State and High Streets
2-Way Project
State Street / High Street Two-Way Project
Page 2
Update March 2015 :
The Portland State/High Street Conversion study web page can be found at:
http://www.portlandmaine.gov/1315/State-and-High-Street-Study
The agenda Center is at:
http://www.portlandmaine.gov/AgendaCenter/State-and-High-Street-Study-44
The pedestrian / bicyclist accident data is here.
All of the documentation found on those sites as of March 10, 2015 is also here .
The State/High Street Conversion Study Committee got rolling in July, 2014. Engineer Thomas Errico of design firm TY Lin and Carol Morris of Morris Communications are the consultants on the study, Tom doing the engineering end of things, Carol doing most of the moderation of the meetings. Both have excellent reputations in Portland.
Carol actually told me in an email that none of the study committee members "had any preconceived notions as to whether or not the 2-way plan was good". Seeing that Anne Pringle of the Friends of Deering Oaks and the Parkside Neighborhood Association members were involved, made me wince at that statement. I pointed out to her that Pringle and the PNA had been trying to get their sordid plans for State and High off the ground for over 10 years, and as such I contended that they DID have very strong "preconceived notions" as to what should happen. Carol demurred on that - go figure.
I missed the first meeting in July, but attended the next two. The general consensus of the 20 or so people was that 16 or so supported the change, with the State Theater member being somewhat warily positive about it, and the Westin Hotel , Mercy Hospital, Portland Museum, St. Lukes Church members being rather against it, with Chris O'Neil of the Portland Chamber of Commerce being flat-out against it.
All of the City staff present didn't say much, I'm sure having gotten their marching orders, even tacitly, in that they will support the effort or be fired, as is the Councils methodology for the last 18 years or so.
(William Bray now of Traffic Solutions, ex-Portland DPW head is a Committee member. I apologized to him for my giving him a hard time at the start of the 1997 Stevens Avenue Project. I didn't know at that time how much pressure he was under from the Council to conform to their illegal activities surrounding that fiasco. He had a rough time.....)
Public Advisory Committee
- Carl Eppich, PACTS
- Steve Landry, MaineDOT
- Marie Gray, Parkside Neighborhood Assn
- Ian Jacob, West End Neighborhood Assn
- Anne Pringle, Friends of Deering Oaks
- Ron Spinella, Bayside Neighborhood Assn
- Frank Turek, Friends of Congress Square Park
- David Robinson, Greater Portland Landmarks
- Michael Connolly, Mercy Hospital
- Bruce Wennerstrom, Westin Portland Harborview
- Kristen Levesque, Portland Museum of Art
- William Barry, 100 State Street
- Lauren Wayne, State Theater
Community Advisors
- Steve Hewins, Portland Downtown District
- Chris O’Neil, Portland Chamber
- Greg Jordan, METRO
- Pat Moody, AAA
- Lynn Tillotson, Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Damon Yakovleff, Portland Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee
- Zack Barowitz, Libbytown Neighborhood Assn
- Chris Cantwell, Portland Society of Architects
- Ben Shambaugh, Dean, St. Luke’s Church
- Hildy Ginsberg, YMCA
- Bill Bray, Traffic Solutions
- Tuck O’Brien, Portland Planning Board Chair
City Staff
- Jeremiah Bartlett – Study Manager, Traffic Engineer, City of Portland
- Mike Bobinsky – Director of Public Services, City of Portland
- Jeff Levine – Director of Planning and Urban Development, City of Portland
- Alex Jaegerman, Director of Planning, City of Portland
- Christine Grimando, Senior Planner, City of Portland
Consultant Team
-
T.Y. Lin
- Tom Errico, Project Manager
-
Morris Communications
- Carol Morris, President
- Scott Hastings, Associate