$11.2 million project to transform Main Street begins
As of March 15, the long-awaited multi-million dollar project to improve roadways, sidewalks, intersections, traffic flow, and green spaces in downtown Waterville has begun.
The project, which was kickstarted by a 2018 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) award of $7.4 million from the Department of Transportation, emphasizes four strategies to revitalize downtown Waterville: increasing residential and commercial density to stimulate economic activity, leveraging existing assets in the arts, athletics, and natural environment to make Waterville an attractive destination, making improvements to the public realm to foster long term growth, and coordinating efforts to attract new businesses to downtown Waterville as well as supporting and expanding existing businesses.
While the BUILD grant composes the majority of the project’s funding, the College and the Maine Department of Transportation have also contributed towards the $11.2 million total.
“Downtown’s central artery, Main Street, and its companion, Front Street, are both two-lane, single-direction roads, with Main Street directing traffic south toward the town of Winslow and Front Street directing traffic north to Waterville, Fairfield, and beyond,” the City of Waterville wrote in their 2018 BUILD grant application. “This configuration is detrimental to the vibrancy and vitality of downtown, with traffic flowing through or past downtown and not to downtown as a destination.”
The core goal of this project, then, is to make Main Street the destination rather than just a thoroughfare. The City plans to achieve this through making Main Street and Front Street two-way streets as well as instituting traffic-calming features, and new streetscape elements.
They hope that these improvements will provide “a safer and more attractive place for pedestrians which will, in turn, stimulate economic activity.”
Part of these renovations include constructing a new “gateway to the city” that features public art, green spaces, and seating in order to present Waterville as a welcoming and pedestrian-friendly environment.
Another portion of the funding will go towards improving Castonguay Square, referred to by many as the “heart of Waterville.”
Castonguay Square holds events for a variety of local organizations such as the Maine International Film Festival and the WatervilleRocks! concert series. Work on improving Castonguay Square, led by WatervilleCreates! and their community partners, has been underway since 2018.
One of the biggest concerns in redesigning the roadways downtown is improving safety. The one way streets, low visibility, and high volume of pedestrians makes Main Street one of the City’s highest crash sites, with many vehicular accidents there resulting in “devastating and incapacitating injuries.”
The City hopes that reducing the amount of parking along Main Street, as well as converting it into a two-way, will ease some of the danger and anxiety of driving downtown.
For the College, which has been deeply involved in the BUILD project, this endeavor is a continuation of the Downtown Revitalization Framework they established in 2016.
In this framework, the College established the importance of maintaining Waterville’s history while also looking to a brighter future as they continue pursuing the BUILD project and others.
“With new opportunities and partnerships, Waterville is poised to leverage these assets while transforming downtown through new projects and investments led by the City, private investors, and local institutions and organizations,” the College wrote. “The Waterville community is now coming together to envision and realize a vibrant and active Downtown.”
~ Sarah Warner `21
