Portland committee hears sustainability, Vision 0 and Complete Streets progress

Regina Phillips, chair of the Sustainability and Transportation Committee, opened the meeting and asked city staff to brief members on sustainability and transportation work.

Troy Moon, the city’s Director of Sustainability, said the council recently accepted a $10,000 grant from the Casco Bay Esri Partnership to develop a hands-on land-care workshop for island residents and others in the Casco Bay community. “We’ll be developing a how-to hands-on workshop that will be hosted on Great Diamond Island,” Moon said, adding staff will also host webinars and DIY weatherization events this spring that will be recorded for the public.

Greg Jordan, Assistant City Manager, gave an update on the Vision 0 action plan, saying consultant selection is nearly complete and the FY27 capital-improvement program consolidates ADA upgrades, arterial crossing improvements and traffic-calming projects into a broader Vision 0 project. Jordan called out a $2,100,000 USDOT Safe Streets for All grant that will fund temporary demonstration improvements on the Brighton Avenue corridor. “That will help us implement some temporary improvements…that will be evaluated as a demonstration project,” Jordan said.

Jeremiah Bartlett and Nel Donaton presented the inaugural Complete Streets annual report. The report lists more than $10.7 million in construction projects with complete-streets elements in 2025 and documents over a mile of new bike lanes, new and upgraded sidewalks, new crosswalks and pedestrian-scale lighting in multiple neighborhoods. Donaton noted safety metrics that staff said show 29 serious injuries and five fatalities on city roadways in 2025, four of which involved pedestrians, and emphasized targeting improvements on the city’s high-injury network.

Council members asked about details such as walk-signal timing, whether speed studies could be requested from MaineDOT, and how pedestrian improvements would be prioritized in underserved neighborhoods. Jordan and Bartlett said staff will continue coordinating with public works, police and Metro to scope projects and pursue additional funding. Jordan also said a city lighting study and a policy review of red-light cameras are on the committee’s work plan for further discussion.

The committee did not take formal action on these reports; staff said they will return with additional information and proposed next steps in upcoming meetings.