Refine: Analysis
Franklin Street today provides an important connection between I-295, abutting neighborhoods, and the Commercial Street waterfront. At its northern end, in the “highway transition zone”, it carries significant traffic volumes as a primary entry point to the Portland peninsula. There are consistently two vehicular travel lanes in each direction with seven signalized intersections. There are four local streets that run perpendicular to Franklin and no longer connect through to it.
Traffic volumes drop significantly as the street moves south, where the street functions more like a typical urban roadway. At Commercial Street, traffic drops by over 70%. This change in volumes provides opportunities to “right-size'“ the street design to match the traffic and more urban context.
Traffic on Franklin Street over the last decade shows different trends on different parts of the street. At the north end and the far southern end, traffic volumes in both the morning and afternoon peak periods have been relatively flat over the decade, with slight declines or little increase. Modest increases have occurred at Cumberland and Congress Streets, with more notable growth at Middle and Fore Streets. Today, particularly in the afternoon peak hour, the northbound direction between Congress Street and Marginal Way experiences some congestion.
Understanding the Transportation Context
There is a sidewalk on at least one side of Franklin Street for its entire length, but the discontinuity of sidewalks and the distance between and across street crossings makes walking its full length difficult. There are currently no bicycle facilities.