleasant Street to three lanes with a center left-turn lane. 2.3.3. Widen and improve sidewalks (trees,
attractive lighting, etc.) to safely accommodate strollers and wheelchairs. 2.3.4. Create clearly marked bicycle lanes.
2.3.5. At traffic lights, clearly mark pedestrian crosswalks and provide safety medians in the middle of the street.
2.3.6. Reduce the number of curb cuts along Pleasant Street by 2.3.6.1. Working with the Town of Brunswick to
encourage existing businesses to share parking lots and curb cuts, and insisting the new businesses do the same.
2.3.6.2. Creating a network of parallel streets to move local traffic away from Pleasant Street. 2.4. On Mill Street,
slow traffic and provide safe routes for pedestrians and cyclists. 2.4.1. Reduce the width of Mill Street to three lanes
with a center left-turn lane. 2.4.2. Implement the Androscoggin Riverwalk plan to create a path for pedestrians and
cyclists from Bow Street to the Swinging Bridge that is close to the river and separated from traffic by a guardrail
2.4.3. Widen and improve (trees, attractive lighting, etc.) the sidewalk of the South side of Mill Street (across Mill
Street from the River) to accommodate strollers and wheelchairs 2.4.4. Create clearly marked bicycle lanes from the
Swinging Bridge to Pleasant Street and from Pleasant Street to Maine Street. 2.4.5. Ensure safe pedestrian crossings
at the Mill Street Canoe Portage, Cumberland Street to the business across Mill Street, and from Cushing Street to
the Swinging Bridge. Possibilities include: 2.4.5.1. Traffic lights controlled by pedestrians 2.4.5.2. Flashing
crosswalks, with warning signs for drivers when a pedestrian activates the flashers 2.4.5.3. Speed bumps on either
side of crosswalks 2.5. On Route 196 in Topsham, reduce the number of traffic signals between the Coastal
Connector and I-295. They deter drivers from using the Coastal Connector to bypass Pleasant and Mill Street. 3. My
preference at the intersection of Route 196 and Route 201 is to as much as possible retain the character of Route
201 as Topshams Main Street, leading from the river and the lower village to the Post Office and the Municipal
Complex and then on to the Mt. Ararat school campus and the redeveloped NASB Topsham Annex. 3.1. Depress
Route 196 below Route 201. 3.2. Maintain sidewalks and bicycle lanes on both sides of Route 201. 3.3. Ensure safe
pedestrian crossings at side streets and strategic locations such as the Post Office, Municipal Complex, and Mt.
Ararat schools. 4. On areas outside the scope of this study, my suggestions include: 4.1. Create direct access from
Route One South to Maine Street in Brunswick in both directions: over the Frank J. Wood Bridge to Topsham (as
now) and to downtown Brunswick and Fort Andross. Perhaps a roundabout could achieve that. 4.2. Until that is
achieved, install clear signage along the length of Cushing Street to direct traffic going from Route One South to
Maine Street to travel all the way to Pleasant Street, rather than turning on the residential side streets. This will have
the dual benefit of protecting NorthWest Brunswick neighborhood from through traffic and exposing Pleasant Street
businesses to passing vehicles. 4.3. Explore making Pleasant Street from Maine Street to Mill/Stanwood Street twoway
with three lanes, including one left-turn lane. Add clearly designated bicycle lanes. The current traffic pattern of
one-way streets and streets that abruptly change from two-way to one-way is confusing to visitors. Reducing the
travel lanes will make Pleasant Street safer for pedestrian crossings. 4.4. Revisit adding a River Road exit to I-295
between Exit 28 and Exit 31 to draw traffic off of Pleasant Street. Again, thank you for you opportunity to comment
on the study. It is important that planning for mobility considers pedestrian and cyclist mobility as well as vehicular
mobility. Even more importantly, we must not sacrifice the character of our historic community just to
accommodate traffic for two hours, five days a week, especially when we have a perfectly serviceable Route 196
Coastal Connector for through traffic both commuters and visitors. Alison Harris 38 Cumberland Street
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