Introduction

The Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) is studying the need for and benefits of providing fast, reliable, and frequent transit service connecting Gorham, Westbrook, and Portland’s major transportation and/or activity centers. Your input will help us select corridors to explore further as we consider where rapid transit would best serve these communities.  
 
What is rapid transit?
“Rapid transit” for our study means public transportation that provides direct and frequent service with limited stops so the transit experience is ‘competitive’ time-wise with a car. 

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Infographic showing a bus in a bus lane arriving at a station where passengers wait. The features labeled in the graphic are enhanced fare collection, branding, transit signal priority, high-capacity vehicles, dedicated running ways, and enhanced stations.
Why are we studying rapid transit?
We have set ambitious regional transportation goals: a 70% reduction in transportation greenhouse gases by 2045; complete streets policies that support people biking, walking, and taking transit; and housing policies that tie growth to a transportation network with options that serve all modes.

Rapid transit is part of achieving these goals. Fast and frequent service is a car-free competitive transportation option. We identified several rapid transit corridors in our Transit Tomorrow plan, and the Gorham-Westbrook-Portland corridor was selected as the first for further study.

What are we considering now?
Last fall, we spoke with you about why you would or would not use rapid transit, where you thought it would best serve the region, and what the most important goals were for rapid transit.

Now we are exploring how different rapid transit alignments would meet those project goals. We have studied dozens of road and rail options to see how well they would work for rapid transit. The most promising options are here for your input. We will use this input to develop draft recommendations which we will present to you later this spring.

We will consider route options with the following project goals in mind: 

  • Support Sustainable Growth
  • Enhance Connectivity
  • Provide New Opportunities

Let’s look at some of these potential routes! First, tell us a bit about yourself:

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* Where do you live? (check one)

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* Where would you be most likely to travel to and from using rapid transit in Gorham, Westbrook, or Portland?

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