By David Harry

Staff Writer

Want to find a way to get from here to there more efficiently? Just pull up a stool.

That’s the preliminary recommendation of Gorham East-West Corridor Study members in advance of a final report to be issued next January. 

The three-legged approach incorporates changes in land use, creation of more opportunities for public transportation and building or reconstruction of new and existing roads leading from Greater Portland.

The study was created to consider how to alleviate traffic congestion and improve overall transportation through Portland, South Portland, Scarborough, Westbrook and Gorham.

The steps were outlined Tuesday at a public meeting in South Portland by Paul Godfrey, a consultant with the Westbrook office of HNTB, a national transportation design firm. Godfrey has been working with the study, which began in March 2009 and is funded by the Maine Turnpike Authority and Maine Department of Transportation.

Dr. Charles Colgan of the University of Southern Maine Muskie School of Public Service projected in the study that population would increase by 50,000 in York and Cumberland counties in 2035 and lead to 35,000 new homes and 25,000 new jobs,

Recommendations include having towns designate areas where commercial and residential construction will cluster more homes per acre and multi-story, multi-use commercial buildings. These areas include the Maine Mall, near Casco Bay Bridge in South Portland and along areas of routes 1 and 114 in Scarborough.

The audience was given an opportunity to view areas potentially suited for high-density development, although study spokesman Carol Morris said maps are very preliminary and town government officials and residents must make land-use decisions.

Godfrey said higher-density development can lead to more opportunities to use public transportation and better routes while multi-use commercial development could reduce travel distances for commuters and shoppers.

The study recommends development of public transportation, a mix of expanded bus routes, more express buses and light passenger rail service to Standish. The state bought the abandoned Mountain Division Line from Westbrook to Fryeburg in 2008 and work to restore four miles of track from Westbrook to the Gorham area is set to begin this fall.

Current study estimates show about 3 percent of travelers use public transportation, while 87 percent use single-occupancy vehicles. Godfrey said changing land use policies could double that rate to 6 percent by 2035, a figure that did not impress Cumberland resident Paul Weiss.

Weiss, who called for less road construction and more rail use, said study recommendations represent an outmoded philosophy that perpetuates costly road repairs and harms the environment.

Tony Donovan of Portland-based Maine Rail Transit Coalition also said the study recommendations downplay benefits rails service can provide.

Godfrey disagreed the study has downplayed use of rail services, and said existing congestion along routes 1, 22, 25 and 114 throughout Scarborough, South Portland, Westbrook and Gorham will get worse without changing the roads or possibly building a non-toll road to connect to the Maine Turnpike.

Two possible scenarios for road construction include widening Route 114 from Payne Road to Route 22, building a bypass around the intersection of the roads and connecting Route 114 to I-295.

Study maps of recommended work do not include new roads in South Portland, but Godfrey said road improvements also could include better technology for traffic lights to enhance traffic flow.

Without improvements to local roads, the number of intersections unable to handle traffic flow will increase from seven to 23 by 2035, Godfrey said.

As the study group prepares to release the final report, Godfrey said turning recommendations into action will require that communities accept changes in current practices.

“We are asking for a wider regional perspective, we believe we can strike a balance,” he said.

Along with MTA and DOT officials, the study steering committee is comprised of local officials, including South Portland City Manager James Gailey and Planning Director Tex Haeuser and Scarborough Town Manager Tom Hall and Town Planner Dan Bacon.

A second public meeting about the study will be held 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at the Gorham Municipal Center.

Staff Writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219