Refine: Analysis
Throughout the spring and summer, the project team also carefully examined Franklin Street from a transportation context. Key findings from this analysis include:
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
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.
In terms of multi-modal infrastructure, there is a sidewalk on at least one side of Franklin Street for its entire length, but the discontinuity of sidewalks and the large distances between and across street crossings makes walking its full length difficult. There are currently no bicycle facilities on Franklin Street.
Crash data show significant numbers of crashes and a high probability of fatal and serious injury crashes at Franklin Street intersections. From Exit 7 to Commercial Street, at the ten intersections with traffic signals there were 187 total crashes for the three year period 2021 to 2023. Of those 187 crashes, 8 involved pedestrians and 5 involved bicyclists. Since 2023, two pedestrian fatalities have occurred, in November 2024 and November 2025 at Congress Street and Marginal Way. Seven of the ten locations with signals show a Very High (1) or High (6) probability of crashes resulting in fatal or serious injuries according to an analysis by MaineDOT for crashes through 2024 looking at the 10-year crash history.