One-way street seen as solution in Knightville

SOUTH PORTLAND — In an effort to placate downtown business owners who rose up earlier this month to decry street-side parking changes planned for Ocean Street in South Portland, city staff has come up with a counter offer that would limit the strip from C to E streets to one-way, northbound traffic.

At issue is a $1.44 million utility upgrade that will force the reconstruction of 1,300 feet of Cottage Road and Ocean Street on either side of Legion Square from April to September. During that time, the city will complete a sewer-separation project to keep stormwater runoff from overwhelming sewer lines and backflowing into Casco Bay, while Unitil with upgrade its gas lines and the Portland Water District will replace its 120-year-old, eight-inch water mains.

During the rebuilding phase, the city plans to widen sidewalks, allowing more space for snow removal equipment during winter months, and an “enhanced pedestrian experience” during the balance of the year. But that widening means no room for the diagonal parking local businesses have enjoyed in front of their shops since the last time Knighville traffic patterns were altered, in the late 1990s, when the Casco Bay Bridge replaced the old “Millon-Dollar Bridge.”

Instead of diagonal spots on the west side of Ocean Street between C and E streets, the city said it would paint in parallel spots on both sides. At an impromptu council workshop called Feb. 6 to hear complaints – after the local business expressed its opposition – Michael Drinan, owner of real estate firm Drinan Properties, predicted the change “could be the death knell for some businesses down there.”

“This would be devastating to my business, and businesses around me,” agreed Tom Smaha, owner of the 73-year-old Legion Square Market.

During that meeting, Councilor Alan Livingston proposed a one-way fix and, although it gained little traction at the time, within weeks, Development Director Erik Carson was circulating it as a solution.

According to Carson, the City Council would have to vote in one ordinance change, altering 60-degree angled parking in the area to 45 degrees, in order for the proposed layout to work. City Manager Jim Gailey has asked councilors to take up the Ocean Street parking question in a workshop session scheduled for Monday, March 12, at 6:30 p.m., at the community center.

The change to parallel parking would have resulted in no net loss of parking spots, given the addition of spaces up and down the street on both sides the Legion Square rotary. However, by reducing a section of Ocean Street to a single lane of one-way traffic, room could be made available to keep the diagonal spots where they are now (albeit facing the opposite direction) and add a row of parallel spaces across from them, resulting in more spaces directly adjacent to the square.

“The city manager felt the additional parking is needed as we really haven't experienced all the storefronts being occupied,” wrote Carson.

“Staff have reviewed this and [Police] Chief Googins has stated that while not a fan of one-way, he could live with this concept in the district,” wrote Carson, adding, “[Transportation Director] Tom Meyers has stated that he would lose two bus stops and has made plans to relocate them once the traffic is rerouted.

“Truly this is the only alternative we can put forth,” wrote Carson. “The major question remaining would be for the neighborhood and the business district to weigh in on the one-way design and the biggest question – two blocks or the entire stretch of Ocean Street?”

The Waterfront Business Association will meet March 1 to debate the proposal. Although that meeting is not open to the public, some have already sounded a happy note.

“I’ve spoke with many business owners,” said Drinan, “and their enthusiasm for the one-way traffic flow and continued angled parking was palpable.

“In addition, I imagine the businesses further north on Ocean Street would relish the increase traffic flow,” he said. “In fact, since the closing of the [Million-Dollar] bridge, the biggest obstacle confronting business development at that end of the street has been creating a reason for people to drive down Ocean Street, and a one-way traffic pattern would accomplish that.”

But not everyone in Knightville supports the idea. Planning Board Chairman Caroline Hendry, who lives on B Street, called it “skewed toward considerations of the business community.”

“I’m afraid we the citizens could turn a right-of-way into a parking lot,” she wrote on the Knightville/Mill Creek Facebook page. “Parallel parking on one side of the street and angled parking on the other and a single lane in the middle could be a disaster in the making.”