Every year, thousands of tourists visit our region, and the best way to see the sights are walking or biking. But how pedestrian-friendly is Boothbay Harbor? That’s what the October 30 Walkability Audit sought to discover.

A Walkability Audit is just what it sounds like: a professional explored the town to see how pedestrian-friendly it is, and suggested what kind of improvements could be made. 

Dan Burden of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, ran the audit, with help from Jane Lafleur from Friends of Midcoast Maine. Around 50 local residents came along on the walk.

Burden spoke about increasing the number or parking spaces by decreasing their size, starting water taxis for tourists and creating a walking path to draw people toward our working waterfront. He also suggested increasing safety at certain crosswalks and adding sidewalks where there are none (such as in front of China by the Sea).

During the Walkability Audit, Public Works Director Jody Lewis mentioned many roads in Boothbay Harbor (including Townsend Avenue and Oak Street) are state-owned, and any changes would have to be cleared with the Maine Department of Transportation. 

“MDOT is very strict about what can and can’t be done,” Lewis said. “We approached them years ago about the dangerous intersection at Oak and West Streets, but they didn’t want to change it.”

“I feel MDOT could be responsive to what the town would like,” Planning Board Chair Michael Tomko said. “I believe with a good presentation, we could get MDOT’s permission.” 

Tomko also praised Lewis for “tirelessly working for the safety of the region.”

The small community groups that got together after the audit came up with a multitude of ideas. Just some of them include: adding bike racks; giving out beautification awards to local businesses; creating small roundabouts at intersections rather than 2-way stops; building parking structures that look like New England housing; creating a “no buses downtown” rule (while adding a shuttle for bus passengers); putting focus on the footbridge; shutting off the byway on Bridge Street; and developing directional signs that say “Follow this to go back to town,” so people don’t just drive through and leave when they get confused about the one-way streets.

Eliminating the 2-hour parking spots and instead putting in meters was discussed. Lewis said he felt parking meters were aesthetically terrible, expensive to put in ($500 each) and parking was only problematic in the summer. 

The group has mixed reactions to shrinking the size of parking spaces.

“The complaint I hear most often is that the parking spaces aren’t big enough,” Lewis said. “We follow a nationwide code on parking, and feel we’d be opening ourselves up to liability if we ignored it.”

Tomko felt that shrinking all the parking spots didn’t make sense, but perhaps adding some flexibility would work.

“Dan (Burden) recommended creating some smaller, longer-term parking spots, and special parking for compact cars. Also bike racks that look artistic, fun and whimsical, while also being functional would be great.”

Lewis said he will “participate in whatever the merchants want to do and the Board of Selectmen approve. But people need to remember that any changes cost money and nothing’s been budgeted for this year.”

“We had a terrific cross-section of Boothbay Harbor residents who came with creative, innovative new ideas toward possible improvements and enhancements. Enthusiasm was off the charts and that was very encouraging and uplifting,” Tomko said.

Lafleur will present the final report from the Walkability Audit at the November 14 Boothbay Harbor Selectmen’s meeting.