Colorful, Hand-knitted Winter Caps in All Sizes are Available for the Taking on Lines in Monument Square, Portland. No Questions Asked!
A Sign Inviting Anyone Who Needs One to Take a Colorful, Hand-knitted Cap at Monumnt Square, Portland.
WSP USA Inc. (WSP) has been hired to conduct the final planning phase for the “Reimagine Franklin Street” project. Set to begin later this month, the planning effort will update and refine the conceptual design that was adopted by the city council as part of the 2015 Franklin Street Master Plan, as well as develop a land use urban design plan for the street. The planning effort is expected to take approximately ten months to complete.
The hiring of WSP follows the news in January that the city of Portland and MaineDOT were awarded $2 million in federal funding from the Department of Transportatin for the first phase of the Franklin Street Redesign project. The federal funding will be matched by the city and MaineDOT, each contributing $250,000. Having the federal funds already in place allows the city to move immediately to the design phase after the final planning phase is complete. Back on January 8, 2025, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) announced that the city had been awarded the $2 million federal grant to support this project that became available during President Biden’s administration.
The vision for the redesign of Franklin Street was the idea of concerned citizens in the east end of Portland. It was the vision of members of the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Organization and the Bayside Neighborhood Organization, including Markos Miller, and Boyd Marley, currently principal of East End Community School. They eventually co-chaired the Franklin Street Arterial Study Committee. The two led the effort to bring the vision to the attention of the Portland City Council who adopted it back in 2015. However, due to a lack of funding for such a major project, the vision of Marley & Miller lay on the dusty shelves of city hall until the Biden administration provided the funds to proceed with the Redesign.
“Reimagining and rebuilding Franklin Street presents a generational opportunity to transform a gap in Portland’s urban fabric into a vibrant, connected space,” said Eugenia DiGiroloma, of WSP and project manager. “These improvements will make the corridor safer, foster economic growth and create a dynamic place for the community to come together. We are building on past efforts and are excited to work with the city of Portland and its residents to make this vision a reality.”
There were seven (7) entities who responded to the RFP for this project.
For more background information on this project, please visit posts herein dated: November 9, 2024, February 26, 2024 and January 8, 2025.