TOWN OF BUCKFIELD DOWNTOWN WORKSHOP JULY 23, 2019

TOWN OF BUCKFIELD DOWNTOWN WORKSHOP Safe Transportation for All Residents Sidewalks to Jr/Sr High School, Union Church Park & Ride lot relocation, riverside park and trail RRFBs at Northeast Bank intersection Visually Appealing Community Spruce up town, more attractive properties, pedestrian-scale lighting, benches, amenities Define Downtown – Gateways Economic Development Stabilize taxes, small business promotion/retention Downtown beautification, CDBG

Crash Locations 2016-2018

WHAT IS A Walkable COMMUNITY? Mix of land uses Street-oriented buildings (facing street, close to street, multiple windows and doors, parking behind) Continuous sidewalks, wide enough for couples Safe crossings Buffering from traffic Comfortable and safe places to wait Reid Ewing, op cit.

Walking and Attractiveness “The most important variable in predicting a change in walking is a change in attractiveness: all else equal, people walk more if they move to a neighborhood with a more attractive appearance, higher level of upkeep, more variety in housing styles, and/or more big street trees than they had in their previous neighborhood.” Handy, Susan and Patricia Mokhtarian; “Which Comes First: The Neighborhood or the Walking?”,Access: Transportation Research at the University of California, Spring, 2005: 20

Main Street, Sabattus

Parks should be enjoyed by a variety of users! Bar Harbor, ME

Parks

Keeping up with maintenance?

Two Ramps Per Corner Eight Ramps Per Intersection

Community identity/CULTURE

What makes Buckfield unique? Sanborn Map Company, September 1894

Presented by: Joan Walton, Regional Transportation Planner Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments jwalton@avcog.org www.avcog.org 783-9186 This project was funded in part through grant[s] from the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.  The views and opinions of the authors or agency expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U. S. Department of Transportation.