Baxter Boulevard Improvement Plan

(Name of your neighborhood plan goes here. You can call it an

adaptive plan or an improvement plan since all the plans
together will be considered a comprehensive plan)
(Your picture can be a photo or sketch)

Consulting Team
(All group members names)

Acknowledgments
(This is a place to thank the people who helped you develop the
comprehensive/improvement plan)
The consulting team would like to express their appreciation to the
Portland residents who contributed their valuable time and input by
participating in the neighborhood survey and providing crucial
information during informal interviews.

Table of Contents
Baxter Boulevard Improvement Plan
1. Introduction..1
A. Project Study Area.1
B. Project Mission Statement.2
C. History3
II. Project Plan
A. Current Use...4
B. Public Opinion and Concerns..7
C. Project Goals.9
III. Current Conditions and Recommended Improvements10

Project Study Area

An aerial view of your neighborhood goes here. This can be a
sketch or screen shot from Google Maps.

1.

Project Mission Statement

Write an overall blurb about how this neighborhood will be
changed.
Include how climate change will be addressed.
Include how this neighborhood will be more sustainable.

The vision for Baxter Boulevard is to offer a natural green space for
a healthy society where people can enjoy the outdoors. Providing access
yet limiting congestion and pollution is crucial for preserving and
protecting this unique historic park.
(A photo or sketch can be included to go along with the mission
statement).

2.

History
Baxter Boulevard, Portland, ca. 1938 (Maine
Historical Society)

Give a brief history of the area.

In 1895, Mayor James Baxter
proposed an idea to create a park
with trees lining the water and a promenade around the Back Cove in
order to improve the site. Back then, the cove was used as a dumping
ground for waste and sewage. Something had to be changed. Nothing
did until major work began ten years later, in 1905, when the Olmsted
Brothers tried to implement Baxters earlier ideas.
When the mayor lost the re-election, the work to improve the Cove
stopped. Work later continued in 1911 when city engineers built
sidewalks, paths, and a road. When that work was completed, the
Boulevard opened up in 1917. Linden trees were planted along the
parkway to commemorate soldiers who died in World War I. In honor
of James Baxter, a memorial made of granite and bronze was placed at
the entrance of the park. Today, the Back Cove and Baxter Boulevard
are both listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

3.

Current Use
Begin by describing the unique characteristics of your neighborhood.
*What makes it special?
*Describe the location. Determine if the neighborhood is residential,
commercial, or both. How is it used?
*Address transportation/energy use and housing types.
*Address commercial and economic state.
*Describe the public spaces in the neighborhood.
*Describe the ecological treasures and tie in sustainability and climate
change whenever possible.

A Special Place

Baxter Boulevard is a special place in Portland, Maine because it

is both a roadway and a park. The edge of the path borders Back
Cove, the 660-acre tidal basin in the geographic heart of the city.
Baxter Boulevard is one o the most widely used treasures within the
city of Portland. It offers beautiful views of the skyline and provides
opportunities for activities such as bird watching, jogging, walking,
biking, in-line skating, kite flying, and sunbathing.
Commercial and Economic State
The Back Cove neighborhood of Portland represents the key
connection between Portland downtown, commercial Old Port and
the more suburban neighborhoods of Deering and North Deering. As
the geographic center of Back Cove finds itself in the unique position
of having an extremely high level of traffic flow, both by pedestrians
and vehicles. The Forest Avenue corridor represents the commercial
center of the neighborhood as it features a variety of gas stations,
convenience stores, restaurants, banks, and other businesses.
4.

Hanford shopping center is located at the start of the citys

prized parks. The Baxter Boulevard is a main road that runs through
the park and it offers parking, an exercise route, amazing scenery, and
more. Any business that is located in this area stand to receive heavy
volume. The majority of the Back Cove neighborhoods are single
family residential. hole there has been some recent development along
Marginal Way, there are very view high rise apartment or condo units
in the Back Cove area. Adding such types of housing may be a draw
for residents looking to live in the central part of the city and help to
increase economic traffic in the neighborhood.
Housing
About 6% of the population of Portland, or a little less than 3,800
people live in the Back Cove neighborhood. Consisting of about 1.2
square miles of land, the Back Cove neighborhood has a population
density of about 3,200 people per square mile, considerably lower than
other neighborhoods such as the East End with 8,800 people/square
mile and Parkside with 15,200 people/square mile. Though the Forest
Avenue area saw commercial and agricultural development in the
1800s, the majority of the single family homes were not developed in
Back Cove until the 1930s.
Open Space
Preserving a public space such as Baxter Boulevard is important
for a healthy society. It fulfills a need for recreation. It provides
habitats for wildlife. The trees along the path filter air pollution and
reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
The trees also provide shade during the summertime and offer a
balance between ecology and human activity. The presence of open
space boosts the economy by attracting industry, jobs, and investment
because of the enhanced quality of life for citizens.
5.

Transportation and Energy

Although it is essentially a park, Baxter Boulevard experiences
daily traffic that can be heavy at times especially during the morning
and evening commute. Drivers often choose to travel along the
boulevard in order to avoid the major traffic arteries, Forest Avenue
and Washington Avenue. Commuters use the roads through Payson
Park as a convenient passage to and from Interstate 295 . According
to a recent traffic monitoring survey, an average of 2,230 cars move
through Payson Park every weekday. We anticipate this will increase
as more people move to the Back Cove neighborhood. Currently,
trucks are prohibited from using Baxter Boulevard and Payson Park
roads, but every car that passes through contributes heat and
emissions to the local environment.
Payson Park and Baxter Boulevard are popular routes for
bicycles. A designated bike lane begins at the Preble St. intersection,
follows along the boulevard and ends at the Vannah Ave intersection.
The boulevard, from Vannah Ave to Payson Park is closed on
Summer Sundays to all cars to attract bikers, walkers.

6.

Public Opinion and Concerns

Introduce how the data was collected. Using the data from the surveys and
information from math class, explain the concerns that people have. Determine
how the concerns will be addressed in the plan. (You are basically introducing the
recommendations section that will follow).

REPORT THE DATA IN GRAPHICS AND CHARTS WHENEVER

POSSIBLE!

The recommendations in this report come from surveys taken in the

Baxter Boulevard area. The objective of the survey was to determine
the conditions and characteristics of neighborhoods in Portland,
Maine.
OPEN/GREEN SPACE
For Baxter Boulevard, a major concern is maintaining adequate
gathering spaces for diverse groups and to encourage social
interaction and community activities in addition to preserving natural
animal habitats.
TRANSPORTATION/ENERGY
Another concern was the accessibility and access to the park for
pedestrians and vehicles to and from the downtown district.
The traffic issue at Vannah Street during certain times of the day
was of most concern for residents. The back up of traffic at this
intersection is frustrating.
The bike lane that approaches Vannah Street disappears making
it dangerous for cyclists.
High volume of traffic from Payson Park during commuting
hours.
The flags set-up to alert cars when pedestrians are crossing are
no longer available making it challenging for crossing at Dartmouth
Street.
HOUSING
People are leaving the City of Portland to live in suburbs due to the cost of
housing. Rental rates are increasing, as are housing prices.
The limited amount of affordable residences are becoming more scarce.
7.

Project Goals

List the goals for the changes that will take place in your
neighborhood. These goals should honor and reflect the mission
statement and the needs of the people (based on the survey) and
address the following:
Commercial/Economic
Housing/residential and or commercial/industrial
Transportation/Energy
Open/ Green Space
(Introduce the section:)
This section provides a list of agreed upon goals for the long-term
quality and enjoyment of Baxter Boulevard.
1. Develop clear paths and routes from downtown Portland to the
Boulevard for pedestrians and bicycles. Expand Bike lanes.
2. Increase bicycle access.
3. Reduce overall traffic, especially during heavy-commuting times.
4. Open up residential housing opportunities in the area and provide
public transport to the boulevard from these new housing areas.

8.

Current Conditions and Recommended

Improvements
Open Space Access
Goal: Develop clear paths and routes from downtown Portland to the
Boulevard for pedestrians and bicycles.
Recommendation: Create trail markers from the Bayside Trail to the
Baxter Boulevard path via Franklin Street and the 295 underpass. In
addition, create a foot bridge over the street to make it safe for
pedestrians and cyclists to travel from Bayside to Back Bay.

9.

Transportation
Goal: Increase bicycle access around the Boulevard. This will create
more of an incentive for people to bike and walk more, reducing the
dependence on cars.
Recommendation: Extend the designated bike lane from Vannah Ave
to Veranda St.

10.

Transportation
Goal: Reduce overall traffic, especially during heavy-commuting
times. This will reduce carbon emissions in order to support a healthy
environment or people and animals.
Recommendation:
The second is to
reconfigure the road
through Payson
Park so there is no
longer a through
route for cars.
Bicycle commuters
and walkers could
travel through the
park from Ocean
Ave to Baxter
Boulevard, but
those traveling by
car could not.
Visitors to Payson
Park could enter
and exit by car via
Ocean or Baxter
Boulevard, but they could not drive completely through the park. This
would make Payson Park a place offering a variety of recreation
opportunities and make it much more pedestrian friendly as well as
reduce emissions from commuters as they cut through the park.

11.