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February 2010: Sub-committees Make Progress

Initial implementation work is well underway. The four Implementation Steering Committee sub-committees are established and each has met at least once to begin their work. Highlights to date include:


Corridor Coalition
This sub-committee has met twice and has begun in-depth review of a draft interlocal agreement. Because of the complexity and ground-breaking nature of this effort, outside legal counsel has been retained to help review and develop the draft. Click here for meeting minutes. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 9th at 8:35 am in Waldoboro, with meetings also scheduled for Wednesday, February 24th and Tuesday, March 16th.


Education and Outreach

The Education and Outreach Sub-committee met January 13th. The sub-committee is working on developing an outline that can be used to develop educational materials with consistent messages delivered by different media, including a series of newspaper articles, printed materials, PowerPoint presentations, and even video DVDs to be shown on local access cable channels. The meeting scheduled for Wednesday, February 3rd at 5:00 pm at the Mid-Coast Regional Planning Commission office in Rockland has been postponed due to the weather and will be rescheduled.


Plan Adoption
The Plan Adoption Sub-committee met January 14th. The sub-committee reached unanimous consensus to recommend to the full ISC that the Start-up Agreement timeframe be extended to June 30, 2011 to allow towns time to complete the groundwork necessary to adopt the Gateway 1 plan. Other items discussed include creating “game plans” for each community to help map out the next few years of Gateway 1 implementation work and process. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 11th at 2:00 pm at the Lincoln County Courthouse.


Funding
The Funding Sub-committee met January 14th and reviewed the start-up funding application from Brunswick. In deciding the amount to award, the sub-committee reached unanimous consensus that it would not initially award more than $29,500 to any one town until all participating towns have submitted their applications. The process for awarding any remaining funds has not been decided. The next meeting will be scheduled once additional applications are received.


The next full ISC meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 25th at 5:30 pm in the Rockland City Council Chambers. Click here for draft minutes from the first meeting.


For more information about Gateway 1 or meeting schedules, contact Gateway 1 Project Administrator Stacy Benjamin by phone at (207)342-2929 or by email at sbenjamin@mainecollaborativeplanning.com.

 

 

January 2010 - Gateway 1 Implementation Underway
The first Implementation Steering Committee (ISC) meeting was held Thursday, December 10th at Rockland City Hall and was an excellent start to this phase of the project.  Members and Alternates from most participating communities were present, as well as representatives from regional, state and federal agencies and organizations.  Don White of Camden was elected Chair of the ISC; with Chris Osgood of Lincolnville elected Vice-Chair and Sara Bradford of Stockton Springs elected Secretary.  Those present heard a brief history of Gateway 1, considered a draft of operating guidelines for the Committee, and broke out into sub-committees to begin their work. Draft meeting minutes will be posted soon.

The following sub-committees were formed to tackle the vast amount of work needed to occur over the next six months as Gateway 1 moves forward:

  • Plan Adoption
  • Corridor Coalition
  • Funding
  • Education and Outreach

These sub-committees will be meeting frequently over the next several months, and will report their progress and recommendations to the full ISC at its next meeting, scheduled for Thursday, February 25th at 5:30 pm at Rockland City Hall. Meeting minutes from sub-committee meetings will be available on this site.

For more information about their work or meeting schedules, contact Gateway 1 Project Administrator Stacy Benjamin by phone at (207)342-2929 or by email at sbenjamin@mainecollaborativeplanning.com.

 

Gateway 1: An innovative, community-led land use & transportation
planning project for Maine’s midcoast.

Click on map below for individual town information.

 

map of the region Brunswick West Bath Bath Woolwich Wiscasset Edgecomb Newcastle Damariscotta Nobleboro Waldoboro Warren Thomaston Rockland Rockport Camden Lincolnville Northport Belfast Searsport Stockton Springs Prospect

October 2009: Target Reached!

As of October 31, community leaders in 15 towns and cities along the Route 1 corridor have voted to sign the Gateway 1 Cooperative Start-up Agreement. Participating state and federal agencies have also signed on, including MaineDOT, FHWA and the State Planning Office.

Participating communities will appoint an Implementation Steering Committee member and an alternate to work over the next year in helping to shape the Corridor Coalition, the formal group that will ultimately have a deciding role in regional and local transportation project prioritization. For more details, see “The Home Stretch: March 2009” update below.

The first Implementation Steering Committee (ISC) meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 10th at Rockland City Hall. Participating communities will be receiving a packet of information in early November that will include:

  • Tentative meeting agenda for December 10th
  • A list of tasks and schedule for ISC work over the next year or so
  • Guidance for local adoption of the Gateway 1 Corridor Action Plan
  • Start-up funding program statement and application
The overwhelming support for the start-up agreement in most communities is due in large part to the continuous efforts of the local Gateway 1 Planning Steering Committee representatives, who have worked with local leaders to help them understand the Gateway 1 Corridor Action Plan and the importance of participating in this start-up period.

August 2009: Gateway 1 Plan Implementation Underway

The Gateway 1 Corridor Action Plan has been printed and sent to all participating communities. Feedback from Steering Committee members and local officials has been overwhelmingly positive. MaineDOT has contracted with Stacy Benjamin, who is partnering with Evan Richert, AICP, Uri Avin, FAICP, and others to help coordinate the first phases of plan implementation.

The first step is to have at least 12 communities sign the Start-up Agreement (included in the Plan) by October 31, 2009. This agreement is essentially a hand-shake, and asks communities to appoint an Implementation Steering Committee member to help shape the Corridor Coalition and to work over the next year toward adopting the Gateway 1 plan as part of their local comprehensive plan.

Stockton Springs is the first community to sign on, in a unanimous vote taken August 6. Stacy and Evan are in the process of scheduling meetings and/or presentations in all corridor communities. Once 12 communities sign on, the process of officially forming the Gateway 1 Corridor Coalition can begin. An immediate benefit for participating municipalities will be access to planning grants from MaineDOT. Forming the Coalition also paves the way for municipalities to have a deciding role in regional and local transportation project prioritization.For more details, see “The Home Stretch: March 2009” update below.

Gateway 1 was launched four years ago to find a way to better connect land use and transportation planning along Mid-coast Route 1. Twenty communities identified a series of escalating problems that stemmed from a combination of increasing traffic levels and existing land use trends. From this, the Gateway 1 Corridor Action Plan was developed. The Plan asks municipalities to make adjustments to their Comprehensive Plans to support more densely built core growth areas, protection for specific viewsheds and wildlife habitats, and a more defined level of roadway access management.

Implementing the Plan will positively affect the functionality and aesthetics of Route 1, as well as increase the ability of corridor communities to attract new jobs, support transit and provide affordable housing.

 

What Gateway 1 will achieve: Overall, the Gateway 1 plan will preserve the valued character of the Midcoast - its New England villages and rural qualities - while supporting new jobs, affordable housing and transit opportunities.

We will achieve this by providing incentives to locate jobs close to housing, by managing traffic and by encouraging the preservation of viewsheds, wildlife habitat and the Maine quality of life.


June 2009 Progress Report

March 2009 Progress Report

December 2008 Progress Report

Early Fall 2008 Progress Report

July 2008 Progress Report

June 2008 Progress Report

Early Spring 2008 Progress Report

Winter 2008 Progress Report

Fall 2007 Progress Report

Summer 2007 Progress Report

Gateway 1 Presentation to Selectmen

Gateway 1 Planning Scenarios

News Coverage: Gateway 1 project makes MaineBIZ


Gateway 1 is a landmark long-term strategic land use and transportation planning project for the Midcoast Route 1 region in Maine. A collaboration amongst communities and state agencies, Gateway 1 explores new ways of combining transportation and land use decision-making. By doing so, the project will balance community growth and local values with transportation services and needs. For Gateway 1 to be a success, we need to hear your opinions. Please click on Public Involvement to find out more.

The Gateway 1 project begins in Brunswick at the junction of I-295 and extends for 110 miles to Prospect. It directly affects the 21 communities (see interactive map above)through which U.S. Route 1 passes and also considers their interaction with the larger region, especially those peninsular or island communities whose residents, workers and visitors must use Route 1 for access.