The Advisory Committee for Wiscasset’s Downtown Project got its first look at a modified plan that includes a delivery drop-off area on Main Street. State staff have talked previously about working out a way for businesses to receive deliveries when parking ends on Main Street between Middle and Water streets.

Ernie Martin, project manager overseeing the Maine Department of Transportation’s $5 million project, reviewed a number of changes Monday night in the municipal building’s hearing room.

Also on hand were two highway engineers from VHB of Bedford, New Hampshire. Ethan Flynn and Chris Bobay. MDOT has hired VHB to assist with the project.

Martin saId the delivery area came in response to concerns from downtown merchants. MDOT will remove some of the planned landscaping to provide temporary parking on the north side of Main Street for truck deliveries. The bollards preventing jaywalking would also be removed on this side of the street. “The parking area could also be used for drivers to drop off or pick up passengers,” he added.

Other changes included letting Route One motorists coming from the bridge turn left onto Water Street. The street would be one-way as far down as the planned parking lot where the Haggett Garage building is located. From that point, the street would be two-way to Fore Street. One parking space would be lost in front of Sarah’s Café.

After the Haggett building is removed, the lot would be leveled off and a five-foot retaining wall erected along the rear property line, Martin said. MDOT plans to add more greenery here.

A few changes were made on the other side of Water Street. Martin said the sidewalk in front of Red’s Eats would be widened but in doing so, five parking spaces would be lost.

“The customer line for Red’s would be moved from where it is now along the side of Main Street to Water Street,” he said.

 Martin said changes were also planned to the parking area at the north end of Railroad Avenue. Parking spaces there would be diagonal and a 12- to 14-foot retaining wall constructed at the rear of the lot. The changes would increase the number of parking spaces from 23 to 30 or more.

Railroad Avenue would be paved and a sidewalk added. Martin said it would be one-way with motorists directed to Water and Lincoln streets. MDOT is also looking into possibly removing the railroad siding.

“Every time we move or change something there is always a pro or con to it,” he told the committee.

Bobay showed a computer model with the planned changes indicating what the downtown traffic flow might look like. The model included the impact of the new traffic signal at the junction of routes One and 27. The downtown project will have traffic lights at Middle and Water streets.

Left turn arrow lights are not planned, Bobay said.

“During the tourist season, there will still be some traffic backups,” he continued, but added the line of traffic will be reduced to about a quarter of a mile at both ends. The wait for motorists coming from Edgecomb will be about eight minutes, according to the computer model.

Bobay said allowing the Water Street left turn from the bridge would increase traffic on Middle Street to as many as 125 vehicles a day during summer. The change was added in part to allow motorists trailerng boats easier access to the waterfront.

EMS Director Toby Martin was concerned about the north side of Water Street remaining open to two-way traffic. “With parking on both sides, there’s not going to be room for emergency vehicles, tour buses or large trucks,” he said. “Why don’t you just make it one-way?”

Selectman David Cherry said what concerned him most was re-routing traffic to Middle Street. “I don’t see where allowing a left turn onto Water from the southbound lane of Main will in any way help. It will add a great deal more traffic onto Middle Street which is a residential neighborhood. Your models are a good starting point but my issue is that cars shown on the computer don’t behave the way people drive,” Cherry said.

“You made reference to the Haggett parking lot which as yet does not exist,” Seaver Leslie said. “There are four tenants there now in that building that want to stay.” Leslie recommended MDOT conduct an economic impact study. “The businesses there are very important to the town of Wiscasset’s tax base,” he said. “There are a lot of ways we can approach this more slowly. We should be looking at this in keeping with the Sensible Transportation Act.”

MDOT should also be looking at retaining some parking on Main Street, Leslie said.

Martin said Main Street parking between Water and Middle streets is “gone” under MDOT’s planning. He asked the committee to write down pros and cons of the modified downtown plan. “Next time we’ll take a look at the project as it was originally proposed and make a comparison,” he said. He also asked the committee to indicate where it wants handicapped parking spaces.

The next meeting will be Monday, Feb. 6 at 5 p.m. in the hearing room.