LISBON — The town has sidewalks with light poles plunked right in the middle, a waterfront with practically no public access and a crosswalk that leads from a church into a private driveway.

“That’s a no-no,” town planner Amanda Bunker said Tuesday night, referring to what appears to be a misplaced crosswalk near a former church, now an auction house, on the corner of School Street.

About 40 people gathered at the Lisbon Community School to hear Bunker’s presentation on the problems with and possible solutions for the town’s major thoroughfare, Route 196. A steering committee was formed this year to come up with a master plan for the road, which has been described as both the “spine” of the town and “the face of Lisbon.”

In addition to providing a link between Lewiston and the Topsham-Brunswick area, the road traverses three sections of town, beginning with Lisbon Falls at the Topsham line, the center village and the commercial area near the Lewiston line.

Balancing the needs of commuters passing through town, local traffic, pedestrians and access to businesses along the route has become more of a challenge in recent years, although Bunker said the town now has effective ordinances in place to control future development.

“The reality of community and economic development is that the visual character is very important,” she said. “It should be pleasant to drive through as well as a pleasant place to stop.”

Lisbon has quality of place, but you have to look hard to find it, she said, referring to lovely historic homes sometimes next to commercial buildings i6n varying states of disrepair.

“It’s our job to do three things: visualize, prioritize and strategize,” Bunker said.

Focusing on the southern end of town, Bunker said the sidewalks with light poles in the middle are not the only problems for pedestrians. Along some sections of road, there are no sidewalks, or sidewalks on only one side of the road.

Debra Wagner, a substitute teacher, said she sees firsthand the problems students have in walking along the road in areas with no sidewalks.

“I’ve heard it said that sidewalks make the town,” Wagner said. “I see so many people walking along Route 196 where there are no sidewalks. We should have them on both sides of the road, beginning at the town line.”

Longtime resident Dot Fitzgerald offered an explanation for the crosswalk between the church and the driveway: the driveway led to a parking area for people attending church years ago.

The visual character of a town can be improved with new facades on old buildings, Bunker said, pointing to a photo of a NAPA auto parts building in the town of Richmond.

“How do you convince people to fix up the front of their buildings?” Planning Board member Karin Paradis asked.

Bunker said “facade grants” are available to pay for a portion of the upgrade if the property owner is agreeable.

Too many business signs — “sign clutter” — is another problem in parts of the town. Codes enforcement officer Dennis Douglass said about 25 A-frame-shaped changeable letter signs can be seen along the road, and the majority have been there too long or are not even used anymore. He said he planned to visit the businesses and remind them that they need a permit and they can be used only for 90 days.

Dot Fitzgerald noted the town is off to a good start in improving its visual character, referring to the townwide cleanup last Saturday. A citizens group, Positive Change Lisbon, about 80 volunteers, and the town’s public works department spent most of the day cleaning up litter.