Has the downtown area lost any parking spaces due to recent construction projects or streetscape improvements?

No, the amount of available parking in the downtown has not changed due to any recent construction projects or streetscape improvements.

  • The Main Street construction project did not take away any on-street parking spaces. There were previously 58 parking spaces on Main Street, and there are now 54. Those four parking spaces were recently eliminated from Main Street because they were within an illegal distance from a crosswalk. The new sidewalks and bump-outs did not affect the number of on-street parking spaces.
  • The traffic-calming planters that are placed along Main Street are all placed in no-parking zones and do not take up any parking spaces.
  • During the Green and Yellow Lot reconfiguration, Federal Street was discontinued, but this street did not have any on-street parking available. Additionally, the four on-street parking spaces on Franklin Street that were removed during the project allowed the City to create 27 new free two-hour parking spaces.

Show All Answers

1. What are the highlights of the approved project?
2. How does a parking garage help property taxpayers?
3. How will the garage be paid for? Will residential property tax dollars be used?
4. Will this agreement affect on-street parking?
5. How much will the parking garage cost to build?
6. How were the revenue projections calculated? What happens if the garage doesn't generate as much revenue as expected?
7. What happens if the garage generates more revenue than projected?
8. What will it be like to park in the garage?
9. What happens to the surface lot parking permit program once construction of the garage is complete?
10. Who will handle operations, maintenance and enforcement?
11. Who will pay for management of the garage?
12. How will the Riverwalk expand as part of the project? Why is it included in this project?
13. What happens at the end of the agreement?
14. Who is included in Biddeford RiverWalk Community 1, LLC's project team?
15. Why was the 3 Lincoln Street site selected for this project?
16. Has the downtown area lost any parking spaces due to recent construction projects or streetscape improvements?
17. How will the traffic impacts of a parking garage in this location be addressed?
18. Does the $15,000,000 listed for a parking garage in the TIF agreement determine the amount of money that can be used to fund payments for a parking garage?
19. How did the closure of the Maine Energy Recovery Company impact the City's tax base?
20. What has been the total tax commitment change since the closure of MERC?
21. What does it mean when you say that there is nearly $40 million in new value that will be generated by the garage over time?