Scarborough is finalizing its first town-wide comprehensive transportation study in nearly 20 years and it will include strategies to increase traffic flow, heighten safety and make the town easier to navigate on foot and bike.

A draft of the Transportation Network Study was presented at a Town Council workshop last week and the town is seeking a final round of feedback from residents before finalizing it early next year.

“The last town-wide transportation study that we did was back in 2005,” said Town Engineer Angela Blanchette at the Dec. 4 workshop. “A lot of the elements of that study have been implemented. However, it was very specific in certain elements. It didn’t have the variety or higher level that this study has.”

The town has conducted some more narrowly focused studies since then, Blanchette noted, such as on Payne and Gorham roads, the Running Hill Road corridor and the Route 1 corridor in tandem with Saco.

The focus areas of the study, Blanchette and consultants said, are heavily influenced by the public. Speeding and unsafe conditions for pedestrians in some residential neighborhoods were echoed by many, said John Adams of Barton & Loguidice.

“There was a lot of discussion about excessive vehicle speeds, especially on local roads, residential roads and within neighborhoods,” Adams told the council. “They were looking for ways to reduce speeds, provide traffic calming and make it safer for the kids and pedestrians and bicyclists.”

Residents also helped inform what intersections ought to be improved. Coupled with traffic and crash data, a number of key areas to focus on came forward: the Route 1, Dunstan Avenue and Orchard Street intersection; the Broadturn and Burnham roads intersection; the Broadturn and Holmes roads intersection; the Route 1 and Hannaford Drive intersection; and the Payne and Cummings roads intersection.

Blanchette said the intersection of Payne and Cummings “is one of the highest crash locations in the region” and the police department has been involved in many conversations surrounding it. It’s not a recent issue, Adams noted, as it has been listed as a high crash location by the state for the past eight to 10 years.

Other areas will be looked at and there are some areas that are already being addressed by the town or other entities. The traffic movement plan between the town, the developers of The Downs and the Maine Department of Transportation is a prime example that presenters pointed to.

There are three objectives to focus on when it comes to walking and biking, said Tom Errico, a traffic engineering director at TYLin: linking key destinations, like beaches, parks and schools; closing gaps in existing sidewalk and biking systems; and making high-stress areas safer.

“Somebody biking on Route 1, that’s a high-stress situation,” Errico said. “Most people avoid it, I suggest you avoid it. … How can we make some type of infrastructure that allows people to bike on a high-stress facility?”

There is a wide variety of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure implemented in towns across the United States, Errico said, but the ones that seem to be best suited for Scarborough would be a mix of bike lanes, buffered bike lanes and shared-use paths.

Shared-use paths are “the gold standard” for biking and walking, Errico said, and they may be suitable in some parts of town.

“Those are comfortable, safe facilities for all users, whether you’re an advanced rider or whether you’re a parent with kids,” he said.

Through the remainder of December and January, the town is seeking a final round of public input to be analyzed by the Transportation Committee, which will determine “where it makes sense to tweak and mold the plan moving forward,” Blanchette said.

The study is scheduled to be finalized in January and presented to the council for its endorsement in March.

To review a draft of the study and to share feedback, go to scarboroughmaine.org and, under “Stay Connected” and “What’s Happening,” find the Transportation Network Study, or contact Town Engineer Angela Blanchette at 730-4043.