Transportation
Through an annual contract with the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT), LCRPC works closely with MDOT staff to provide input on their 3-year Work Plan, offer technical assistance to municipalities, including participation with town public safety and cycling committees, prepare traffic corridor studies, preparing grants, and add capacity to towns while they are in the process of writing the transportation chapter for their comprehensive plan.
Our full list of Planning Documents can be found here
Thriving Communities
On April 15, 2024, former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the second round of Thriving Communities funding. This program aims to support communities with three years of planning, technical assistance, and capacity building to create transformative infrastructure projects. Selected communities are grouped into four "Communities of Practice." Midcoast is listed under" Main Streets" since this project will focus on small-town communities, interconnected transportation, and economic development. To read more about the types of Thriving Community Grants, click here.
Midcoast Council of Governance will act as the project's lead organization, and Lincoln County Regional Planning, Waldo Community Action Partners, and Midcoast Public Transportation will be Community Partners. Midcoast Maine is a diverse region with many transportation challenges, including peninsulas, crossways, rural connectors, islands, and aging bridges. Thriving Communities will result in a comprehensive transportation plan and investment strategy for the Midcoast Region.
During this round of funding, Thriving Communities will support 52 communities across 35 states over the next three years. Almost half of all communities awarded are rural and have never been awarded DOT grants in the past.
Examples of past work:
MaineDOT
Future Work
Each year, MDOT publishes a three-year work plan outlining upcoming projects statewide. You can access the full plan here or explore the interactive viewer, which allows you to select by town.
MaineDOT Resources:
Planning Partnership Initiative
Business Partnership Initiative
Municipal Partnership Initiative
Alternative Transportation
Go Maine
Go Maine is the statewide travel resource program. By using the app, you can be matched up carpoolers. The program will reward members for doing any sort of green commute, like carpooling, vanpooling, walking, biking, or teleworking. The rewards range from local and online to national retailers.
Biking in Lincoln County
Maine Bicycle Coalition has an interactive map showing routes across the county. They also strive to improve bike safety and collaborate with legislators to enact bike safety laws. Their strategic plan can be found here.
Check out MDOT's Bike Safety Guidelines
Find our list of Bike-Pedestrian Planning documents here
Corridor Management Plans
Route 129, 130, and 27
Lincoln County Regional Planning has completed a Corridor Management Plan for Routes 129 and 130 in Damariscotta, Bristol, and South Bristol. The data collection and analysis, public meetings, and developing recommendations will take place from December 2017 to spring 2018. Results of this study can be found here.
Three highways in Lincoln County are classified by MDOT as “Corridors of Regional Economic Significance” (CRES). They are Route 1, Route 27 and route 32 between Routes 1 and 17. The Midcoast Route 32 Corridor Management Plan was completed in 2010 and the Route 27 Corridor Management Plan was completed in 2011, and the Route 1 Corridor Management Plan in 2014.
Bath Road Management Plan
The Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission, in cooperation with the Maine Department of Transportation and the Town of Wiscasset, have developed a Bath Road Master Plan that seeks to coordinate traffic infrastructure improvements, land use policies, and design standards of US Route 1. Instead of parcel by parcel development, the report seeks to encourage an overall vision when considering development along Bath Road. You can read the final report here.