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Click here for Shore Road Pathway Study Committee section
(includes links to minutes, agendas and preliminary plan)
11/07/08
Shore Road Pathway Study Committee sets public forum for Nov. 19
The Shore Road Path Study Committee will host a public forum on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Cape Elizabeth Town Hall chamber. Everyone interested in the potential path along Shore Road is encouraged to attend and share comments. The forum will begin with a brief introduction of the committee’s work and a review of the detailed path concept plan. The bulk of the meeting is reserved for public comment about the concept plan.
The committee is hoping that at least some of the comments will address the preferred surface treatment for the path and intended users. The committee is looking forward to heavy attendance and, in order to assure a chance for everyone to speak, will be limiting comments to 3 minutes per person. This is the same time limit used at Town Council meetings.
Why study a path?
In the Fall of 2007, the Cape Elizabeth Town Council adopted a new Comprehensive Plan that includes 91 recommendations. One of the high priority recommendations is to:
Study the potential for creating an off-road path adjacent to Shore Road that would be designed with sensitivity to the character of Shore Road and in collaboration with property owners abutting Shore Road.
This recommendation was included in the Comprehensive Plan under a goal that focuses on the safety of pedestrians. Shore Road, with little area outside of the roadway, is recognized as an area unsafe for pedestrians and hazardous for drivers who must maneuver around them. The large percentage of town residents who live in the Shore Road area, as well as the role Shore Road serves as a connector to the Town Center, suggests that pedestrian traffic will continue or increase.
A separate committee appointed by the Town Council, the Road Safety Working Group, made the same recommendation for a Shore Road Path study, based in-part on the conclusions at a public forum where attendees identified areas needing pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
The Shore Road Path Study Committee
Appointed by the Cape Elizabeth Town Council, the Shore Road Path Committee includes town residents who live on Shore Road, adjacent to Shore Road, and elsewhere in the town. Two members are representatives of the Town Council and the Conservation Commission. The committee began meeting in January, 2008.
The Town of Cape Elizabeth received a $35,000 grant from the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Committee (PACTS) to fund a feasibility study for a Shore Road path. The grant consists of $28,000 from PACTS, which requires a $7,000 match from the Town in order to receive the grant funds, for a total of $35,000. The grant funds are being used to provide a consultant with expertise in the areas of surveying, wetland mapping, landscape design, and engineering. The consultant team was selected after seven proposals were submitted and four teams interviewed by the committee. The town planner is providing staff support to the committee.
The concept plan
The path concept, or preliminary plan, was first presented to the study committee on Oct. 29, 2008 by John Mitchell of Mitchell and Associates, a landscape architect on the consultant team. Mitchell prepared the plan using the design principles adopted by the committee. Those include:
- Right-of-way. The path should be located within the right-of-way of Shore Rd, or outside the right-of-way only with the willing support of the private property owner.
- Physical features. The path should be located to avoid significant trees, stone walls and other significant features whenever possible.
- Separation. The path should be separated from the traveled way, while avoiding features (#2), to enhance the safety and comfort of path users.
- Wetland Impacts. Wetland alterations should be minimized by moving the path close to Shore Rod.
- Tree condition. Some trees may need to be removed and the committee will consider the health of the tree in making this recommendation.
- Shore Road crossings. The number of times that the path will cross Shore Road will be minimized to enhance pedestrian safety.
- Land side. The committee has voted to locate the path on the land, or west side, of Shore Road. The committee reviewed a range of limitations on both sides of the road, including stone walls, large trees, ledge, steep topography, telephone poles, hydrants, and wetlands, all within the right-of-way, and lack of right-of-way width due to the surface of Shore Rod not always located in the middle of the right-of-way. While both sides have obstacles, more obstacles are located on the ocean side.
The overall question before the committee and the public at the forum is whether the concept plan strikes the right balance of these often competing design principles. At the Oct. 29 meeting, Mitchell was commended by committee members and members of the public both for the overall blending of the design principles into the path design and the level of detail in the concept plan. Mitchell will again present the concept plan at the public forum.
After the public forum
The committee will be taking the comments from the public forum and discussing changes to the concept plan at its meeting on Dec. 3, 2008. The committee must also initiate development of a cost estimate for the path as shown on the concept plan. The committee’s goal is to complete its study and send a recommendation to the Town Council by the end of February, 2009. The committee recommendation is expected to include a path location and design, cost estimate, surface treatment and intended users.
For more information
The Shore Road Path Study Committee is committed to public participation and transparency in its work. Much of the committee’s work to date, including committee charge, agendas and minutes of meetings, meeting schedule, concept plan, public participation plan and other documents are posted on this Web site. For more information, you can also contact the Town Planner at 799-0115 or maureen.omeara@capeelizabeth.org.
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