The Franklin Street Feasibility Study was completed and adopted by the Portland City Council in 2015. This plan was preceded by a 'Reclaiming Franklin Street' visioning phase that developed the three street design concepts that were assessed and resulted in the refined Master Plan concept.

Since the Feasibility Study's adoption a number of factors have changed that signal the need for an update -- or refreshing -- of the Master Plan's transportation component. These factors include:

• significant residential and commercial development along Franklin Street, downtown and at the Eastern Waterfront
• changing transportation patterns during and since the Covid-19 pandemic
• advances in active transportation design and expanded transit services
• a renewed commitment to expanding housing opportunities in Portland
• new federal funding opportunities for transformational transportation projects such as Franklin Street.

While Franklin Street serves as a key north-south connection for motorists between Interstate I-295 and Portland's downtown and waterfront it currently creates barriers to east-west travel by all forms of travel. One of the key goals of the all the planning initiatives has been to recreate many of the finer-grained street and neighborhood connections that were severed and add more active transportation and transit travel options on Franklin Street.

The goals of the Franklin Street Update are to:

• integrate transportation and land use planning
• garner public support through robust public engagement
• realize equity, housing, economic, and safety benefits
• bolster design for active transportation and transit
• position the project for federal funding opportunities.

Following the selection of a consultant team, the Franklin Street Update is expected to begin by late fall 2024/early winter (updated 11/13/24), partnering with the MaineDOT as a Village Partnership Initiative (www.maine.gov/mdot/pga/cbi/village/) project.

September 2023 Happenings

The Portland City Council held a workshop on the Franklin Street 2023 Update on Monday, September 11, 2023. You can access the meeting materials at https://portlandme.portal.civicclerk.com/event/6725/overview.

The slides presented on September 11th by staff can be found under SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS (at the top right of this page). A recording of the workshop can be viewed at https://portlandme.portal.civicclerk.com/event/6725/media.

The Council as a whole strongly supported reinitiating the Franklin Street project.

August 2024

A Request for Proposals for consultant services was issued for the Franklin Street Enhanced Project Scoping and Land Use Concept on August 14th. Consultant proposals were due September 12th.

September 2024

The City Council's standing Committee on Sustainability and Transportation heard an update on the Franklin Street project at its September 11th meeting. Staff presented the latest anticipated timeline and provided an overview of the project. At the meeting, the S&T Committee endorsed the staff recommendation that the full Council vote to commit local match for a federal funding grant application to the USDOT for the Reconnecting Communities Pilot program. The $250,000 in local match would be for 10% of a $2.5M grant (inclusive of matching funds by the City and MaineDOT) that would fund a future design phase for Franklin Street and is to be voted on at the Council's September 16th meeting. You can find the S&T presentation as the first file for download under SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS above.

At its September 16th meeting, the City Council unanimously approved as an emergency order the appropriation of the local match and the application to USDOT for the $2.5M grant through Council Order 57-24/25.

January 2025

The USDOT announced on January 8, 2025 the award of $2M in federal Reconnecting Communities Pilot program (www.transportation.gov/reconnecting) funding for the first phase of design for Franklin Street. The federal funding will be matched by the City of Portland and the MaineDOT, with each contributing $250,000. The design phase will start in 2026 following the completion of the final planning phase which will begin in early 2025.

February 2025

The Reimagining Franklin Street project launches to create an updated street design and land use plan for Franklin Street. These plans will advance City goals for economic growth, housing, and resilience, and improve safety, accessibility and connectivity.