WATERVILLE — City officials plan to form a mobility working group to address pedestrian safety, traffic calming and transportation issues.
Waterville City Manager Nick Cloutier presented a written plan at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, building on earlier discussions about council priorities.
Cloutier said working groups offer several advantages, including agility because they can launch quickly without formal ordinances or appointments. He also cited improved focus, transparency, balanced staff workload and stronger community engagement.
Councilors Spencer Krigbaum, D-Ward 5, and Rebecca Green, D-Ward 4, applauded Cloutier’s organization and said the structure should help the council meet the goals it set earlier this year. The city also plans to form a separate working group focused on housing stability and homeownership.
The proposed group would include the city manager or a designee; the mayor; one or two city councilors; representatives from the Public Works Department, the Police Department and the Board of Education; one to three representatives from Colby College, Thomas College or Kennebec Valley Community College; a Kennebec Valley Community Action Program representative; a Capital Area New Mainers Project representative; and two to four residents. Green said residents who have already expressed interest should receive priority for membership.
The proposed deliverables include a pedestrian safety priority map, a tool kit for traffic calming with pilot recommendations, a downtown mobility implementation plan, citywide mobility and parking concepts, and progress updates aligned with council goal reporting.
According to the plan, the committee’s work would include identifying the top 10 pedestrian hotspots using crash data, community input and staff observations; recommending two or three pilot projects that use traffic calming in priority corridors; aligning mobility priorities with the fiscal 2027 budget; coordinating with federal grant funding already secured for downtown pedestrian improvements; and beginning to draft a citywide mobility framework for walking, biking, transit and parking.
Several residents urged the council to act, saying they feel unsafe in their neighborhoods.
“The vehicles are going by so fast they move you,” Lauren Ross, who lives in Ward 4, said. “I wish we could legislate respect and kindness and reverence for people’s homes, but we can’t.”
