Living in Portland without a car?

[dubthang]

The Metro (bus system) has busses that cover the down town area, Falmouth, Westbrook, and the mall. They are trying to include Gorham and possibly farther in the future. You can also connect with the Zoom bus, and connect to the Biddeford bus system, as well as the South Portland bus system.

Irfox- for once I have to disagree with you. Portland has an awful traffic problem. Driving into and out of the city for typical work hours is a real pain. Every route in or out generally is some sort of bottle neck with improperly timed traffic lights. Down town becomes hellish when it's lunch time. Parking is not easy. Meter prices just went up. Snow bans are difficult and inconvienent. Damage when parked on the street is typical, and all neighborhoods have alternanting sides for night parking. Portland (peninsula) was never autocentric. If you look at old pictures, Portland was setup to use mass transit. All the old rails are gone, and have been replaced with medians, sidewalks, etc. I also don't think it's really far to compare Boston/Providence with Portland. Find me one city with around 60000 people that has the same transportation options that Boston has without it being a suburb of something larger.

Now, I have a truck. I try to use it as little as possible, and I currently live close to the down town area. When I lived on Martin's Point, I still tried to drive as little as possible, but being farther away, I needed to drive.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by dubthang

Irfox- for once I have to disagree with you. Portland has an awful traffic problem. Driving into and out of the city for typical work hours is a real pain. Every route in or out generally is some sort of bottle neck with improperly timed traffic lights. Down town becomes hellish when it's lunch time. Parking is not easy. Meter prices just went up. Snow bans are difficult and inconvienent. Damage when parked on the street is typical, and all neighborhoods have alternanting sides for night parking. Portland (peninsula) was never autocentric. If you look at old pictures, Portland was setup to use mass transit. All the old rails are gone, and have been replaced with medians, sidewalks, etc. I also don't think it's really far to compare Boston/Providence with Portland. Find me one city with around 60000 people that has the same transportation options that Boston has without it being a suburb of something larger.

Hey, what good is a forum if there are no opposing views?

I don't know. I think calling Portland's traffic problem "awful" is over the top. Maybe my perception is relative, but I think traffic is NEARLY a non-issue in Portland. There are no long backups. The fact that people refer to the afternoon slowdown by the Westbrook/Jetport Exit (3?) off of 295 "traffic" is evidence of that. I mean you're talking about traffic cruising at a little below the speed limit (usually around 40) for about 1/4 mile and some people call that rush hour traffic.

Forest Ave (302) can get annoying at around 9am or 5pm due to the numerous lights, but it doesn't get backed up or gridlocked. Most people from moderate or larger cities and many similarly sized ones would consider traffic in Portland not really a problem. What are the other routes that are difficult? 295 breezes at any hour (with the ONE exception of the area near exit 3 being slower- but not jammed- at around 5pm), Commercial street (the primary point of access to downtown from Points South) is always easy, the Casco Bay Bridge isn't a problem, 22/Congress Street isn't tough at all. I've never had any headaches getting in/out of town during "rush hours" and I know very few people who have complained about traffic.

Parking really isn't difficult. If you're willing to look a little, you can usually always find street parking downtown (particularly if you look just off of a primary street like Congress, Exchange, Middle, etc) and most side streets there may not even be meters. If you can't find a spot on the street, the garages are plentiful, convenient and VERY affordable to park all day. Furthermore, Portland is quite laxed about ticketing for slight overages on a meter (unless it's explicitly short term, i.e. 15 minute or so, parking).

I know Boston v. Portland isn't a fair comparison (nor is Providence v. Portland), but it was really to illustrate the fact that Portland isn't really a great place to live w/o a car. It's a VERY autocentric little city. It may not have been historically, but ANY city, no matter how big or small, in the U.S. built before the 1940s is going to have a history of street cars and public transit. It WAS the only way to get around then. No longer is that true. If you look at Portland, it's plagued by the advent of and popularity of the car. Walk through the Old Port or along Commercial, Congress, Spring, etc and take a look at how many blocks and buildings were demolished to make way for surface parking lots and garages (In fact, Portland has more garages downtown than I've ever seen in such a small city). Streets were widened to accomodate cars and new streets and boulevards were built to carry car traffic (see: Franklin Arterial). Portland was not developed around the car but like many cities it adapted to make itself car friendly and I would consider it a very easy place to drive. It may have been a difficult place to park or drive in 1900, but it's not at all the same as it was back then.

I can tell you that smaller cities all over MA (not even counting little ones in the immediate Boston area) have as good of service as Portland (better in many cases). SRTA serving Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton is further reaching and more convenient in my experience than Portland's. Rhode Islands RIPTA serving the entire state, not just Prov, is further reaching and more convenient. Even the Pioneer Valley transit in Western Mass is better. Furthermore many of these little cities and towns have better access to commuter rail/Amtrak and other forms of regional transit. Sure, they're no Boston or Providence, but they're better than Portland in that regard and more comparable in size. Portland is probably better off than most of these places in MANY ways, but public transit isn't one of them.

Finally, many of the issues that you mention are going to be the same no matter where you go. Without private parking, moving a car during a parking ban is going to be a pain. Portland, however, has PLENTY of lots to park in and they are REALLY laid back about when you must move them (I always found spots at Hadlock and walked from there). I have not had too much of an issue moving my car during a snow ban in Portland (don't know anyone else who has either). Any place you live with a car and no private parking is going to be difficult in this regard. Farmington, ME was the worst with me. We couldn't use the on-street spots overnight (regardless of weather) and had to move to a very hard to reach lot. Farmington is a town of about 3,000 people. Damage to cars parked on the street occurs in any area you park a car on a street! It's not something that's unique to Portland (in fact, due to Portland's low crime rate, I'd wager it's better than many places in that regard). It's a risk you take anywhere no matter how big or how small the town is.

I'm interested in other peoples' opinions on Portland's traffic issue. With the exception of a few people I know that have rarely left Maine I don't know many people who have too many compaints about traffic/parking in Portland. In fact, when living there, the thought never crossed my mind that traffic may be bad at certain times of day or parking may be difficult. I've been to many cities that are even smaller than Portland where parking is more difficult (Portsmouth NH and Newport RI come to mind immediately as does Taunton, MA).

I'm not arguing that it's IMPOSSIBLE to live without a car in Portland. It's just not the easiest thing to do. I don't know anyone who would say it's EASIER to live without a car than with one in Portland (you still have yours) whereas in many cities it's absolutely easier to live without one. You'll save some money by not having one (that's the case anywhere), but Portland's bus system is really not far reaching and I can't imagine relying on that at all times unless there was some reason I couldn't afford to own a car and had no other choice. I disagree about the traffic... I don't think it's a problem at all. Any town is going to see additional volume during normal work hours and Portland is no exception, but it's not bad enough to be a pain or even a real delay. In the end, I still say it's MUCH more convenient to have a car in Portland than not to which is likely why most people who live there do have a car. If given the option, most people in Portland would MUCH rather have a car than not because the cost of owning one is a paying for something that's a convenience; if that weren't the case, more people would live w/o a car there. You have to work hard and make many sacrifices to live without one and most people don't want to do that. Because of the relative ease of getting around Portland via a car, it doesn't make too much sense to most people not to have one.

[dubthang]

lrfox, you and I have similar backgrounds. We both live (or have lived) in Portland and Mass. I am very familiar with the transit system in MA, but I feel that it is there largely due to Boston. Would the North Shore, South Boston, and RI have such a great rail and bus system if Boston was the size of Portland? I don't know. I do know that western MA does not have the same type of transit system in place.

As for traffic concerns, I am a commercial driver who has driven for several companies (and now Portland Metro) in Portland. I think this is why I see traffic as not favorable in Portland. I did see people working on the traffic lights today so I am hoping that they were working on the timing of the lights. If this is true then several major intersections will be much easier to navigate. There are actually several gridlocking intersections in the city as of right now, Morrill's Corner, Woodford's Corner, and the Preble St and Congress St intersection. There may be more. On the plus side, Portland will be seeing more road construction this year than they have in the last ten due to stimulus funds. The down side of this is even more traffic delays.

As for parking, the City is more strict than ever. They are facing big budget issues. First time affenders are usually given a by while repeaters are being hunted down (this is largely based on which traffic officer is working.) I worked for the City for a little while so I got to see this first hand. Every time I have lived on the peninsula, my vehicle has been hit while it was parked on the street over night. My truck was hit just this past week while it was parked on Congress St. The crime rate doesn't have much to do with damage to parked cars. Most of it comes from the drunks (drivers and walkers,) cell phone users, commercial truckers, high speed car chases (there are quite a few here,) snow plows, etc.

I think the main point here is that everybody is getting two different, but great view points on Portland. Depending on where you live will greatly impact one's decision on having a car. I have friends in and around down town that are fine without cars. I also know people in Greater Portland that would be lost without one. I have been on both sides, and each has it's perks.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by dubthang

lrfox, you and I have similar backgrounds. We both live (or have lived) in Portland and Mass. I am very familiar with the transit system in MA, but I feel that it is there largely due to Boston. Would the North Shore, South Boston, and RI have such a great rail and bus system if Boston was the size of Portland? I don't know. I do know that western MA does not have the same type of transit system in place.

As for traffic concerns, I am a commercial driver who has driven for several companies (and now Portland Metro) in Portland. I think this is why I see traffic as not favorable in Portland. I did see people working on the traffic lights today so I am hoping that they were working on the timing of the lights. If this is true then several major intersections will be much easier to navigate. There are actually several gridlocking intersections in the city as of right now, Morrill's Corner, Woodford's Corner, and the Preble St and Congress St intersection. There may be more. On the plus side, Portland will be seeing more road construction this year than they have in the last ten due to stimulus funds. The down side of this is even more traffic delays.

As for parking, the City is more strict than ever. They are facing big budget issues. First time affenders are usually given a by while repeaters are being hunted down (this is largely based on which traffic officer is working.) I worked for the City for a little while so I got to see this first hand. Every time I have lived on the peninsula, my vehicle has been hit while it was parked on the street over night. My truck was hit just this past week while it was parked on Congress St. The crime rate doesn't have much to do with damage to parked cars. Most of it comes from the drunks (drivers and walkers,) cell phone users, commercial truckers, high speed car chases (there are quite a few here,) snow plows, etc.

I think the main point here is that everybody is getting two different, but great view points on Portland. Depending on where you live will greatly impact one's decision on having a car. I have friends in and around down town that are fine without cars. I also know people in Greater Portland that would be lost without one. I have been on both sides, and each has it's perks.

Soooo late on the reply here, but I agree with you. Everybody's getting a great POV.

No, you're right... there's no way any of Eastern MA would have the transit system it does if Boston was smaller, but my point was sort of to illustrate that Portland was very small and has a small transit system. There are very few cities Portland's size that aren't part of a larger metro area and are also the largest city in a region (in fact, only 3 states don't have a larger city than Portland, I believe... Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming) so given it's unique situation, as a small city that's not part of a larger metro and IS a primary regional city, it does alright. On a nationwide scale, it's barely mediocre.

Sorry to hear about your car being hit. I've never had a problem with that (on a cross street with Congress, but a quiet one), but I do know people who have had some scratches and dings. Sensor lights could be a great thing for the city. The intersections you mentioned can be annoying at times but I found them to be a slight annoyance at most (though if I had to stop a bus at the tracks at Morrill's it may be a different story) and 2 of them are on Forest Ave which most people do try to avoid. I'm guessing that if you're driving a bus on a set route, it gets frustrating not being able to take a detour that may make a commute a bit easier.

I believe the parking crackdown. It's an unfortunate product of the economy. Porltand was known (and lauded) for it's laxed parking enforcement and the effects that had on helping attract people to downtown businesses on weekends and during the week (there was an article on this in the New Bedford Standard Times comparing the two cities' parking enforcement downtown).

You're point about where you live is key. There are places one can make it work and there are places it would be a disaster.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I believe the parking crackdown. It's an unfortunate product of the economy. Porltand was known (and lauded) for it's laxed parking enforcement and the effects that had on helping attract people to downtown businesses on weekends and during the week (there was an article on this in the New Bedford Standard Times comparing the two cities' parking enforcement downtown).

Not completely unrelated, but I am thinking out loud here.

It seems that the high parking fees/costs to many U.S. downtowns is exactly what makes developers build malls with free parking. Basically another element that often destroys downtowns, but difficult to avoid as well.

Interesting that Porltand is a bit more lax, therefore encourages downtown usage.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Not completely unrelated, but I am thinking out loud here.

It seems that the high parking fees/costs to many U.S. downtowns is exactly what makes developers build malls with free parking. Basically another element that often destroys downtowns, but difficult to avoid as well.

This is EXACTLY the point the article I referred to was making. Strict parking enforcement and steep costs encourage the construction of strip malls and discourage use of downtown areas (therefore discouraging businesses from developing there).

The other reasons those strip malls are built is for the autocentric suburban culture we have here. Unfortunate to say the least. It's less prevalent in the Northeast (in cities like Boston, Providence, NYC, Portland, etc) but it's still here.

There needs to be some balance. Downtown can have advantages over strip malls (environmentally, economically, and aesthetically) but Portland needs to be lauded (and has been as evidenced by the article... ill try and find it) for making this work ESPECIALLY when the mall in the suburbs made it a ghost town for a decade or so.

It's a shame that there's been a crackdown, but hopefully that'll change as the economy improves.