Improvements will be made along the Riverwalk thanks to a bond issue approved by voters Tuesday.
By Scott Taylor
Staff Writer

AUBURN – Voters helped make Auburn’s downtown more walkable Tuesday, according to a state official.

State money to help pay for an underpass connecting the Riverwalk and Festival Plaza with West Pitch Park and the Hilton Garden Inn was included in a $63.5 million transportation bond voters approved on Election Day.

“That underpass will be a big part of making Auburn more walkable,” said state Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator John Balicki. “People will walk more, use the path along the river more, if they don’t have to cross a busy street like they do now.”

Balicki was in Auburn Thursday taking part in an Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments planning day at the new Hilton Garden Inn.

More than 37 representatives from communities in Androscoggin County and beyond attended the daylong session. The 16th annual session presented by AVCOG was designed to help keep smaller municipalities current with the latest trends in government, technology and land-use planning.

Topics included changes in land-use laws, junkyard statutes, economic development policies and growth limits, among other things.

Balicki talked about creating vital downtowns and walkable communities, and then co-hosted a 1.3-mile walk around the city’s downtown with Auburn Assistant City Manager Mark Adams. The two led a small group along the Androscoggin River, from the Hilton’s backyard to Bonney Park and back.

Along the way, Adams and Balicki pointed out the features of the city’s downtown, from Festival Plaza and the Riverwalk to the work on Auburn Hall.

They are all steps in the right direction, Balicki said. One way for cities and towns to encourage walking spaces is to group business, culture and municipal services in one area. That’s what Auburn is trying to do.

“They have the beginnings of a very pleasant experience down here,” Balicki said. “Anytime a community can bring the people, the businesses and their services together it makes for a more vital downtown.”

But walkable downtowns have to provide safe places to walk. Currently, pedestrians have to negotiate Court Street to continue walking along the Androscoggin River. The $400,000 underpass would fix that.

“I think you’ll see many more people using this path once they can continue uninterrupted,” Balicki said.

The state’s $80,000 and a matching $80,000 from the city will free up $240,000 in federal grants, Balicki said. Work on the project could begin next summer, Adams said.

staylor@sunjournal.com

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