Advocating for the Bayside Neighborhood in Portland, Maine
Category: Safe Streets
The Safe Streets Team focuses on public safety, walkability, infrastructure improvements, and crime prevention to make Bayside safer and more livable for all residents. The team works to address the reality that Bayside accounts for a disproportionate percentage of Portland police calls for service, while also advocating for improvements to infrastructure, lighting, crosswalks, and pedestrian-friendly street design. By monitoring crime statistics, engaging with Portland Police’s Midtown Community Policing team, and bringing community concerns to city officials, the team seeks to create streets where children can walk to school safely, neighbors feel comfortable greeting each other, and all residents can move through the neighborhood confidently.
Thanks to John Van Hoewyk for stepping up to the lead role in the BNA’s Safe Streets Team. John is a longtime Bayside resident and supporter of the Bayside Neighborhood Association.
John will be facilitating an exploratory meeting along with Jennifer Rogers of Midtown Community Policing and other neighborhood leaders to reconvene the team next week. Please contact safestreets@baysideportland.org if you’d like to join us. Details below.
Wednesday, January 14th, 1pm
in the Steve Hirshon Community Room at Unity Village, 24 Stone Street Portland
Everyone is welcome to attend and encouraged to speak their mind. We want to hear your struggles, your ideas, and your hopes for the future of Bayside. For more information reach out to safestreets@baysideportland.org
Here’s a news spot about the formation of the team last year:
Here’s a report put together for the original safe streets team by Deborah Van Hoewyk:
The Bayside Neighborhood Association convened two sessions of the Community Voices for Road Safety Pedestrian Safety Campaign, with 10 participants attending each session. This initiative, part of the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety’s new pedestrian-focused safety effort in Portland, Lewiston, and Auburn, brought Portland residents directly into the creative process of shaping public safety messaging. Rather than using a traditional top-down approach, the campaign asked community members—many of whom walk daily as their primary mode of transportation—to help guide the message drivers and walkers need to hear, determine the creative look of the campaign, and identify where these messages would be most effective.
The sessions, each lasting 90 minutes, were designed to address the rising pedestrian injuries and fatalities in Portland by centering the voices of those most affected. Participants received $50 compensation for their time, and snacks and beverages were provided. Jeff Larason, Highway Safety Communications Program Director for Community Voices campaign moderated the program. The neighborhood-authored campaign that emerges from these focus groups is set to roll out in Spring 2026.
Pedestrian injuries and fatalities are rising nationwide — especially in urban communities where many people walk out of necessity. We need your input to change that, and you could get $50 for your time.
As part of their “Community Voices” approach, The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety is partnering with The Bayside Neighborhood Association to host a community discussion to learn from residents about the risks they see, the behaviors they witness, and the educational solutions they believe will work. These insights will directly inform the campaign’s content and outreach. Two focus groups are scheduled for Monday December 15th and Tuesday December 16th. Both groups will meet at 6pm in the Steve Hirshon Community Room at Unity Village, 24 Stone Street Portland. Please indicate your availability for either date below.
Participants are compensated with a $50 stipend. Applications to attend the focus group are being accepted by the BNA through December 12th. If interested please click here: https://forms.gle/V5nNSyVMYykP2eHk9
The Harvard Kennedy School of Government is calling all Baysiders to participate in a forum to discuss the impacts of climate change and attendant severe weather events in our community. We want to hear from you, and hope you’ll take time to gather with your neighbors to share our thoughts, concerns, and ideas on how to move forward together.
Please share and post this flyer widely. Here are translated flyers for speakers of other languages:
“Join us for an interactive, in-person community engagement session focused on stormwater, flooding, and climate impacts in Bayside. Over about 90 minutes, residents will work together around a large neighborhood map to identify valued community features, share past experiences with flooding using simple color markers and optional notes, and highlight what kinds of resources or support they have used, or might need, in future events. It’s an opportunity for residents to share their own experiences and contribute to supporting the future of Bayside.”
The City of Portland is updating its Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) to improve how we prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.
Your insight is invaluable. We would like to hear your experiences and ideas to make sure this plan truly reflects the needs of our diverse communities. Your input will help us build a plan that is inclusive, effective, and ready for anything.
We’re asking residents to share their ideas and concerns through a survey and an idea board on the website, which are open now through November 30, 2025.
The BNA Safe Streets Team is involved with everything concerning pedestrian and bicycle safety, including but not limited to advocating for improved lighting, signage, and streetscape design, collaborating with Midtown Community Policing on crime prevention and enforcement, safe routes to school, and helping first responders in emergency planning efforts like this. We can do more when we raise our voices together. For more information on how you can help contact safestreets@baysideportland.org
The Portland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee held an Audit of Park Avenue and Portland Street, between St. John Street and Hanover Street , on Sunday, May 18th at 10 AM. Members of the committee led by Winston Lumpkins, representatives from several neighborhood associations, and interested citizens were joined by city councillors Sarah Michneiwicz, Wesley Pelletier and Pious Ali, meeting in Deering Oaks Park at the base of Mellen Street to make a loop, experiencing the parking-separated bike lanes on both sides of Park Ave before crossing Forest Ave into Bayside, where bike lanes transition to the traffic-side on Portland Street.
The Portland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee aims to gather community feedback via this audit to help inform the city about what had worked—and what had not worked—about the Park Ave lanes, thereby informing the design of future roadways and any potential redesigns on Park Ave. Design work on a future plan for Forest Ave is underway, and parking-separated bike lanes are under consideration for that design.
Lots going on in Bayside, and the BNA teams are rising to meet the moment. If you want to join a team, just send an email to any of the groups below, and a team lead will get back to you asap. If you have an idea for a team and want to get it started, we want to hear from you. Let’s do it!
Safe Streets Team Public Safety, Walkability, Infrastructure, Crime prevention
Student Group liason to Baxter Academy and Portland High School
Tech Team Website, Workspace, Social Media, Calendar, Newsletter, etc.
Tenants’ Team Renters’ perspectives are at the forefront of this team’s activity.
Tree Team overseeing planting and maintenance, trails and green spaces
The Tech Team is working on better communication pathways for the general membership, including mailchimp, which will allow us to send targeted email news and allow subscribers to tailor how they receive updates from various teams. We’re also now using google workspace to organize teams into google groups that can share files, calendar events, to-do lists, plus follow and archive conversations by topic within each team and between teams. Setting up the groups in a way that is simple to use but powerful enough to keep track of team tasks and communications, calendar events, shared files and important links has proven to be a challenge, but worthwhile. If you have experience and/or interest in admin tools please consider joining the tech team and helping us out.
Recent News
December’s Safe Streets Meeting was met with a strong response from the community and from the media. Troy Bennett from Bangor Daily News was in attendance and wrote this article about the effort and subsequently WCSH6 Newscenter Maine picked up the story as did WGME CBS13 shown below. The next Safe Streets Team meeting will be Tuesday, February 25th, 6:00pm in the Steve Hirshon Community Room at Unity Village, 24 Stone Street, Portland.
If you missed last month’s BNA Board meeting on zoom, you can view a recording of it here: BNA Board Meeting January 7 2025 See below for details on the next board meeting.
Upcoming Events
Saturday January 25, 11am BNA Citizens’ Trash Brigade Parris Street Block Walk
UPDATE: With the recent snowfall we’re pivoting to salt & sand for sidewalks on Parris Street, which has several spots that need attention. We’ll provide buckets of sand & salt from the city lot, shovels and a few ice choppers. If you have an ice chopper please bring it! We’ll warm up afterward at Wilson BBQ.
OP: We’re coming together for a short pickup party targeting Preble Street in particular, focusing on bits and butts that get overlooked during the Spring & Fall cleanup, and also to get eyes on the street to take stock of the pedestrian experience, flag infrastructure concerns, and to get to know each other. Afterward we’re planning to gather at Wilson BBQ to warm up, wind down, and plan for next month’s block walk. We’ll meet at 72 Parris Street and walk together. Trash bags and gloves provided.
Monday January 27, 6:00pm Portland Music Hall Presentation Composing Room @ Press Hotel 119 Exchange St, Portland, ME
The BNA Development Developments Team invites Baysiders to attend a public presentation by Portland Performance Ventures, LLC on their proposal for a 3,300-seat Live Nation music venue at the site of the old Press Herald printing press building across Myrtle Street from the Merrill Auditorium in Bayside. More information on the project is available on the city of portland website here: https://selfservice.portlandmaine.gov/
Wednesday January 29, 8:30am Bayside Business Breakfast Club Isa Bistro, 79 Portland St. Portland, ME
The Bayside Neighborhood Association is starting 2025 with a renewed commitment to connecting with diverse stakeholders and providing opportunities for community members to come together in pursuit of shared goals. To that end, we’re excited to present the first of what will be monthly events specifically for Bayside business owners to meet in an informal setting to meet, chat, and plan a better future for all Baysiders.
Mission Statement: “The Bayside Neighborhood Association (BNA) empowers the Bayside community by building meaningful partnerships that promote health, safety, green spaces, diversity, housing, and sustainable development for all who live, work, and play in this unique urban neighborhood.”
We need your help! Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the BNA, a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Contact Jim Hall, treasurer for more information at jim@baysideportland.org
in the Steve Hirshon Community Room at Unity Village, 24 Stone Street Portland
Please help us help our neighbors who have recently experienced violent assaults in our cherished community. We’re committed to making sure all our residents, visitors, and workers feel safe walking the streets of Bayside at any hour. It is vitally important to raise our voices together against violence of any kind. We’ll be joined by Jennifer Rogers of Midtown Community Policing who will talk us through the current situation on the street, the history of violent crime in the city, and the responses and solutions at hand. Everyone is welcome to attend and encouraged to speak their mind. We want to hear your struggles, your ideas, and your hopes for the future of Bayside. For more information reach out to info@baysideportland.org
Thanks for being part of the solution!
Here’s a report put together by Safe Streets Team board liaison Deborah Van Hoewyk:
