(PORTLAND, Maine) May 5, 2022 – Numerous crosswalks in Downtown Lewiston will receive visibility improvements this week, the Bicycle Coalition of Maine (BCM) announced Thursday.
On May 6, beginning at approximately 9 a.m., BCM staff will add flexible plastic delineator posts and red paint to crosswalks at three intersections in Lewiston: Central Avenue & Vale Street, Pine Street & Blake Street, and Pine Street & Bartlett Street.
“The combination of posts, signs, and paint, known as a ‘gateway treatment,’ aims to visually narrow roadways in order to calm traffic approaching the crosswalks,” said BCM Assistant Director Jim Tassé.
The location on Central Avenue will also involve a project-based learning initiative to engage students from Lewiston Middle School, who will assist with the demonstration project installation.
All locations are associated with the High Visibility Pedestrian Safety Education initiative launched by the BCM, the MaineDOT, and VHB Engineering in the fall of 2021.
The installation is also part of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s Imagine People Here program, which tests whether low-cost, temporary infrastructure can enhance pedestrian safety by lowering traffic speeds to comply with posted limits, and to study whether these changes impact yield rates.
This is the first Imagine People Here project in Maine this year. The BCM is holding discussions with nine other communities about traffic-calming installations for this spring and summer. The Coalition executed nine projects in 2021, and at least six of those projects are slated for re-installation this year. The Imagine People Here program is sponsored by AARP Maine and L.L.Bean, and supported in part by the MaineDOT.
The Coalition’s Imagine People Here program has been working to improve safety and access for pedestrians and people on bikes in communities across Maine since 2015. More information can be found at bikemaine.org/imagine-people-here
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The Bicycle Coalition of Maine is the statewide voice of cyclists and pedestrians. Since 1992, the BCM has led the effort to make Maine better for bicycling and walking by protecting the rights and safety of cyclists and pedestrians through education, advocacy, legislation, and encouragement. We support biking and walking for health, transportation, and recreation. For more information, visit bikemaine.org.