The Old Port, Portland’s downtown district, is a common area to many USM students. It consists of many unique stores, coffee shops, live music and bars.
Yes, students agree that it’s a wonderful place. But most do not agree on the best way to get there.
“Forest Avenue, left on Marginal Way, right on Franklin Arterial and you’re there,” said Matt Amoroso, a junior physics major.
Melanie Donnely, a junior media studies major, said, “Forest to Congress and down Center Street.”
“St. John to Commercial Street,” said Amy Gallant, a junior communication major. “There’s less traffic … fewer lights.”
“Cutting up Commercial is tricky,” said senior Justin LaBerge, “Straight up State Street to the entrance of the Casco Bay Bridge and a left onto York Street is the way to go.”
LaBerge did admit that his route towards the Casco Bay Bridge is because of his bias as a South Portland resident.
These students are not exact with their calculations, nor are they monogamous with routes they travel. But certainly answers are to be found and this reporter has accepted the challenge.
From here forward, this article can be considered the results of an experiment performed in the same vigorous manner as ones that many students here study in their college courses. College courses that have dared to overlook the important question put forth in this article.
In an attempt to find the most accurate readings in this artificial setting, I have sectioned off a two-block area in the Old Port that will serve as the final destination point. The area’s boundaries are made up of Commercial Street, Fore Street, Moulton Street, and Union Street. This two-block area has been created with the underlying assumption that drivers will start looking for parking spots within two blocks of their destination.
The starting point will be Woodbury Campus Center. However, a different starting spot somewhat close to campus should not vary the results.
I will discuss each route’s results in order of the time they took from longest to shortest. Please note, as many would agree, that the quickest way is not always the best. Other factors will be considered and the reader should ultimately decide the preferable route.
A special forces team consisting of myself, a borrowed watch and my green van gathered the results.
First, we will look at the route of St. John to Commercial Street. In order to get to St. John Street we headed up Bedford Street to the six-way intersection in front of campus. After what was somewhat of a long wait, a left turn onto Falmouth Street, and a left at the stop sign, we were safely on St. John Street. After two time-consuming traffic lights it was smooth sailing around the outskirts of the city and into the Old Port. This route clocked in with the longest time at over 10 minutes and the longest distance at 3.15 miles. However, it has the fewest lights of all the routes studied.
Most impressively though, it offers a 2.25 mile stretch with no traffic lights between Congress Street and the final destination. This is a rarity living in the city and a breath of fresh air for a country boy like myself.
The Forest Avenue to Congress Street approach resulted in a time close to nine minutes. It was, though, the shortest distance out of all the routes at 1.4 miles. This route can be frustrating with the many traffic lights and pedestrians. There are six lights on Congress Street alone. Unless your trunk is bumpin’ with bass or you’re window-shopping this may not be the way to go.
It should be recognized that after 11 p.m. the lights on Congress Street all turn to yellow. This would undoubtedly diminish the overall time. This reporter, however, is rarely in any condition to drive at that time of night and thus the late night results were not found.
Our third route is up State Street, a left on to Danforth Street, which turns to York Street, and straight into the Old Port. The time was found to be seven minutes. This is a quick way but one downfall is the ride is through heavy two-lane traffic for a majority of the way. This can be especially difficult for drivers such as I who have neglected to fix a broken rearview mirror. One other minor problem is the pesky pedestrians looking to jump across the road in the Congress Street area. Don’t let them suck you in with their puppy dog eyes. They can wait. You’ve got to get to the Old Port. The distance recorded for this route was 1.8 miles.
The final route, Forest Avenue, to Marginal Way, and up Franklin Arterial, was found to be the most convenient. There is only one long wait at the intersection between Forest Avenue and Marginal Way but time is made up for with a right on red onto Franklin Arterial and a fast moving two-lane path with little traffic from then on. After two quick lights on Cumberland Avenue and Congress Street, we pulled into the Old Port at a smooth six minutes and 30 seconds. There were literally no pedestrians and little traffic to slow us down. For this reason I would recommend this route when heading to the Old Port after classes.
Some critics may argue that these results were varied by the “luck of the lights” and the time of day. Some may say I made it all up in my head, but this reporter can assure you the results are accurate. It is now up to the reader to put these facts to use and may those dry trips of the past be somewhat better in the future.