Presque Isle’s Predominant Road is getting a makeover
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Presque Isle has began redesigning its Predominant Road with a crew of consultants and the Maine Division of Transportation.
The town employed a crew of consultants to work with them within the transportation division’s statewide Village Partnership Initiative, which goals to revitalize Maine city facilities.
It’s been almost 40 years since Presque Isle final reconstructed Predominant Road. It joins different Maine cities, like Grey and Dover-Foxcroft, within the transportation division’s plan to rejuvenate downtown areas whereas making them safer and simpler to navigate. The redesign will increase Presque Isle’s ongoing efforts to draw extra individuals and companies whereas accommodating pedestrians and bicyclists.
“Plenty of these village initiatives are bringing a steadiness again to Maine’s downtowns with vehicular and pedestrian site visitors,” mentioned Dale Doughty, director of planning for the Maine Division of Transportation. “When you suppose again to the Nineteen Forties or Fifties, downtowns had been very pedestrian-oriented and over time design for automobiles have taken over among the downtowns.”
Aroostook County cities Madawaska, Fort Kent and Van Buren have additionally signed on with the Village Partnership plan.
The transportation division is partnering with the town as a result of it oversees U.S. Route 1, on which Presque Isle’s Predominant Road is located. The method includes in search of federal grant cash via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation, with some portion of matching funds. The division would assist the town search federal funding, which normally requires a 20 p.c match.
“A part of the village initiative is to maneuver truck site visitors off Predominant Road via section two of the Presque Isle bypass, bringing again the vitality of a downtown enterprise middle,” Doughty mentioned.
Now that the town has employed the guide crew, design work can start. The group is from T.Y.Lin Worldwide’s workplace in Falmouth, and consists of Presque Isle native Christopher Helstrom.
The trouble is community-focused, and metropolis officers are already receiving suggestions from residents, who can go to metropolis corridor to go to a desk that shows a map highlighting doable enhancements to Presque Isle’s Predominant Road.
A feasibility examine will start within the coming weeks, after extra group suggestions has been obtained, and can take round 9 months to a yr to finish, mentioned Galen Weibley, Presque Isle’s director of financial and group growth.
The Village Partnership will cut up prices, with 80 p.c of the cash coming from the state transportation division, 10 p.c from the state and 10 p.c from the town.
The entire prices are usually not outlined because the venture is in its earliest planning levels, however it is going to be a multimillion-dollar reinvestment into downtown Presque Isle, Weibley mentioned.
Particularly for Presque Isle, the Maine Division of Transportation is in search of methods to maneuver site visitors extra effectively and enhance pedestrian security. Plans will look at methods to transfer industrial site visitors across the group with out inflicting heavy site visitors downtown.
“This planning effort is lining up completely with the enhancements to the Presque Isle Bypass, for which the second section is beneath design proper now,” Weibley mentioned.
As soon as a design has been developed and accredited, the following step shall be to use for grants. MDOT will start the design section, calculate the precise value and submit a grant software to the US Division of Transportation.
Round two to 3 public hearings shall be held all through the summer time to go over any revisions to the Initiative with a ultimate plan in place by fall 2023 to be thought-about by metropolis council. The ultimate report shall be accessible on the finish of 2023.
The Village Partnership Initiative has obtained vital group suggestions from downtown commuters and pedestrians, which shall be shared with the town council, Weibley mentioned.
“It’s a fantastic collaboration effort that the town is trying ahead to partnering with MDOT to revitalize our downtown, which is the primary time it’s been executed in over 40 years,” Weibley mentioned.
