Tool Design outlines road diets, protected bike lanes and phased 'quick‑build' tests for Lisbon, Main and Canal corridors

Consultants from Tool Design presented the Lewiston safety and mobility study on July 27, proposing a mix of short‑term demonstration 'quick builds' and longer‑term full builds across the city's primary corridors. Lucy Gibson, principal traffic engineer with Tool Design, described crash heat‑maps and public engagement results and said the study is recommending road-diet conversions, protected bike lanes and intersection reconfigurations to reduce speeds and improve pedestrian safety.

Gibson summarized a demonstration project's speed data: "So before the, before the demonstration project went in, about 48% of the people were observing the speed limit and a little more than 0.5 speeding. Afterwards, 85% of the drivers were driving within the speed limit and only 15% speeding," a change consultants said reinforces the safety benefit of on‑street treatments. The presentation covered corridor-specific schemes — Canal Street continuation of a demonstration project and reconstruction concepts, Lisbon Street alternatives (curbside protected lanes or a two‑way path), and Main/Sabata intersection reconfigurations including signal phasing and potential slip‑lane removals.

Tool Design also described implementation options tied to MaineDOT paving cycles, recommended starting near downtown and advancing outward, and noted public feedback from more than 400 survey responses. Consultants offered high‑level planning costs for full reconstructions; one slide listed planning‑level figures for segments (illustrative, not engineered estimates). The board asked for clearer phasing priorities and coordination with freight stakeholders and MaineDOT; staff said they will pursue additional modeling and prioritize segments with the highest crash counts for short‑term demonstration projects.