PORTLAND – It may seem impossible, but city planners insist it can be done. They want to transform Forest Avenue, one of Maine’s busiest commuter arterials, into an appealing roadway for pedestrians, transit users, businesses and neighborhoods.

At the same time, they say, they can alleviate the street’s notorious traffic jams.

“We don’t have to impede traffic flow to make the world a better place for bikes and pedestrians,” said Alex Jaegerman, a senior planner with the city.

A proposed city project calls for narrowing Forest Avenue’s travel lanes to create bike lanes, planting trees, adding ornamental streetlights, fixing up deteriorated sidewalks, adding crosswalks, installing bus stops, and adding an off-peak bus shuttle service between downtown and Woodfords Corner.

Planners also want to help pedestrians and bicyclists maneuver safely through the Interstate 295 interchange and under the highway overpass. The proposed improvements include adding lighting, painting a mural under the overpass, and reconfiguring the interchange.

A more controversial part of the plan would restrict parking at Woodfords Corner during the evening commute and widen Forest Avenue north of Ocean Avenue, creating a second travel lane.

The improvements would increase the road’s traffic capacity by 70 percent and reduce the number of drivers who cut through neighborhoods to avoid traffic jams, said City Councilor Ed Suslovic, whose district includes a portion of Forest Avenue.

Businesses at Woodfords Corner oppose the plan because it would eliminate 11 parking spaces during the evening commute, said Tim Merrill, an owner of PJ Merrill Seafood.

“In the process of trying to improve the road, it would destroy our parking and hurt us,” he said. “It would be devastating.”

A group of planners, business owners and residents has been working for more than a year to craft a 10-year master plan for the avenue. The Planning Board is scheduled to sign off the plan Feb. 28 and hand it over to the City Council for final approval.

The plan does not have a price, and it is not funded. Approval by the council would qualify it for city capital improvement dollars and possibly grants.

The timing may work well for the city.

Later this year, the state plans to reconfigure the exit ramps off Interstate 295 to reduce rear-end collisions. City officials hope the state project could be combined with city plans for safety improvements at the interchange.

Suslovic said the Forest Avenue plan represents an “artful compromise” among competing interests, including transit activists, neighborhood organizations and businesses.

Some transit activists, for example, welcome traffic because they believe it will cause people to abandon their cars for bicycles and public transportation, Suslovic said. However, Forest Avenue is also Route 302, and brings trucks and cars into the city from cities and towns far beyond Portland’s border, he said.

“You can’t take a bus from Raymond to Portland,” Suslovic said. “Let’s be real.”

Even without the plan, drivers will see traffic improvements on Forest Avenue this year. Using mostly federal dollars, the state is scheduled to begin a $700,000 project to synchronize all of the traffic lights on Forest Avenue, from Warren Avenue to Park Street. The project is expected to begin before the start of summer. When completed, it is expected to reduce travel time by 15 percent.

Staff Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 791-6369 or at:

tbell@pressherald.com