After more than two years of consideration, concessions to retailers and adjustments to parking ordinances, contractors will begin installing a pair of raised crosswalks on Maine Street on Oct. 14.

When finished, the elevated walkways will stretch across Maine Street between Cumberland and Center streets, as well as Lincoln and Bank streets.

The project is part of an ongoing “traffic calming” scheme to make transit along — and across — Maine Street safer for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as motorists.

Other, future facets of the Master Plan include some variation of a center turning lane along Maine Street and dedicated bike travel lanes. However, details and specifics have yet to be worked out. Falmouth traffic engineering firm T.Y. Lin has been hired to look at how those changes can be incorporated into easing travel along Brunswick’s busiest commercial thoroughfare.

When finished, the crosswalks will be 10 feet wide and peak at four inches above the existing road grade. Granite curb extensions will “bump out” 15 feet from the existing curb line to provide better visibility for pedestrians, according to John Foster, director of the town’s Public Works Department.

Damariscotta contractor Hagar Enterprises will do the granite, paving and roadwork, as well as install three new storm water runoff catch basins.

Total cost of the project is $74,000 and should take about two weeks, Foster said.

As much work as possible will be done at night or during off-peak travel hours to minimize traffic obstructions, he added.

Only Bank Street, which connects to Federal Street on the eastern side of Maine Street, will have to be closed temporarily to do the basin work.

The idea of raised crosswalks stems from a talk that former Town Council Chairwoman Joanne King and Town Manager Gary Brown had with Thornton Oaks residents in 2011 about how to make downtown Brunswick safer for pedestrians.

The Master Plan Implementation Committee, chaired by District 6 Town Councilor Margo Knight, endorsed the plan. But before business district retailers would get aboard, changes had to be made to reduce the number of parking spaces lost to the project.

“We got some pushback from business owners,” Knight said. “So we stepped back, (reconsidered) some of the parking ordinances to make more spaces available, changed the allowed times on some of the spaces and stepped up enforcement, and now we’re back to the crosswalks.”

jtleonard@timesrecord.com