A path for pedestrians and bicyclists and a landscaped median are among the recommended improvements for a one-mile stretch of South Main Street in Brewer.
The Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System, in partnership with the city and Maine Department of Transportation, completed a study to find ways to improve safety and traffic flow on South Main Street between Abbot and Wilson streets.
The initiative is happening at the same time as another project that seeks to give Brewer a more distinctive downtown. Making that section of road safer is especially important, as the MaineDOT identified multiple high crash spots within that one mile.
The finished study included recommendations for how to improve safety for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians while also relieving congestion in the stretch of road, according to Jeremy Caron, Brewer’s city engineer. Those ideas were presented to the Brewer City Council on Tuesday.
The study broke the one-mile stretch of road into three sections: the Neighborhood Character Area, the Gateway Character Area and the Highway Interchange Character Area, said Jack Bosies, a planner for the transportation system.
In the Neighborhood Character Area, which stretches between Wilson and Burr streets, the study recommended adding a 12-foot-wide shared use path for both bicycles and pedestrians on the northbound side of the road.
On the other side of the road, the current 8-foot-wide sidewalk would expand to 9 feet with parking allowed on the road shoulder. Those changes would narrow the travel lanes and the road shoulders, Bosies said.
The final report for the study also suggests enhancing the path to the Brewer Riverwalk next to the parking lot for High Tide Restaurant and Bar, improving crosswalks at the intersection of Wilson and South Main streets, and sprucing up bus stops with benches and lighting on both sides of the road near Hardy Street.
Those changes, among others, would cost an estimated $2.86 million, the report states.
For the Gateway Character Area, which runs from Burr Street to Baker Boulevard, the study recommends continuing the 12-foot shared use path on the northbound side of the street, but without a sidewalk on the other side of the street.
The city could also continue decreasing the width of the roadway, which naturally calms traffic, and add a crosswalk with a flashing beacon across South Main Street near Burr Street.
These improvements, alongside other adjustments, would cost an estimated $1.5 million.
Lastly, the Highway Interchange Character Area, running from Baker Boulevard to Abbott Street, is “dominated by the I-395 interchange,” Bosies said. The recommendations for this stretch include continuing the shared use path with signalized crosswalks for pedestrians.
The city could also add a landscaped center median to calm traffic, install a traffic signal at the westbound I-395 ramps, and narrow the slip lane for eastbound divers exiting the highway, which would force them to slow down before yielding onto South Main Street, Bosies said.
The changes in this area would cost an estimated $3.74 million, according to the study’s final report.
The Brewer South Main Street Corridor Project happened in tandem with the Brewer Village Partnership Initiative. While both studies aimed to improve the look and feel of one of Brewer’s busiest areas, the South Main Street project is different because it doesn’t have a funding source to pay for the recommended improvements, Caron said.
The city will now chase funding to complete the recommended changes, either in one big project, or in phases, Caron said. The city could also weave the improvements into other projects that need to take place in the area in the coming years.
