Critical Steps to Making Freeport, Maine a Premier Transit-Oriented Destination (TOD)
In early May, a speaker at a USM Corporate Partners meeting called the escalating cost of oil “a looming, impending, rolling catastrophe” for Maine. “We’re in the cross hairs of a disaster,” he said, and if the predictions of $200-300/barrel crude oil are borne out, “Maine essentially will become uninhabitable” in the next dozen years.
Howard Kunstler or one of the other Peak Oil crazies?
Nope.
These are the words of Angus King. And the oil price prediction? That is from the radical environmentalists at Goldman Sachs.
In the words of my 13 year old…holy crap.
Not exactly a rosy future scenario for a town economy built on 3.5 million tourists per year virtually all of whom arrive here by automobile.
So what do we do?
We need, IMO, a Marshall Plan-like effort at Transit-oriented Development (TOD)–the planning world’s name for communities anchored around an alternative transportation hub. And, to ratchet this idea up a notch or two, we need to position Freeport nationally as one of the country’s premier Transit-Oriented Destinations–a place you can get to without a car and, upon arrival, where you can move around without one.
The good news, thanks to the genius of historic village settlement patterns, is that we have many of the core assets required of TOD’s and Transit Villages–a walkable core village, most of our development concentrated in a center and, soon, a train. Still, there a number of steps we can be taking now to position ourselves for this pending future.
1. Getting ready for the train and doing it right.
All continues to go well for the Downeaster train to be extended north to Freeport and Brunswick within the next few years. First priority is station location: it should be on Depot Street near the Hose Tower Information Center. (TOD experts say a .25 mile or 5 minute walk is the critical radius; by my calcs, the new L.L. Bean Hunting & Fishing Store is just short of that distance; the Bow Street Market just a bit farther.) Next is doing the station right. The Downeaster will only provide a platform. I think, over time, we’ll recognize that a station experience that makes a statement will be important. (In Saco, they’re thinking big about their new station–clock tower, powered by wind, heated by geothermal.) Obviously, we have to figure out how to fund it, and perhaps it evolves over time, but we should be planning for a building that elevates the arrival experience and is architecturally significant.
2. Alternative transportation within town.
Within town, we need a shuttle system for getting around outside the walkable core that alleviates the need for a car. If you’ve ever been to Sugarloaf, there’s your model. From the crack of dawn to the last bar closing, you can catch a free shuttle anywhere in Carrabassett Valley. With a great system in place, those arriving by car can leave it on the outskirts of town. Perception problems about parking and accessibility are alleviated. (Just imagine the competitive advantage over Kittery and the Maine Mall Sprawl, for example.) And town residents begin to feel that the village is no longer given over exclusively to tourists. Perhaps most critically, a successful and regular shuttle system would allow us reclaim precious acres of land in the core village we currently sacrifice to parking lots.
3. Focusing future development within the core village.
With a laser focus on TOD, we should become more vigilant about assuring that people-centered development be concentrated in the core. Ultimately, the success of Freeport as a transit-oriented destination rests on the breadth and depth of the experience we provide within the walkable village. Long sought after amenities, like movie theaters, additional restaurants and other draws should be in the village rather than Route One South. Zoning changes should be carefully considered if, in any way, they encourage development that could be downtown from locating elsewhere. And the pedestrian experience from the train station, which the great folks at the Freeport Community Improvement Association have stewarded so well throughout the rest of town, needs to become a top priority. (Berenson–have you considered that 15 years from now the front door of Village Station might be the side facing the train station?)
4. Positioning Freeport as a Transit-oriented Destination.
Even if the Maine future Angus predicts is only half right, the prospects for communities and businesses dependent on destination travel aren’t especially rosy. We’ll know a lot more about the impact of $4/gallon gas after this summer, but I suspect all of Maine will look back on this tourist season as an ugly barometer of the new world order to come. (Have you heard the new term “staycation”? Yikes.) But I am a marketer and I know that getting Freeport positioned correctly ahead of the curve will pay future benefits. An aggressive plan to become the premier transit-oriented destination is extremely newsworthy and can generate lots of buzz–low-cost, high-impact marketing that will build the Freeport brand. (BTW–did you notice how many times in this post I’ve written “transit-oriented destination”? Give it a week or so and let’s see how Google responds…)
5. Aggressively competing for transportation funds.
I’m sure many reading this are saying, “WTF Troast, Freeport can barely afford $48K for a decent math program in our schools.” A very fair point. But crises create change, and I believe radical shifts in how and what gets funded in the arena of transportation are on the way. At every level of government, the balance of transportation dollars going to alternative forms versus roads has to change. The car-centric largess of dinosaurs like the Maine Turnpike Turnpork Authority (LOL credit C Neal) will eventually come to an end. As funding dollars shift, Freeport needs to be at the front of the line, with great projects and strong rationale. And that means starting now.
Most communities can only dream of an existing train line through a walkable village. This is a unique moment in time for Freeport. Let’s seize it.
Additional Links & Resources
Very good MaineBiz article by Sara Donnelly about the train and Brunswick’s aggressive TOD plans.
Transit Oriented Development Website
Rights of Way transportation blog
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Comments
Train service makes good sense.
Has the issue of idling time, and thus, lingering engine exhaust and its effects on waiting passengers and neighboring properties been addressed in the Freeport or Brunswick station studies?
Thank you,
Michael
Michael–good question about idling. I’ve emailed Patricia Quinn of NEPRA about this. My recollection from a presentation I heard her make is that it is expected to be a relatively short stop in Freeport. If I hear back I’ll post the response here. Thanks for chiming in.
Michael–here’s the response I received today from NNEPRA:
Thanks for your email. The schedule has not been set at this time but there should be very little idle time at the Freeport Station. We are interested in keeping the schedule trip from Brunswick to Portland or Portland to Brunswick to a minimum therefore not much time will be allotted to load or unload passengers at each station. Thanks, Len
Len Mulligan
Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority
I too strongly support the Downeaster Project. This is wonderful for Freeport, and more mass transit is good for the country. With more local shops and galleries, and fewer big chains, we could really set Freeport apart. L.L. Bean will continue to be the big tourist draw. I’d like to see fewer yuppie clothing shops in town, enough is enough. The Onion piece had an element of truth to it, Freeport is a bastion of upscale, lilly white America. How many polo shirts and boat shoes can one man buy in a weekend? Let’s see if we can address that image.
I am interested in the possibility of commuting to Freeport from Portland, how long is that projected to take, with a drive by car normally taking about 20 minutes to downtown from Portland. I would gather that at least half of that time, probably about 10 minutes by train?
I would also like to know when this project will be finished, by January 1st, 2010 correct?
Ryan–
Initially, the Amtrak Downeaster service is being extended from Portland to Freeport and Brunswick. My understanding is that a true commuter service is not yet envisioned. Once the line is improved, however, my sense it is only a matter of time before we start tackling this. The timing of the service isn’t locked in concrete yet, as far as I know, so I’d recommend following this at the Downeaster site or through the recently formed train committee in Freeport.
PT
Those of use who have used the Downeaster over the years and spent time and effort pushing for expansion to Freeport and Brunswick are excited about the current opportunity presented by the recent legislative action.
You can keep up to date on Downeaster news by going to http://www.downeastriders.us/blog
Thanks.