MAINE PUBLIC • September 9, 2026
The city Portland has a new draft plan for redesigning Franklin Street, a major corridor that connects Interstate 295 with downtown. The plan calls for the removal of the large, grassy median that divides four lanes of traffic. Kevin Kraft, the city's planning and urban development director, said that will open more space for sidewalks, bike lanes and some on-street parking. "We've reduced the road widths, reduced the lane widths down to the most acceptable levels and shortened intersection crossings significantly," Kraft said. The goal is to create more of an urban street, rather than a highway. "A place where you actually feel comfortable walking and crossing the street, a place where you don't have to dart across hundreds of feet of travel lanes like you do today — at unsignalized intersections."