Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/06/2006, BAS 2 - CALTRANS SOUTH STREET FOCUS GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS council June 6,2006 j ac,Enaa uEpoRt CITY O F SAN LU I S O B I S P O FROM: Jay Walter, Director of Public Works Prepared By: Tim Bochum, Deputy Director of Public Works SUBJECT: CALTRANS SOUTH STREET FOCUS GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS CAO RECOMMENDATION 1. Support the South Street Focus Group(focus group)recommendations to Caltrans regarding improvements to the South Street corridor. 2. Support in concept the focus group recommendation to Caltrans that when South Street (Hwy. 227) is repaved, the roadway be reconfigured as a three-lane roadway with raised islands, turn pockets, sidewalks, bike lanes and increased on-street parking, the Road Diet. 3. Direct staff to work with Caltrans on specifics of the design and location of project details (i.e. turn pockets, raised islands, etc.) during the preparation of construction drawings for the Road Diet project.. 4. Authorize the use of up to $5,000 from the City's annual Traffic Safety money to improve street lighting and conduct a Halloween Traffic Safety campaign. DISCUSSION Background In response to an accident on Halloween night that claimed the life of a child, Caltrans and the City hosted a town hall meeting in January to receive input from the community about safety issues on South Street. As a result of the meeting, a focus group was created to develop recommendations for Caltrans and the City to consider for enhancement of safety for pedestrians and bicycles that travel along the length of the corridor from Broad Street to South Higuera Street. The focus group was facilitated by Caltrans and was comprised of 11 community members and included participation from the City Police and Public Works Departments. The focus group included neighborhood residents, the principal of Hawthorne Elementary, the Bicycle Coalition, a visually impaired citizen and other stakeholders with specific interest in finding a solution. On February 15th, the first focus group meeting was held to discuss the South Street corridor and potential safety improvements. The initial meeting focused on determining the project area, understanding project limitations and objectives, and establishing outcome goals and terminologies. a� � South Street Focus Group Recommendation Page 2 At the next two meetings, held on March 1 and March 22, the focus group discussed what traffic control changes did not meet State guidelines and what alternatives might be allowable. On April 12, the fourth and final focus group meeting was held and the recommendation was made to reduce the number of travel lanes on South Street from four to two. A public meeting to inform the community of the focus group recommendations was held on May 11. South Street is designated as State Highway 227 and is under the jurisdiction of Caltrans. Therefore, the City has an advisory role in making decisions regarding traffic control changes along the corridor. Knowing the sensitive nature of this issue to the community, Caltrans has requested that the Council review the Focus Group recommendations and indicate its support for the recommended changes prior to implementation. Focus Group Recommendations The Focus Group compiled a package of recommendations that fall into short,medium and long- term improvements. The following table lists the recommendations, whether they have been completed or not, and whether City staff supports the recommended strategy. Attachment 1 contains a full detail of the Focus Group recommendations. Short Term Recommendation Completed? City Staff Support 1. Install warning signs and flashing beacons at Yes Yes entrances to the South Street corridor. 2. Improve intersection of Lawton at South by Yes 'Yes removing turn conflicts. 3. Widen South Street from Bee Bee to Higuera Under Yes to improve bicycle,pedestrian and turn Construction movements. 4. Trim Street vegetation to improve sight Summer Yes distance. 2006 5. Review corridor lighting and improve lighting Summer Yes, needs appropriation for as appropriate. 2006 Traffic Safety monies $4,500 6. City should conduct a Halloween Traffic October Yes, needs appropriation for Safety Campaign to raise awareness of 2006 Traffic Safety monies ($500) pedestrian safety issues 7. Additional Law Enforcement on corridor Ongoing Yes 8. Use speed"feedback" devices if available for Future Yes, if current grant submitted driver information. to OTS is approved. o� South Street Focus Group Recommendation Page 3 Medium Term Recommendation Completed? Staff Support 1. As part of the 2007 overlay project, No Yes, in concept, and if reconfigure South Street to 2 through lanes, a financially feasible center turn lane with medians,bike lanes and increased parking(Road Diet). 2. Extend Prado Road between Higuera and Under Yes. Project is under design Broad Street as soon as possible. Design by Margarita Area developers. 3. City should work with Caltrans to relinquish Underway Yes. In concept if financially jurisdiction of South Street to City control to viable. allow greater control and flexibility in traffic control. Long Term Recommendation Completed? Staff Support 1. After Road Diet is complete monitor corridor No Yes,will be part of City to determine if additional traffic control is Annual Traffic Safety Report. needed. 2. Monitor Adjacent street corridors (High, No Yes. City will perform before Exposition, Woodbridge, Branch and and after studies and Sandercock) to determine if Road Diet has recommend traffic calming if diverted traffic. needed. 3. City should work with Caltrans to relinquish Underway Yes, in concept, and if jurisdiction of South Street to City control to financially feasible. allow greater control and flexibility in traffic control. Street Lighting and Halloween Safety Campaign The Focus Group recommended improving street lighting along the South Street corridor. Existing street lights have been installed by adjacent development over many years. Currently, the lighting levels meet City standards but could be improved at certain locations to increase lighting of area sidewalks and travel.areas.. The roadway does not meet State warrants for Safety Lighting improvements so any lighting upgrade will need to be identified and paid for by the City. Staff is requesting that Council authorize up to $4,500 of the Annual Traffic Safety account ($15,000 annually) to review and improve lighting in the corridor. If approved, a review will be conducted in early summer 2006 and improvements implemented thereafter. The Focus Group also recommended the City conduct a Halloween Traffic Safety campaign in 2006 to raise awareness of pedestrian traffic safety issues associated with night time pedestrian a ^3 I South Street Focus Group Recommendation Page 4 and vehicle issues. Staff concurs with this recommendation and recommends Council authorize up to $500 of Traffic Safety Account monies to be used for this purpose. South Street Reconfiguration (Road Diet) The most significant recommendation coming from the Group (and supported by Caltrans and City Staff) is the concept of a"road diet", reducing the number of travel lanes along South Street from four travel lanes to two travel lanes and a center turn lane. This traffic operation strategy reallocates the existing paved area and has been used by the City of San Luis Obispo and other jurisdictions to improve traffic safety and lower travel speeds along certain street corridors. Attachment 2 is a conceptual design of what a Road Diet along South Street could look like. (Important Note: This diagram is conceptual only and will need detailed revisions by the City and Caltrans to determine median locations, right turn lane needs, etc.) A larger copy of the diagram is included in the Council reading file as well as on the City web page at www.slocity.ore. Attachment 3 is a copy of a recent publication of reviews of other successful road diets implemented by other jurisdictions.. 11' 11' 11'31.11 11' S' 11' 12' 11' S' I I I I 1 1 1 I I 1 l I 1 1 1 I 1 1 I I I YYYY 1 Y �I I I 1 I I 1 1 I 1 1 ) 1 I 1 ! I 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 I Bef=Conversion to Road Diet After Conversion to Road Diet Figure 1. Example of A Road Diet This is not a new concept for the City. We have used the concept of reducing travel lanes to improve conditions along Pismo (Broad to Higuera) and on Johnson (Laurel to Orcutt) to improve turning movements and slow traffic. The Focus Group and Caltrans felt very strongly this was the most appropriate way to address the high speeds of traffic along the corridor without significantly effecting corridor operations. a - � South Street Focus Group Recommendation Page 5 r Vf MS p s Figure 2 Johnson Ave. Four Lanes Figure 3.Johnson Ave Road Diet—3 Lanes City staff modeled the effects of the Road Diet concept and determined that the overall effect to corridor operations. A traffic simulation was presented to the Focus Group and the community meeting to show how the changes do not overly impact the street corridor. This simulation will be presented at the Council meeting. A significant reason why the Road Diet concept is feasible at this time is the upcoming completion of the Prado Road Extension from Higuera to Broad. This project is currently under design by the developers of the Margarita Area and it is anticipated that the extension will begin in the next 3-4 years. Once complete, staff estimates that a minimum of one third the traffic currently using South Street could be diverted to Prado Road because of the better connection from the Orcutt and Tank Farm areas to HWY 101. Even without this connection, all analysis conducted by Caltrans and the City indicate the Road Diet will not significantly affect the South Street corridor. Staff recommends that Council support in concept the reconfiguration of South Street from four to three lanes and request Caltrans include the changes as part of the major roadway overlay project anticipated for 2007. Staff and Caltrans will now need to review the concept in detail to determine what configurations are necessary at each intersection (turn lanes, raised median refuge islands, planting) to make sure side street operations (such as Exposition, King Court and Bee Bee) are improved. Right of way along South Street and the location of curbs will not be significantly changed as part of the Road Diet. Therefore, if the need arises to convert back to four through lanes at some time in the future,the reconfiguration can be completed with little difficulty. a -� I South Street Focus Group Recommendation_ Page 6 CONCURRENCES The Public Works and Fire Departments have reviewed the focus group's recommendation and evaluated its impacts. The Fire Department has concluded that the reconfiguration would improve emergency response times because emergency vehicles will no longer be slowed down behind vehicles making left turns from the travel lane. FISCAL IMPACT The reconfiguration of South Street would be completed by Caltrans at no cost to the City. If the City chooses to change the road way back to four travel lanes, the City would pay for the design and construction. ALTERNATIVES 1. The City could go on record opposing the South Street reconfiguration. 2. The City could not take an action on the focus group's recommendation. Without formal support from the City, it is unlikely that Caltrans will proceed with changes to the current configuration of South Street when the roadway is repaved next year. ATTACHMENTS Attachment 1: Focus Group Recommendation Attachment 2: South Street Conceptual Road Diet Attachment 3: "Road Diets—Fixing the Big Roads" AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW IN THE COUNCIL OFFICE Large Scale SouthStreet Conceptual Road Diet L•\—CAR Reports\2006\Transportation\South King Focus Group\6-6-06 CAR-DOC ATTACHMENT I « o 8U IUO+OW 0 0cl E a � a o - $ it So c 1 N x y J ea v o mggg - m8 � 8k � w Y 'm • + �g Vf N F o o b 41, _ m ml�.\/w m Y ' L O IL - I + N au lyo+oW L pt J ZAIXACHMENT t J r z N m m r D n a, $ E L'i T 2 a 1 s e D C n 9 o ryp o 0 m P m E ° c ea 5 � QQ 9 Um D$ryryY b f 5', h `O C) $j "o Il y N d o S a m0 o $ rn L m . Z — y NF m $ ms E cpm � mo�� � mm � me aL�` ii N ¢ eam 5c,' 5 � .4'c�pppp oc@ � mm Ep.4 LS CLIf� 3Ti g3CW �8 Ec m S = m f� bW y. pa q�cYmO�m Ss' g 0 C .. o p"d SO:m SnE=m 3 m $aj 8t Y s s � g7-4m >o E o S Ego IF S o 0 w« ccaE &�++>gc cm yc g"c c6 3 c D W$�mSs E9 4ia d2 �8 w �� Nom . CL m gym. ncfii m5 8 m o S �. Z m�my > $ m mZ 0 EEn m 5y5 m3f. oX� 3m m m= ,DC .Z' 00 m •� C� g1 CymO 'Eq 6 m m E E pE a E o 0 OO ryry EC O � � � �• I � � g � � So e V m E h ss E �. to a° 9 n cm W 'o m Q'.. $' f z 7 lW .a �„U3i ATTACHM�Ht Nia cm =���E� 59 = m m w =£I�m m g mm t $m „ > Y�°� y$ �'5 sg �B 1.91 3 E ma 1 03 =3 E� $ m a $ a `o Or v E ms EEo�� E • �` $� 9' a `g,'ttv a °m L g 'T 3 Eumi 19 o m16 '•t fi,. i z3 � � z rc � s` c N N = C N Be qy co z N m=N U Z ILL O c m g's:d m0- O ) egg C O Q 9 dw J v Emao° fu CL L r C O O m H aO �w •:G'1 � m . I _]N m ° A N OW W C D LA, P 5�^ x o0E2 7'W ' S tmM `o sd Sm m G Q' i m n 0 tim Z ¢ mx12m V .f'. mb qn qNm F N "ee' E CN Y W Tq° m D 0 p A W H CO iW', Ng cE� " m5 6 C B 'c v� g' ¢yXp E _ Oi m 4 a $ 2y ,La U 2'i E?@ p� � - m mE '$ N W^ 4 'g�aP NBa a 83 Bi Eo C Jg' 'b �o . `°- m O� asap mE v Sm mg `u E mb m : y ¢ � O DW 6 K E gva tEm` a CL E 9 m E ! b.3 E IQ'2 c Kyt 01 gg $ 'a 2 ILL, Z Q 7u a lu, a 'n W W ©" -� A-rC'ACK MEAT 3 ©Walkable Communities,Inc.March 1999 f-, I ; I 0 O I f� Llro T 5P,Tit tTl b � LAX 1� I P 0 �_ '�i ll�.� � � .•��",'+��..`�J y Q - JO -1- Road Diets by Dan Burden and Peter Lagerwey Road Diets Nationwide,engineers are putting roads on"diets,"helping them lose lanes and width. In the process formerly"fat"streets often become leaner, safer, and more efficient.They become Losing width multi-modal and more productive. In many cases these former "warrior"roadways are tamed and turned into"angels." and gaining Often these changed roads set the stage for millions or mega- millions of dollars in new commercial and residential develop- respect ment. The change can increase value of existing properties. In some cases costs of reconstructing roadways are repaid in as little as one year through increased sales tax or property tax Can our nation's roads gain ef- revenue. ficiencyr mode share and safety Roadway conversions discussed here may be just the ticket to by getting leaner? Many are start remaking unhealthy,unsafe city neighborhoods or commer- doing just that. cial districts and turn them into more robust,vital,economically sound places. Road conversion may be undertaken to create safer,more efficient ways to provide access and mobility for pedestrians,bicycle riders and transit users,as well as motorists. They improve livability and quality of life for residents and shoppers..Just as with human diets,road diets without doctors' (transportation planners and engineers)analyses and prescrip- tions,might be foolhardy. Mobility and Access Improve. Four-lane road- ways significantly discourage mobility and access of transit users (cannot cross these streets),pedestrians and bicyclists.Communities;interested in providing higher levels of service and broadening transportation choices, find street conversions essential to success. Cities like Toronto in Ontario,Canada;Santa Monica, Pasadena,Arcada and Mountain View in California; Seattle,Kirkland,Gig Harbor,University Place and Bellevue in Washington;and Portland,Eugene and �s' Bend in Oregon;are finding funds to increase mobility _ and access by reducing the number of lanes and widths of arterial and collector streets. Conversions are Not New.Transportation engineers and safety specialists have long known that Turn Lanes Help Road Capacity overloaded two-lane or four-lane roads of any volume can be risky places to drive,conduct business, attempt to access Capacity remains the same By keeping thefull transit,walk or bicycle.On such roadways,frequent turning number of lanes at intersections,4-lane to 2-lane movements into commercial and residential driveways can result conversions often keep the same high capacity of in high crash levels..On multi-lane roadways lane swapping adds. original 4-lane roadways. Turn lanes,can be friction and reduces performance. created at intersections. Safety Improvements. In the 1980's Pennsylvania DOT engineers used FHWA safety monies to fully fund a study and to convert a one-mile section of Electric Avenue in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, from four lanes to three. The roadway was carrying 13,000 ADT.After reviewing hours of time-la se video -2- C Walkable Communities,Inc.March 1999 and analyzing crash statistics and other data,the team concluded that more uniform flow,reduced conflicts and great reduction in crashes would result from four to three-lane conversion.The change was made facing 95%opposition from local residents, who felt that their trip times would increase. Once the new roadway section was completed, new time-lapse photography and data collection began.Dangerous maneuvers and crashes dropped to nearly zero.Overall trip times were unaf- fected. Today nearly 95%of those fearing the change are openly thankful to PennDOT for making the roadway better for safety, mobility and access. �. --- �— Many Roadways Await Change. America has a plethora of"leftover"four-lane roadways.Many bypasses and other road improvements leave four- '} lane roads ready for conversion. At the same time thousands of miles of new four-lane sections are _ proposed and built each year. Many of these road- ways would be better designed with odd numbers of lanes or two lanes,plus medians with turning pockets. During the past twenty years many new roadways have been constructed with three or five lanes.(Third or fifth lanes are scramble or two-way left turn lanes TWLTLs.) These lanes add as much as 30 percent to efficiency of movement,and they often cut number FuU roadway diets still move cars,but now the of crashes in half. Significant bodies of research have corridor movespeople as well Both Bellevue, proven the value of shifting left turn movements from main Washington,and Mountain New,California,have through movement.Typically in these cases,however,roadways convertedformerlyfour-lane sections to have been widened from two to three lanes or from four to five pedestrian and bicycle friendly roads.Motorists benefitfrom more border width tofrxed objects lanes. and are more comfortable with bicyclists and This widening often converts sidewalks and paved shoulders or pedestrians. requires high cost,right-of-way acquisition. In many such cases "roadway improvements"only allow more cars into traffic streams,encouraging communities to become more car dependent. Increased congestion sends roadways' level of service into long- term slide. Changes often generate more speed,noise and danger to people trying to walk,shop or live on main streets or neighbor- hood collectors.Property values can diminish,and towns lose their livability factors and competitive edges. This process of roadway widening can be thought of as fattening a patient.The belt is let out another notch, and the patient puts on a few more unhealthy pounds toward auto dependency. The Road Diet. "Road dieting" is a new term applied to "skinnying up"patients(streets)into leaner,more productive members of society.The ideal roadway patient is often a four-lane road carrying 12-18,000 auto trips per day.Other roadway patients may be helped through this same process. Some especially sick four-lane patients may be carrying 19-25,000 cars per day,but still qualify for diets. What are the symptoms that scream for change? What roadways are ideal patients?And what are the upper limits? � - ( 2- -3- Road Diets by Dan Burden and Peter Lagerwey •_, , ti ;� � � �� Sick Road Patient Symptoms. Four lane road- ways often generate excessive speeds. These road- - ways also erode the ability for transit,walking and bicycling to succeed.How does this happen?Motor- ists using four-lane roadways, note that there are always spare lanes in their direction.They tend to ^- drive faster than they should.Motorists using multi- .. ( ' `tit `•,,� lane roads seek to match speeds of other drivers. 0 Imprudent,speeding drivers tend to set prevailing `sx speeds. As traffic volumes increase,especially at rush �� • ' hour,risk of high-speed driving increases.During peak , volumes right or left-turning movements occur.Also during these times,many motorists drive close to one another creating"screens"of impeded view. Last minute,instant swapping of lane behavior to stay in motion leads Spare Lanes Reward Speeders to serious rear-end crashes. Motorists move from lanes of slowing vehicles directly into the backs of other motorists who have already slowed for their turns. The upper comfort range for NW 81h Avenue in Gainesville,Florida. This arterial conversions appears to be between 20-25,000 ADT. four-lane roadway is an excellent candidatefor "road dieting."Today,motorists race from the Higher numbers have been achieved. Santa Monica officials feel signal anticipating the merge to 2-lanes,3000 feet most comfortble capping at 20,000,although they have hit 25,000. ahead.Excessive speeds of 50 mph are common. School,park and bicycle trail crossing are located Pedestrians at Risk. Pedestrians have rugged times finding here. Two-lane roadway with bike lanes,medians gaps across four lanes. Crash rates and severity of conflicts with and turning lane at the intersection is suggested by safety advocates as an alternative. The redesigned autos result in almost certain death(83%of pedestrians hit at 40 roadway would increase capacity by lowering mph die). Many bicyclists find four-lane roads too narrow to ride speed. comfortably. Transit users cannot safely cross streets at most locations.Thus,many people,who have formerly had mode choice,give up trying to cross-streets converted to four lanes. Instead they join the daily traffic stream and add to the road- ways' level of service drain. Typical Patient and Process. Burcham Road in East Lansing,Michigan,was formerly a"fat road." Speeds were excessive.Pedestrians near the high school found it unsafe to cross the four-lane roadway.Neighbors complained about noise and danger. East Lansing's traffic engineer,John Matusik,P.E., felt that this roadway was a prime candidate for a road diet. The roadway carried 11-14,000 cars per day(AADT). Viewed from another perspective, 14,000 cars in four lanes over a ten hour period is only 3,500 pec lane per day,or 350 per hour fora ten- hour period. Each lane is capable of carrying 1,900 cars per hour. Thus,cutting the number of lanes in half wouldn't affect traffic capacity. The Diet Begins. The change on Burcham Road was made (see picture). With"leftover"road space John added turn lane (TWLTL)and bike lanes. The bike lanes give motorists more border width,moving them six feet further from fixed objects such as utility poles,hydrants and other fixed objects.Cars move today at more uniform speeds(prudent drivers set prevailing speeds).People are able to enter and exit driveways more easily.3 -4- a�- � ©Walkable Communities,Inc.March 1999 $ Pedestrians have six feet more separation from `-' motorists.Comfort levels of all people using the corridor have markedly improved. k Bigger Roads, Same Diet. Once John had proven he could make a moderate volume,four lane into a healthier patient,he pushed Michigan DOT to use the same diet strategy on a higher volume road, Ft3 the central artery through East Lansing,Grand River Boulevard. The 23,000 AADT roadway had been �. ' 'mac sluggish and risky for years.People did not enjoy living along it or driving,walking,using transit or bicycling this corridor. This roadway section was 1.1 d ' ' miles in length.The roadway serves as a regional traffic distributor.It has minimal number of commer- cial driveways,thus turning movements are modest. Burcham Road's Four-Lanes to Three-Lanes Two Stage Implementation. Michigan DOT staff took deep, Pedestrians and motorists are more comfortable uncertain breaths and made this higher volume road conversion in today.Motorists are easily I Ofeetfromfixed two safe; evaluative steps. As Michigan DOT resurfaced Grand objects.As much as sixteen feet separate River Boulevard,they wanted the option of going back to four pedestrians from motorists. lanes if the"experiment"didn't work.They painted new lane markings,using two-lanes,plus center turn lane(TWLTL). They omitted bike lanes in the first.stage. Some drainage grates needed to be swapped before they added bike lanes. But they also wanted the chance to switch back. The conversion worked,but it was slightly shaky. With the loss of two lanes on the departure side of signalized intersections,traffic now merged into orderly,lower paced movement. Speeds came down to more preferred speed of around 35 mph(down from 40).Yet,some confusion remained. Resulting travel lanes were sixteen feet wide. Second stage markings were made six months later. Bike lanes were added, narrowing travel lanes to twelve feet. Speeds were reduced slightly more,and confusion ended.Today planners and engineers from both city and state report greater safety,efficiency,and more than adequate movement during peak hours. Again,people walking,using transit and bicycling find the area more comfortable and safe. Crash records are being kept. Potential conflicts and speeds are greatly reduced. Property owners are pleased with reduced speeding,noise and challenge of entering and exiting their driveways safely.Bike lanes give them more turning radius and improved sight triangles. Today East Lansing is in the early stages of converting two to six.more roadways. They find that they can make many of these conversions at no cost. They wait for lane markings to fade(easy with winter snow plow scraping),or they make changes with resurfacing projects. Other Cities, Higher Numbers. East Lansing is not the first community to make these changes. Seattle, Portland and Santa Monica are three communities that have been making these lane -5- Road Diets by Dan Burden and Peter Lagerwey reductions for years. Seattle made its first conversion(N 45th Street in 1972. Since then they have successfully converted 8 additional roadways. Many of these include commercial sec- tions. Kirkland, Washington, Pushes Numbers to the Limit. So High Volume Conversion in far,the record for roadway conversion with highest traffic counts Kirkland is Lake Washington Boulevard in Kirkland,Washington.This largely residential street travels by high priced homes with spectacular views of Lake Washington. When Lake Washington Boulevard was operated with four lanes, capacity problems were reached most evenings. - Residents trying to enter or exit driveways on both sides of the road tended to constrain the flow on the 20,000 AADT roadway. Switching to three-lanes on the roadway was easy. The results were impressive not only to drivers,but to pedestrians,transit users s` �¢ r • and bicyclists as well. Motorists now had substantial added border width to fixed objects.Residents saw ,• reduction in speeding and noise levels,and they could now enter and exit their driveways much more easily. �i Kirkland Tests Ceiling with Lake Washington Boulevard.In 1995,Kirkland closed another road- way for reconstruction.They forced totals of 30,000 vehicles (ADT) onto the two+TWLTLroadway. The roadway never crashed. These extremely high numbers continue to astound researchers. What is the upper limit?This 30;000 ADT may be it.In most cases carrying capacity numbers must be lower. For a short period during area road Researchers do not have enough knowledge to say where and construction,Kirklands Lake Washington how peaks are reached,but many feel comfortable with 20- Boulevard picked up additional load and was 23,000 ADT's.Each community must set its own upper limits. successfully carrying 30,000 ADT. This four- lane to three-lane conversion has been very successful.Note how much easier it is for Four-Lane to Two-Lane Conversions. More aggressive motorists to enter and exit driveway.,Added diets drop four lanes down to two. Fewer roadways can undergo border width provides motorists safer this more aggressive conversion.Roadway conversions in conditions.Caution,this 30,000figure is real Toronto,Ontario,are proving safety and livability benefits of for one portion ofthis roadway,but may be mese changes,while holding to previous capacities.More than beyond the comfort range of many.For a more comfortable number 20-23,000 is six formerly four-lane roadways have been converted to either achieveable in most areas. two-lane roads with medians and turning pockets,or simply two lanes. St.George Street,a principal arterial through the Univer- sity of Toronto Campus is perhaps the best known.This 16,000 ADT roadway owes its success to low number.of driveways. The roadway holds its full capacity at intersections by keeping the previous number of storage lanes.The 1.1 mile roadway project was launched when a local benefactor to the University of Toronto challenged the city to the improvement by putting up her$1 million in match money.The University contributed $500,000(Canadian),and the City of Toronto gave the additional $2:5 million match fora total rebuild price of$4 million.The road was totally reconstructed.New foundations,improved intersec- tions,greatly widened sidewalks,bike lanes and full canopy of -6- j,1 C Walkable Communities,Inc.March 1999 St.George Street in trees were placed.Today walking,transit and bicycling are Toronto,Ontario pleasurable activities; speeding has dropped,and the center of campus has come alive with people. Other Four-Lane to Two-Lane.Conversions. Toronto has F also converted five other roadways. In each case the same volume of auto traffic is serviced,always at lower,more appropri ate speeds. As with four-lane to three-lane conversions,prudent drivers set the speed. Many of these additional roadways operate with 11-17,000 ADT. Some sections are reduced from four lanes to two lanes to incorporate critical pedestrian crossings;then they widened back out 1,000 feet further downstream.Many combina- tions of road diet techniques are practicable. Seattle,Washington; Portland,Oregon;Santa Monica and Mountain View,California; and dozens of other cities are making similar conversions.These streets are made more business,resident,transit,bicycle and pedestrian friendly by placing medians with turning pockets and (Right and Above)In 1997 this one- bike lanes in the mix. mile section of St.George Street was converted from four lanes to two What is the future? In the past two years the principle author lanes at a cost of$4 M Canadian. The roadway carries the same of this article,Walkable Communities Director,Dan Burden,has capacity as before.Note capacity is been to more than 500 cities in North America. Almost every well handled at each intersection. town he visits has at least two or three streets ideal for conver- The project began when a benefactor sion.In California,alone,more than 20 cities have made success- to the University of Toronto pledged $IMon the condition that the ful conversions.Dan's advice,"Elected officials,business leaders University and City would contribute and engineers should look for easy conversions fust."All but the the balance of$3million. most self-evident projects are likely to generate concern from business leaders and nearby residents who worry that traffic might back into their neighborhood streets.The public has come to believe that the only way to improve roadways is to widen entire sections. Model projects are needed. Best Model Projects. First projects should include roadways with some of the following criteria: O Moderate volumes(8-15,000 ADT) O Roads with safety issues O Transit corridors O Popular or essential bicycle routes/links O Commercial reinvestment areas O Economic enterprise zones O Historic streets O Scenic roads O Entertainment districts O Main streets The Process of Change. Street conversions are as much process as they are product. Due to the controversial nature of the first road diet conversions,it is essential to involve the public through highly interactive processes.As pointed out earlier in this article with Electric Avenue in Lewistown,Pennsylvania,95 percent of the citizens were against the change. 02 - LP 7- r Road Diets by Dan Burden and Peter Lagerwey Effective process often includes focus groups,and highly interactive workshops and designs.Citizens,residents and rill_16business owners should help design both process and product. r ,i Many cities are learning to conduct 3-6 day planning charrettes to gain input from a variety of people who then gain ownership of - by,4 yfl the results.Atlantic Boulevard in downtown Del Ray Beach, Florida,was converted from four-lane to two-lane roadway at the °s request of retailers. This request was the reverse of previous thinking.Merchants often feel that more traffic passing their doors is better for business. In Del Ray Beach the decaying downtown forced merchants to take another look. Retailers worked with the city manager,elected officials,and chamber of commerce to weigh their risks and suggest changes.The net w" result of this street conversion is one of the more successful downtowns in Florida,and significant increase in local sales and _^ tax base for the town. Motorists did not leave.Atlantic Boulevard to take advantage of two new lanes of travel on parallel streets. A They come through the now attractive center,cruising at 15 mph. e Lane Reductions of Select Street Conversions-- Volume Changes Roadway Section Change ADT (Before) (After) Notes 1.Lake Washington Blvd., Kirkland,Washington 4 lanes to 2+TWLTL+bike lanes 23,000 25,913 South of 83 2.Lake Washington Blvd, Kirkland,Washington 4 lanes to 2+TWLTL+bike lanes 11,000 12,610 Near downtown 3.Electric Avenue, Lewistown,Pennsylvania 4 lanes to 2+TWLTL+bike lanes 13,000 14,500 4.Burcham Road, East Lansing,Michigan 4lanes to2+TWLTL+bike lanes I1-14,000 11-14,000 5.Grand River Boulevard, East Lansing,Michigan 4lanes to 2+TWLTL+bike lanes 23,000 23,000 6.St.George Street, Toronto,Ontario,Canada 4 lanes to 2+bike lanes+wide sidewalks 15,000 15,000 7. 120th Avenue,NE Bellevue,Washington 4lanes to 2+TWLTL 16,900 16,900 8.Montana(commecial street) 4lanes to 2 lanes+TWLTL 18,500 18,500 Bellevue,Washington 4 lanes to 2+median+bike lanes 9. Main Street 4 lanes to 2 lanes+TWLTL 20,000 18,000 Santa Monica,California 4 lanes to 2+median+bike lanes -8- C Walkable Communities,Inc.March 1999 Lane Reductions of Select Street Conversions-- Volume Changes Roadway Section Change ADT(Before) ADT(After) and Date 9.Danforth 4 lanes to 2+bike lanes 22,000 22,000 Toronto,Ontario,Canada 4 lanes to 2+turning pockets+bike lanes Seattle,Washington 10. Greenwood Avenue 4 lanes to 2,plus N;from N.80th St to N 50th TWLTL Plus Bike lanes April,1995 11,872 11,2427 11. N 45th Street in 4 lanes to 2 lanes Wallingford Area plus TWLTL 19,421 20;274 Seattle,Washington. December,1972 12. 8th Ave.NW in 4 lanes to 2 lanes Ballard Area plus planted median 10,549 11,858 Seattle,Washington with turn pockets January,1994 13. Martin Luther 4 lanes to 2 lanes King Jr.Way, plus TWLTL,plus 12,336 13,161 north of I-90 bike lanes Jan 1994 14. Dexter Avenue,N. 4 lanes to 2 lanes East side of Queen plus TWLTL 13,606 14,949 Anne Area and bike lanes 15. 24th Ave.NW, 4 lanes to 2 lanes from NW 85th St. plus TWLTL 9,727 9,754 to NW 65th St. 16. Madison St.,from 4 lanes to 2 lanes 7th Ave.to plus TWLTL 16,969 18,075 Broadway 17. W.Government 4 lanes to 2 lanes Way/Gilman Ave. plus TWLTL plus 12,916 14,286 W,.from W Ruffner bike lanes St.to 31 st Ave.W. Dan Burden served for sixteen years as state bicycle and Peter Lagerwey is the pedestrian/bicycle coordinator for the pedestrian coordinator for the Florida Department of Trans- City of Seattle Engineering Department. Peter has overseen and portation. In his new role as the director of Walkable Commu- monitored conversion of four street lane reduction projects. nities, Inc., Dan has promoted and helped the process for more Peter recently spent a full year on assignment as pedestrian/ than a dozen conversions of collector and arterial streets. Dan bicycle planner for Perth, Australia. Peter is an instructor for teaches courses for the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA's Pedestrian Road Show,as well as fora number of state National Highway Institute and the National Highway Traffic agencies. Safety Administration. Dan is the author of the Healthy Streets booklet which provides guidelines for building traditional Additional Article: See Andrew G. MacBeth, P.E. Calming neighborhood development (TND), published by the Local Arterials in Toronto, paper delivered to the 68th ITE Annual Government Commission, Center for Livable Communities. For Meeting,August 10, 1998 (Accepted by ITE for 1999 publica- more information contact webpage: www.lgc.org/cic/ tion in ITE Journal) -9- t Road Diets by Dan Burden and Peter Lagerwey Data on Street Conversions - Seattle, Washington ROADWAY DATE ADT ADT CHANGE SECTION CHANGE (BEFORE) (AFTER) Greenwood Ave. N. 4 lines to 2 lanes from N 80th St. to N April 1995 11872 12427 plus TWLTL phis 50th St bike lanes N 45th Street in December 1972 19421 20274 4 lanes to 2 lanes WaIIin&rd Area phis TWLTL 4 lanes to 2 lanes 8th Ave. NW in Ballard January 1994 10549 11858 plus phurted median Area with turn pockets as needed Martin Luther King Jr. 4 lanes to 2 lanes Way, north of I-90 January 1994 12336 13161 plus TWLTL plus bike lanes Dexter Ave. N, East 4 lanes to 2 lanes side of Queen Anne June 1991 13606 14949 plus TWLTL plias Area bike lanes 24th Ave. NW, from 4 lanes to 2 lanes NW 85th St. to NW October 1995 9727 9754 plus TWLTL 65th St. Madison St., from 7th July 1994 16969 18075 4 lanes to 2 lanes Ave. to Broadway phis TWLTL W Govemment Way/Gilman Ave. W, 4 lanes to 2 lanes from W Ruffner St. to June 1991 12916 14286 plus TWLTL plus 31 st Ave. W bike lanes 12th Ave., from Yesler 4 lanes to 2 lanes Way to John St. March 1995 11751 12557 phis TWLTL phis bike lanes ©Walkable Communities,Inc.March 1999 Sub S S TO % TO TO % CAR&CAR tot- ub CAR&PED ub TA CHA- FATAL TA INJURIES TA CHAN- al to to L NGE L L GE Val I M-B 1 M-B I M-B I M-B I M-B I Grernvrood Ave N BEFORE 19 5 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 0 0 0 10 5 IS & - -58.3 -20.0 N 80 Sweet AFTER 5 4 9 0 1 1 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 6 6 12 2 N45 Sweet BEFORE 6 37 43 0 0 0 1 1 2 45 0 1 1 2 5 7 & -48.9 +14.3 Wallingford Av N AFTER 11 12 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 0 0 0 3 5 8 3 8 Ave NW BEFORE 8 7 15 2 0 2 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 6 2 8 & -61.1 -37.5 NW 65 Stmt AFTER 5 1 6 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 0 0 0 4 1 5 4 ML K*Jr Wy BEFORE 8 . 7 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 4 6 10 & -60.0 -80.0 Yeskr Way AFTER 4 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 2 0 2 5 Dexter Ave N BEFORE 12 4 16 1 . 0 1 2 0 2 19 0 1 1 6 1 7 & -15.8 +114.3 Roy Stmet AFTER 9 7 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 6 9 15 6 24 Aw NW BEFORE 11 3 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 9 1 10 & -28.6 +60.0 NW 80 Street AFTER 5 4 9 0 0 0 1 0 1 10 0 0 0 10 6 16 7 Madison Saw BEFORE 12 15 27 0 0 0 0 1 1 28 0 0 0 9 7 16 & 0 -37.5 Boren Avatare AFTER 9 18 27 0 0 0 1 0 1 28 0 0 0 5 5 10 8 GLrnn Aw W BEFORE 5 1 6 0 0 0 0 0. 0 6 0 0 0 0 2 2 & 0 0 0 -100.0 W Enrason PI AFTER 3 3 6 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 12 A%re BEFORE 5 8 13 1 0 1 2 0 2 16 0 0 0 5 I 6 & 0 +16.7 Cb:rry S¢ca AFTER 4 11 15 1 0 1 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 3 4 7 TOTAL BEFORE 86 87 173 4 0 4 5 3 8 185 0 2 2 51 30 81 -34.1 -7.4 AFTER 55 62 117 1 I 2 3 0 3 122 0 0 0 39 36 75 *LEGEND, I=Intersection M-B=Mid-Block -11- Road Diets by Dan Burden and Peter Lagerwey Additional Road Diets Experiences Santa Barbara Over a decade ago,the City of Santa Barbara created bike lanes on two parallel one-way streets by removing one of the two existing traffic lanes.The City's original proposal was to remove parking from one side to keep two traffic lanes plus put in a bike lane.But since the streets are mostly residential,the people pressured the City to keep parking and lose a traffic lane instead.Just about everybody thinks that it's a good solution. In the next two months, another street will change from 4 traffic lanes to three(middle tum lane)plus bike lanes on both sides. Ralph Fertig Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition www.sbbike.org Palo Alto Palo Alto did so on two streets(University Ave.&East Meadow Drive)in 1974 as part of its overall bikeways plan. Since then Mountain View has done so on at least two streets, and just recently Sunnyvale has approved doing so on part of Mathilda. Ellen Fletcher Sacramento In Sacramento,on Auburn Boulevard,the city installed a bike lane by taking out on-street parking.After a few months of this,the businesses howled.The City Council decided that the viability of the businesses were more important,so they took the bike lane back out and put the parking back in. This didn't happen that easily, though,since I put the question to the traffic engineers about taking the travel lane space and give it to bikeway space.We were lucky this time,since there were two travel lanes one direction and one travel lane going the other. When we challenged the staff to find out if they could shift the center line over so that it was one travel lane in each direction,they answered that,yes,indeed this was a possibility.So they did it,and we got our bike lanes back and the businesses had their parking! My only complaint was the time it took to get the final product.It took them less than a week to re-establish the on street parking,and over a year to re-adjust the lane striping. So,in a round-about way,we did get a travel lane removed for the installation of a bike lane.But it was with a lot of luck that this happened.It isn't that common to find a spare travel lane that has a low enough ADT to let the traffic engineers feel Like giving it over to the bicycles.This incident is unusual for Sacramento, so I wouldn't necessarily consider it to be the result of progressive thinking--they still need some help in that department. Ed Cox edcox@Jps.net Santa Cruz Santa Cruz has proposed reducing Soquel Avenue from 4 lanes to 3(two plus tum lane)in order to install bike lanes,but has not yet done so. Cambridge A portion of Massachusetts Avenue, the main drag of Cambridge, MA (also a state numbered route) was redesigned,going from 4 lanes to 3, allowing not only bicycle lanes but also wider sidewalks and maintaining parking. ADT is approx. 21,000. There are a couple of turning lanes. The project was completed about a year ago. Cara Seiderman City of Cambridge, M4 -12- ©Walkable Communities,Inc.March 1999 Mountain View and Sunnyvale 1)A few years ago Mountain View,CA restriped the section of Dana Street from Calderon to Pioneer(across Highway 85, the Stevens Creek Freeway), from 2 lanes each direction to 1 lane+bike lane in each direction, adding a planted median.Contact rene.dalton@ci.mtnview.ca.us,their BAC staffer,for details. 2)Mountain View also restriped Cuesta(Drive?)west of Mirarnonte from 4 lanes down to.3 (i.e.center tum) with bike lanes.This was done during a sewer line upgrade that required tearing up that whole stretch anyway. That end of Cuesta abuts neighboring Los Altos,which never did 4-lane their collector streets back when Silicon Valley was rapidly building out its street network; I believe that stretch of Cuesta didn't really need 4-lane capacity anyway. 3) Sunnyvale, CA just decided to restripe Mary Avenue between Fremont Avenue and Homestead Road to add bike lanes.I don't know the details on before and after lane counts on thafstretch,but believe it's currently 2 lanes with on-street parking and a center 2-way left turn lane. Contact pubworks@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us or BAC staffer Jack Witthaus<jwitthaus@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us>. John.Ciccarelli@stanford.edu, Bicycle Program Manager 711 Serra Street, Stanford, California USA 94305-7240 voice 650-725-BIKE,fax 650-723-0790 http://www-facilities.stanford.edu/transportation Greenbelt,MD Glad you asked.The City of Greenbelt,MD eliminated two traffic lanes on Ivy Lane and Cherrywood Lane to make room for bicycle lanes to the new Greenbelt Metro Station. The objectives were to (1) improve bicycle access to the Metro Station (2) to calm traffic (3) to improve aesthetics and (4) to provide a median area for pedestrians crossing the road. Weare very happy with the results.Eventually,we plan to landscape the median. The plans caused a tremendous uproar in 1996. The City received letters and complaints from the County Executive,the Governor and our Congressman.They called Cherrywood Lane crucial to development plans near the Greenbelt Metro Station. The configuration was 12'-12'-12'-12'-12 narrowing to 12'-12' 12'-12'at an overpass.The configuration today is 8'-6'-11'-18'median-11'-6 narrowing to 6'-1 P-14'median-11'-6'at the overpass. The 8' lane is a parking lane. The 6'lanes are marked and signed as bike lanes. Greenbelt has a 60 year tradition of innovative planning and of making bicycle and pedestrian access a priority. Our City Council loves to talk about Greenbelt's bike lanes. Bill Clarke Chairman, Greenbelt Bicycle Coalition Austin, TX To date we have removed travel lanes from two streets to make bike lanes. These streets were operating below capacity as striped and we could demonstrate that the level of service would be acceptable after the changes. There has been serious opposition to one near a federal IRS/Treasury/Veteran's complex. The admin- istrators were convinced that the roadway with bike lanes would make their lives miserable due to increased congestion.They continue to pressure the department and City Council so the final outcome is uncertain at this time. We are considering several other streets to remove travel lanes in favor of bike lanes,but it will take some time to go through the political process to get this done. Keith Snodgrass Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Coordinator Department of Public Works and Transportation PO Box 1088 Austin, Texas 78767 512 499-7240 fax 512 499-7101 http://www.ci.austin.tx.uslbicyclel -13- �� Road Diets by Dan Burden and Peter Lagerwey Ottawa We have'a project in Ottawa where a bridge is being reconstructed. The original cross-section included two HOV (buses only)lanes and four car lanes (2 in each direction). The new cross-section includes two HOV (buses only)in the outside lanes,then two car lanes and two bicycle lanes(one in each direction).A median was also added.In essence,two car lanes were given over to bicycle lanes and a median.The bridge opens this spring -we can hardly wait! Daphne Hope Alternative Transportation Planner Denver In Denver,we are removing 2 lanes of traffic on collector street for approximately 2000'alongside a city golf course so that we can build a 12:wide bikeway/multi use trail alongside the golf course frontage.The lanes on the street were very narrow(10'wide I think)and the center turn lane served little purpose.The bike route that we will sign runs the full width of the city-this was the major missing link.The process to do this was NOT FUN. James MacKay Boulder Last year,after significant public process,the City of Boulder also removed a traffic lane.toadd a bike climbing lane on Table Mesa Drive. The roadway was build in a era of different development expectations, and traffic counts indicated that this could easily be done.However there was still significant public concern,which was in part addressed by first doing a trial run where we blocked the lane with barricades for three weeks and collected data, and then by selecting a non-structural project design where the changes were made by paint rather than moving the curb face.This addition links several significant bike facilities and is working great.. Randall Rutsch Transportation Planner City of Boulder, CO Salem, OR The city of Salem,Oregon reconfigured 4 lanes to two lanes plus center turn lane and bike lanes on 17th Street and possible others. Michael Moule Oregon Department of Transportation Bend, Oregon (541) 388.6216 michaeLm.moule@state.or.us http://Www.odot.state.or.usltechservlbikewalklindex.htm Portland& Corvallis The cities of Corvallis and Portland removed a travel lane from one-way couplets that had 4 lanes in each direction(they now have 3).On top of bike lanes,motorists benefit from the reduced need to weave(getting from one side to the other in anticipation of having to tum left or right),and pedestrians benefit from easier crossing (Portland reduced pavement width and widened sidewalks and built curb extensions at sidewalks). ODOT bi- cycle and pedestrian program was instrumental in preventing a couplet project from going to four lanes in one direction,and keeping at 3(Albany).So it's not uncommon. Seattle does it for traffic-calming. Michael Ronkin Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager Oregon Department of Transportation michael.p.ronkin@odot.state.or.us (503) 986-3555 -14- � ' �2 I J ©Walkable Communities,Inc.March 1999 Hamilton,Canada Just to add a Canadian perspective:The City of Hamilton,Ontario converted Stone Church Road from 4 lanes to 3 lanes(center left tum lane)with bicycles being accommodated in wide curb lanes.A similar conversion will take place this spring on Lawrence Road,this time using painted bicycle lanes.We also converted 2 major five- lane streets to 4-lane with wide curb lanes in 1994,but Regional Council directed conversion back to the original configuration about six months into the trial. Hart Solomon Manager of Trajfc Engineering and Operations City of Hamilton, Ontario London, UK I think it has been done here in London,England.For example,the London Borough of Ealing,has,I believe, removed some car lanes on the Uxbridge Road, the A4020, that heads west out of London, adding bike lanes instead. The current cry by bike activists here in England is 'reallocating road space' How much it is actually being done,though,I do not know.Bike lanes are somewhat new here in England,and all the fiascoes of a quarter a century ago in the USA seem to be being repeated here JeremyParker@compuserve.com London, England Toronto In Toronto, we have removed traffic lanes on approximately 18 km (12 miles) of downtown streets (eight different streets)to provide bike lanes.These routes represent about two thirds of our existing bike lanes. Typical downtown arterial widths are 12.8 to 14.0 meters wide and striped as four lane two way roads with both curb lanes accommodating parking in the off-peak hours.During peak hours parking is generally prohibited on both sides so the roads operate as four lane roads. To incorporate bike lanes on a road 12.8 meters (42 feet) wide we permit 24-hour parking on one side (2.0 meters wide),provide a bike lane(2.0 meters)next to parking,two general traffic lanes(3.5 meters)and a bike lane next to the curb(1.8 meters). Left tutu lanes are provided at signalized intersections to maintain capacity. The length of the left tum slot is determined by the left tum demand, with a typical length being 15 meters. Curbside parking stops in advance of the intersection to accommodate the additional lane required for left turns and to make the transition between a bike lane adjacent to parking and a bike lane next to the curb. It is a fine balance because the longer the left tum slot the less parking we can provide. Parking is definitely the most politically sensitive issue when implementing bike lanes. To incorporate a bike lane on a road 14.0 meters(46 feet)wide we permit 24-hour parking on both sides(2.0 meters wide), provide two bike lanes (1.8 meters) next to parking and two general traffic lanes (3.2 meters). Again,left turn lanes are provided at signalized intersections to maintain capacity. Based on our experience in the past few years we have concluded that the two above designs can work well on roads with up to approx. 18,000 vehicles per day. We have also provided bike lanes through three railway underpasses by,in each case,eliminating two general traffic lanes (from four to two lanes -one in each direction) in order to provide two bike lanes. One of these carried 22,000 vehicles per day. On another 1.6 km stretch of roadway(55,000 vehicles per day)we reduced six general traffic lanes to five lanes to accommodate two bike lanes over a bridge connecting east end neighborhoods to the Central Area. Bicycle volumes on this route increased to approximately 3,000 bicycles per summer weekday;weekday average throughout the year is 1,800 bicycles per day). In another case we reduced a six lane road with 30,000 vehicles per day to four general traffic lanes (five at signalized intersections) to accommodate bicycle lanes in each direction. Greater Vancouver's experience: "In the Greater Vancouver Region,two municipalities have removed a traffic lane for bikes.The City of Surrey along their East Whalley Ring Road and the City of Richmond along Williams Road.In both instances,four lanes of traffic(two in each direction)were reduced to three lanes to provide bike lanes. The third middle lane func- tions as a left tum lane for both directions of traffic. I can give contacts if anyone wants more details. Doug Louie, P.Eng. City of Vancouver." UIS Oe �sA San Luis Obispo Chiropracad Center U Mark R.Steed,D.C. 2066 Chorro St. n San Luis Obispo,CA 93401 I Phone 805-541-BACK(2225) Fax 805-541-0626 �ARACTIG G �- RECEIVED May 15,2006 LF- South `-TCDD DIR FIN DIR MAY ] Q [006 FIRE CHIEF Mayor Dave RomeroIPWDIR SLO CITY CLERK P.O. Box 8100 POLICE CHF REC DIR San Luis Obispo, CA 93403 uTIL pia RED FILE HR DIR South St. Modifications Y CAo - MEETING AGENDA 'e eLe 'r_ DATE4 (a ITEM #.�3 Dear Mayor Dave Romero, I saw a news feature recently on KSBY TV News wherein proposed modifications to South St. between Broad and South Higuera were described. These changes have been proposed in response to perceived dangerous conditions on South St. culminating in the tragic loss of life of a very young girl last Halloween Night. I am writing this letter to express my concern that the proposed changes will not alleviate the dangers and may in fact make this and other matters worse. -Although I have no city planner or traffic management certifications, I have been very actively driving for nearly 40 years and have been driving nearly daily for the last 12 or so years on the exact area of South St. at issue. In my opinion reducing traffic to one lane in both directions will cause major traffic disruption and possible gridlock on South St. particularly at rush hour. Further, the allowance of additional side parking it seems to me will expand an already prevalent problem with the streets in SLO, namely, reduced visual field making pulling out from perpendicular streets or being a pedestrian a risky activity. I fail to see how this would help a small child cross the street. A simple way to get an idea of the impact of the lane reduction plan would be to simply block off one of the existing lanes in each direction for a few days or a week and see what happens before spending a lot of money in planning,preparation and modification. A test should cost next to nothing. In my opinion, the real problems on South St. are too high a speed limit and extremely poor lighting for such a thoroughfare in a residential area. A pedestrian activated flashing light crosswalk (such as is in front of the Downtown Cinemas & Post Office on Marsh St.) at King and South would also help and decrease the many panic stops I have seen on South St. if the speed limit were 35 MPH instead of 45 MPH, especially with improved lighting. Thank you very much for your consideration. Sincerely, AWe-0& Mark R_ Steed, DC, Page 1 of 1 SLO Citycouncil - Support of South Street Pedestrian From: Rod Hoadley<rhoadley@juno.com> =RECEIVEDTo: <slocitycouncil@slocity.org>Dater 6/2/2006 7:42 AMSubject: Support of South Street Pedestrian Dear SLO City Council: This letter is in support of the recommendations by the South St. Pedestrian Safety Focus Group. I urge you to support their recommendations. I live on Woodbridge Street in SLO, and my family and I are currently bounded by South Street because we feel it is too difficult for us to safely cross on bicycle or foot. We are forced to use the noisy, busy intersection at South and Broad and would choose an alternative if it was available. We would use King St. for crossing South St. if we felt it was a safe option for our children to walk to Hawthome Elementary School. Please consider the South St. Pedestrian Safety Focus Group recommendations to make South Street a better place for pedestrians and cycl ists. Sincerely, Rod Hoadley and Family 637 Woodbridge.St.,,SLO 541-1812 Y� COUNCIL CtCDC) DIR tB CAO 7, FIN DIR ®ACAO Fe FIRE CHIEF RED FILE 121 ATTORNEY 5-PW DIR MEETING AGENDA ® cLERK/oRIG POLICE CHF ❑ DEPT HEADS T REC DIR DATE&WO&ITEM #-&2,-- ia 22,d . R UTIL DIR HR DIR � CGS/ZK file-/HC:\Documents%20and%20Settings\slouser\Local%20Settings\Temp\GW}0000l.HTM 6/2/2006 Page 1 of 1 SLO Citycounca-South Street Conb.derations RECEIVED From: Cheryl Lenhardt<clenhardt@ sbcglobal.net> To: <slocitycouncil@slocity.org> II im Q ? 2000 Date: 6/2/2006 7:37 AM Subject: South Street,Considerations SLO CITY CLERK Thank you for considering options available to improve the safety of South Street for all citizens of SLO—and not just drivers. I would like to see a vegetated median island installed to provide refuge for people crossing south Street and to help slow the prevailing speeds of cars. The needed width should be taken from the available traveled way for cars and not from the bike lanes. i An aside,.I saw Caltrans conducting a speed survey when road construction was taking place just west of the intersection of Higuera and South st on South St. This construction activity is likely to artificially show slower speeds on that road for that day. Please have Caltrans verify that the survey was discounted for that day or somehow adjusted to reflect the unique conditions. Unfortunately,I don't remember which day it was. The caltrans vehicle was clearly marked(also not appropriate for a speed surveys)and was on the eastbound shoulder,just west of the park.. Thanks again for your help in shaping our city's future. Cheryl Lenhardt 1449 Garcia Dr San Luis Obispo,CA 93405 ia COUNCIL td CDD DIR ® CAO T FIN DIR 12 ACAO 2G FIRE CHIEF RED FILE eATTORNEY [?-'PW DIR MEETING AGENDA B CLERK/ORIQ It POLICE CHF El DEPT HEADS F,4 REC DIR DATE L b TEM �a ?L� 9 HR B RIR p�.C4o y C G EK1� I file://C:\Documents%20and%o2OSettings\slouser\Local%2OSettings\Temp\GW}000O1.HTM 6/2/2006 Page 1 of 1 SLO Citycouncil-South St. RECEIVED From: "Kevin Moynihan"<abiker@gmail.com> To: <slocitycouncil@slocity.org> 9 2 Date: 6/2/200612:29 AM JI)�I () X05 Subject: South St. SLO CITY CLERK Dear SLO City Council: I am an avid cyclist and I think that having South St.changed to what the focus group recommends is a fantastic idea. Cycling in the community at large is improving,as more riders take to the streets.The increase has taught more drivers to be cautious and developed more aware cyclists.However,there are a few gaps that need to be closed before the community as a whole can safely be ridden through,and South St. is one of those gaps.Please take into consideration the hundreds of people who must essentially put their lives at greater risk to allow the possibility of a smoother flow of vehicle traffic. Sincerely, Kevin Moynihan Cal Poly Wheelmen President %I COUNCIL CDD DIR ® CAO Imo+ FIN DIR ACAO 27FIRE CHIEF RED FILE aATTORNEY aPW DIR CHF MEETING AGENDA [I DEPT HEADS E REC DIR �A� ITEM # BZ dal UTIL DIR DATE ^?R� J9 HR BIR 010 r10F0 T' CrGfoelc, file://C:\Documents%20and%2OSettings\slouser\Local%2OSettings\Temp\GW}000O1.HTM 6/2/2006 Page 1 of 1 SLO Citycouncil-input for South S.-safety - CEIVEED From: "misschrism@juno.com"<misschrism@juno.com> RETo: <slocitycouncil@slocity.org 0 Date: 6/2/2006 9:09 AM jI \I ( 06 06 Subject: input for South St safetySLQ CITY CLERK I will be unable to attend Tues'City Council Mtg,but I want to express my support for the Bike Coalition's recommendations for South Street safety solutions. I primarily commute by bicycle and bus from Shell Beach to SLO daily to work.There is an overall need for safety in the neighborhoods and communities in the city of SLO and especially on South Street. In order for SLO to become a commuting city and as fuel issues continue to grow there needs to be compromise. Please consider and vote for safety solutions recommended by the Bike Coalition and community we live in. Thank you! Chris M Try Juno Platinum for Free!Then,only$9.95/month! Unlimited Internet Access with IGB of Email Storage. Visit http://www.Funo.conVvalue to sign up today! W COUNCIL g CDD DIR RED FILE l�-CAO 1*FIN DIF f ACAO F' FIRE CHIEF MEETING AGENDA Q ATTORNEY L`�Pw DIR DATE li a ITEM #a2 0 CLERI(/ORIG �POLICE CHF ❑ DEPT HEADS �REC DIR � UTIL DIR TRr 50 HR DIR x C'.�o file://C\Documents%20and%20Settings\slouser\Local%20Settings\Temp\GW}00001.HTM 6/5/2006 Dodie and Bob Williams RECEiVIE:D �; 438 Woodbridge Street i f COUNCIL � DE, �`�I` " San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 t] CAO c€ FIN DIR _. in ACAO FIRE CHIEF ? (805) 544-5629 t?1 ATTORNEY PW DIR SLO CITY CLERK RED FILE IR CLERK/ORIa aPOLICE CHF 6 13 DEPT HEADS ASC DIR IvIdy MEETING AGENDA pPi, ---®- UTIL DIR �!� -O "`� 0 `+R bIR Dear Mayor and Councilmembe ATE 66 ITEM # Lz - CCrt�.G We've become aware of an item on the June 6 agenda, regarding changes to the South Street corridor and wanted to get some concerns and suggestions on the record. This morning, we met with Tim Bochum, Peggy Mandeville and Jake Hudson, and reviewed the proposal on the changes to South Street put forth by the South Street Focus Group, which appeared in the Tribune within the past few weeks. In an attempt to be brief, I will list our concerns and suggestions in bullet form. Concerns: • Queues on South going toward Broad are currently backed up to Meadow Street on a daily basis. • Queues on South turning on Higuera to Madonna Road are currently backed up to Parker Street on a daily basis. • It's difficult to make left turns onto South from either Exposition or Meadow. • Meadow Park is widely used for family barbecues, weddings, races (bicycle and running), and significant traffic exits Meadow Street as those events conclude. • There are two new projects coming on line in the near future—Bridge Street and one on the former Albertson's site, which will further affect traffic flow on South. Suggestions: • A turn pocket should be located to allow left turns at Exposition/Woodbridge for drivers transitioning into South St. traffic. • A turn pocket should be located on South at Meadow, per the above. • South should have a turn lane for drivers turning right onto Exposition and Meadow. • In lieu of bulbouts, a right turn lane at Exposition and Meadow would be preferable. Without turn pockets, and some amelioration in the queuing, an entire neighborhood of several hundred households will be "hemmed in" by traffic coming from both Broad and Higuera Streets, and only able to enter the flow of traffic sporadically. Currently, there is often an extended wait to enter traffic on South from Exposition (going toward the freeway), and we cannot see how narrowing the street will help that situation. Additionally, on a street posted for 45 MPH, cutting traffic to one lane each way may create a"rear-ender" situation, as drivers attempt to make right turns off South onto either Exposition or Meadow. It does not pose a happy prospect for the neighborhood. While we agree that traffic moves too fast on South Street and that some form of traffic calming is warranted, we encourage the Council to agree with the group's proposal in concept, but ask that you look very carefully at the details before any project is approved. Sincerely, Dodie and Bob Williams Page 1 of 1 SLO Citycouncil-South Street Project Appoval Request From: 'Barry" <barry@slobikelane.org> JUN 0 5 2406 To: <slocitycouncil@slocity.org> Date: 6/5/2006 10:07 AM I SL0 CIT`( CLERK Subject: South Street Project Appoval Request Dear Mayor Romero and members of the San Luis Obispo City Council, I write this email to you as a request to approve the recommendations set forth by the focus groups that have developed a plan to alter the current road conditions of South Street in San Luis Obispo.Through public comment periods,they have collected ideas,done studies,and have proposed aplan that is safer for pedestrians,bicyclists, and automobile driver alike. As a current board member of the San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition and a board member of the San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Advisory Committee, I urge you to approve this project. Lets make San Luis Obispo safer for all,and hopefully the tragedy that took place last October 31 st won't happen again. I thank you in advance for your approving this project plan. Respectfully, r,RDATTORNEY Barry Lewis CIL843 Murray Street Apt C FIN DIR San.Luis Obispo, CA 93405 RED FILE805-595-1977 MEETING AGENDA FIRE CHi"F barry@slobikelane.org ,gj Puts DIP. /ORIG V9 POLICE CHF DATE&& o-ITEM # _ DEPT HEADS iE; REC DIP, e.4 0 x �E� file://C \pocuments%20and%2OSettings\slouser\Local%2OSettings\Temp\GW}000O1.HTM 6/5/2006 Page 1 of 1 SLO Citycouncil-South St. From: "Larry& Kathy Pennington" <Inkpen@hotmail.com> JUN 0 5 2006 To: <slocitycouncil@slocity.org> SLO CITY CLERK Date: 6/5/2006 2:50 PM Subject: South St. Hello all, I am e-mailing because I will not be at the council meeting on Tuesday June 6 and I want my"voice"heard. I am writing because I believe the narrowing of South St.to two lanes is a terrible idea. If we follow through with this awful proposal it will make an already dangerous situation worse. Narrowing to two lanes will create fewer breaks in traffic for safe pedestrian crossings. Narrowing will also create fewer breaks in traffic for neighborhood motorists to enter safely onto South St. For years I have heard city council members say we have to use bicycles and walk more yet nothing is done to enhance the safety of or encourage pedestrians who live in the area. For years I have heard nothing but excuses as to why we cannot reduce the speed limit or put in a simple electric stoplight. There,you have the solution, reduce the speed limit-and put in a stoplight on Exposition or King,so simple even a neighborhood resident can figure it out! Please,now is the time to take these simple steps. Sincerely, Lawrence Pennington 440 Corrida Dr. SLO 546-0880 Lnkpen®hotmail.com P.S. Why have you not had the trees trimmed along South St.yet? C Ep COUNCIL CDD DIR &CAO FIN DIR RED FILE f#}ACAO le FIRE CHIEF MEETING AGENDA ATTORNEY R PW DIR �LERK/ORIG POLICE CHF ®ATE ITEM C DEPT HEADS PC DIR -� UTIL DIR DIR ►` LTD 'r CLEY[.�L file://C:\Documents%20and%2OSettings\slouser\Local%2OSettings\Temp\GW}000O1.HTM 6/5/2006 Page 1 of 1 I SLO Citycouncil -South St. Focus Group From: Adam Fukushima <adamf@slobikelane.org> RECEIVED To: <slocitymuncil@slocity.org> Date: 6/5/2006 10:21 AM f UN 0 5 2006 Subject: South St. Focus Group --S.Lo -,C[Ty-ctER Dear Members of Council, Please see the attached letter regarding the South St. Pedestrian Safety Focus Group recommendations. Sincerely, Adam Fukushima, Executive Director San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition P.O. Box 14860 San Luis Obispo CA 93406 Phone(805) 541-3875 Email:adamf@slobikelane.org Web: www.slobikelane.orq COUNCIL %CDD DIR CAO rrFIN DIR RED FILE ACAO L j-FIRE CHIEF AT-TCRNEY JR,PW DIR MEETING AGENDA CLERK/CRIG WPOLICE CHF ITEM #�_ [ EP H DS J?REC DIR DATE Lj`UTIL DIR OPHR DiR P C� L-'7eX- file://C;\Documents%20and%20Settings\slouser\Local%%20Settings\Temp\GW}00001.HTM 6/5/2006 61111111101 San Luis Obispo. County Bicycle Coalition PO Box 14860 San Luis Obispo, CA 93406-4860 Adam Fukushima, Executive Director Phone: 805-541-3875 Email: adamf@slobikelane.org San Luis Obispo City Council 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 June 2, 2006 Dear Members of Council, I would like to ask for your support for the South Street Pedestrian Safety Focus Group recommendations. As a member of the focus group, I am confident the recommendations will make the corridor a safer place for all road users including motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Over the course of many months and countless hours, the focus group studied long and hard many options for the corridor. It was a collaborative effort of individuals from many aspects of the community, who formulated the recommendations with the assistance of Caltrans and the SLO City Public Works Department. I am proud of the result. Among the focus group's recommendations, a"road diet" would help reduce speeds so that South St.,is a much more livable street in the neighborhood. Currently, the speeds are too high and parents do not feel comfortable letting their children cross the street to get to Hawthorne School or Meadow Park. A road diet would reduce the number of lanes from two lanes in each direction to one lane of traffic in each direction. A road diet will also reduce the walking distance for pedestrians. In addition, refuge islands in the center lanes at intersections will further reduce the intimidation factor of crossing such a busy street. Reducing the number of traffic lanes will also make it possible to provide bike lanes throughout South Street. This is an important aspect of the recommendation since there are few connectors between S. Higuera and Broad St. where residents feel comfortable riding a bicycle. Providing bike lanes would help alleviate the problem. A viable network of safe bikeways is key to encouraging bicycle commuting and thus reducing the costs of maintaining our roadways. Please also support the recommendation of a Halloween traffic safety campaign. Education is one of the most cost effective ways of reducing the likelihood that a tragedy like the one last year will happen again. As with any education program, asafety campaign needs to be properly funded to be effective. In addition, please carefully consider where Hwy 227 will be diverted in the future. When South Street became part of Hwy 227 many years ago, I am confident the present situation of a high- speed corridor bisecting a residential neighborhood was not intended. Yet, that is what South St is today. Please take care that wherever Hwy 227 is diverted in the future, it will not create a problem for future generations to deal with. Lastly, I would like to thank the SLO City Public Works Department for working so diligently and patiently with the focus group. They were a pleasure to work with. Best regards, Adam Fukushima Executive Director San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition Page 1 of 1 SLO Citycouncil -South Street Focus Group Proposal ECEiVED From: 'The Collier's" <mgbcollier@charter.net> J�IJ To: <slodtycounal@slocity.org> v �'��? Date: 6/5/20064:05 PM SLO CITY CLERK Subject South Street Focus Group Proposal Dear Mayor Romero and Councilmembers, It is time to attempt to make South Street a safer route for Cars, Pedestrians and Cyclists. The proposal by the Focus Group will help achieve that goal. I urge you to vote to begin to implement this program of improvements. Bruce Collier 1203 Pismo Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 EFCOUNCIL 12"CDD DIR I!�CAO rj�FIN DIR RED FILE RACAO 12 FIRE CHIEF P ATTORNEY Fxt PW DIR PSE TING AGENDA E CLERK/ORIG I?POLICE CHF Cl D PT HEADS 4 REC DIR DATE ITEM ;#� 0_ p�_ ��� r�� El UTIL DIR -- © HR OIR w e.CERJG file://C:\Documents%20and%2OSettings\slouser\Local%2OSettings\Temp\GW}000O1.HTM 6/5/2006 RECEIVED RED FILE SUN 0 6 2006M ING AGENDA Eugene Jud DA ITEM # a- tuesday June 6, 2006 SLO CITY CLERK Council Meeting Agenda Item 2: J-N\ South Street COUNCIL ET�CDD DIR AO O'FIN DIR J�11ACAO FIRE CHIEF Dear Members of the Council, 12�ATTORNEY PW DIR j2tLERKJ0Rl9 ,NOLICE CHF 69 fP' EC DIR My comments can be summarized as follows: .rUTIL DIR • Yes!--For the South Street Road Diet �yR DiR _ • No!--To an unneeded four-lane Prado Road between the sports fields and South Hills. 1. Kudos! To an exemplary focus group process and road project I have seen many projects like that and I am convinced that it will function well if some of the design details are slightly changed. In my opinion, there is even some reserve capacity in the design of this stretch. The capacity restrictions are found at the intersections at both ends of the project. In my opinion, there will be very few spill-over effects and they could be taken care of; I am convinced as an inhabitant of the adjacent "old town"neighborhood. Of course, alternatives are possible: for example, adding full traffic lights or pedestrian- oriented traffic lights in two to four locations for enhanced pedestrian safety. A "green wave" for vehicular traffic and preferential treatment for the buses should be included later where technically possible. This would mean added costs and might.alleviate some of the objections of Teary Mohan. I do not agree with Terry in his resistance to narrowing of the number of lanes, which works against pedestrian safety. By the way, my students have put approximately 3000 work hours into creating a website: "Well Designed Streets for Livable Communities."This site contains a description of Traffic Calming principles and fourteen examples of built streets in Oregon and California with pictures and technical details including the addresses of the responsible public employees. The website can be found at: httR://ceenve.call2oly.edu/iud under the section titled "Main Senior Projects" at the bottom of the page. 2. No!--To an unneeded four-lane Prado Road between the sports fields and South Hills. As the Staff Report says on page 2-5, that even without Prado Road, "all analysis conducted by Cal Trans and the City indicate the Road Diet will not significantly affect the South Street corridor." Nevertheless, the Medium Term Recommendation 2 of the 1 i staff report reads as follows: "extend Prado Road between Higuera and Broad Street as soon as possible." My proposal: "Medium Term Recommendation 2 should be changed and read: Create a focus group Prado Road with relevant stakeholders as soon as possible. Objective: analyze real needs, alternatives,impacts and phasing." The most relevant stakeholders are the more than 1000 new residents in the Margarita Area who are not here yet-but they need outspoken representation! Schoolchildren and their parents from all over the County, who play in the sports fields and do not even know what is coming, also need representation. Having a two-lane Prado Road connector going east from South Higuera to Santa.Fe Road, and then south to Tank Farm Road is ample especially since the intersection of Santa Fe and Tank Farm is already built with a generous right turn lane on Tank Farm Road. Adding a total of 25 parking spaces for the sports fields near the intersection of Prado Road and Santa Fe Road, and on the north side of the sports fields near Broad Street, might make Sports Field enthusiasts happy. Bringing Prado Road between the sports fields and the South Hills is politically highly divisive and should not be done in the next ten years until we know what will happen to Prado Road between South Higuera and Madonna Road. At least, this road should be staked out and the public should get a guided walk along it, as demanded by several organizations with several hundred members a few years ago, but refused by the city. A high level city employee mentioned in a public ITE meeting on May 0, 2006 in City Hall that the city is even "considering building Prado Road four lanes from the beginning because it is less expensive than widening later." This is in contradiction to previous city statements and appears to make no sense in our current financial situation. The above focus group might be expanded to look at the whole transportation concept of the southern part of the town. A quick analysis shows that south of the Hills the current plans of the city foresee a minimum of ten East-West travel lanes (four on Prado Road, four on Tank farm Road , and two on Buckley Road) which can handle 100,000 vehicles per day. This is 8 times more vehicles than counted today.Even the wildest land use forecasts for the next twenty years do not foresee such an increase of work and dwelling places in the southern part of town, east of South Higuera Street. Of course, such analysis should be done within the much needed revision of the City's Land Use and Circulation Elements. 3. Future Efforts to "Humanize"our Arterial Streets This is mentioned in our Circulation Element and should be pursued. It is important to remember that one of the highest goals of our Circulation Element reads as follows: "Widen and extend streets only when there is a demonstrated need and when the projects will cause no significant long-term environmental problems." I would like to add to this that the phasing of road extensions must be very carefully considered. 2 I t Securing land for infrastructure makes sense, but building infrastructure (for example: roads)for the full build-out is unreasonable in many cases. Two years ago we had highly enjoyable public workshops about Broad Street between South Street and Orcutt Road. But, to my knowledge, nothing happened and no further information was given to the public. Thank you for your involvement in creating a civilized discourse about planning for this beautiful town. Sincerely, Eugene JUD,Fellow Institute of Transportation Engineers At: Faculty Civil and Environmental Engineering California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 Phone: (805) 756-1729 Or: Jud Consultants POB 1145 San Luis Obispo, CA 93406-1145 Phone and Fax: (805) 545-5919 http://www.judcons.com 3. , O Eugene Jud Tuesday June 6, 2006 Council Meeting Agenda Item 2: South Street Dear Members of the Council, My comments can be summarized as follows: • yes!—For the South Street Road Diet • No!—To an unneeded four-lane Prado Road between the sports fields and South Hills. 1. Kudos! To an exemplary focus group process and road project I have seen many projects like that and I am convinced that it will function well if some of the design details are slightly changed. In my opinion, there is even some reserve capacity in the design of this stretch. The capacity restrictions are found at the intersections at both ends of the project. In my opinion,there will be very few spill-over effects and they could be taken care of, I am convinced as an inhabitant of the adjacent "old town"neighborhood. O Of course, alternatives are possible: for example,adding full traffic lights or pedestrian- oriented traffic lights in two to four locations for enhanced pedestrian safety. A"green wave" for vehicular traffic and preferential treatment for the buses should be included later where technically possible. This would mean added costs and might alleviate some of the objections of Terry Mohan. I do not agree with Terry in his resistance to narrowing of the number of lanes, which works against pedestrian safety. By the way, my students have put approximately 3000 work hours into.creating a website: "Well Designed Streets for Livable Communities." This site contains a description of Traffic Calming principles and fourteen examples of built streets in Oregon and California with pictures and technical details including the addresses of the responsible public employees. The website can be found at: hLtp://ceenve.calpoly.edu/iud under the section titled "Main Senior Projects"at the bottom of the page. 2. No!—To an unneeded four-lane Prado Road between the sports fields and South Hills. As the Staff Report says on page 2-5,that even without Prado Road, "all analysis conducted by Cal Trans and the City indicate the Road Diet will not significantly affect the South Street corridor."Nevertheless,the Medium Term Recommendation 2 of the O 1 P O staff report reads as follows:"extend Prado Road between Higuera and Broad Street as soon as possible." My proposal: "Medium Term Recommendation 2 should be changed and read: Create a focus group Prado Road with relevant stakeholders as soon as possible. Objective: analyze real needs,alternatives, impacts and phasing." The most relevant stakeholders are the more than 1000 new residents in the Margarita Area who are not here yet-but they need outspoken representation! Schoolchildren and their parents from all over the County, who play in the sports fields and do not even know what is coming, also need representation. Having a two-lane Prado Road connector going east from South Higuera to Santa Fe Road, and then south to Tank Farm Road is ample especially since the intersection of Santa Fe and Tank Farm is already built with a generous right turn lane on Tank Farm Road. Adding a total of 25 parking spaces for the sports fields near the intersection of Prado Road and Santa Fe Road, and on the north side of the sports fields near Broad Street, might make Sports Field enthusiasts happy. Bringing Prado Road between the sports fields and the South Hills is politically highly divisive and should not be done in the next ten years until we know what will happen to Prado Road between South Higuera and Madonna Road. At least,this road should be staked out and the public should get a guided walk along it, as demanded by several Oorganizations with several hundred members a few years ago,but refused by the city. A high.level city employee mentioned in a public ITE meeting on May 9`h, 2006 in City Hall that the city is even"considering building Prado Road four lanes from the beginning because it is less expensive than widening later." This is in contradiction to previous city statements and appears to make no sense in our current financial situation. The above focus group might be expanded to look at the whole transportation concept of the southern part of the town. A quick analysis shows that south of the Hills the current plans of the city foresee a minimum of ten East-West travel lanes(four on Prado Road, four on Tank farm Road, and two on Buckley Road) which can handle 100,000 vehicles per day. This is 8 times more vehicles than counted today. Even the wildest land use forecasts for the next twenty years do not foresee such an increase of work and dwelling places in the southern part of town, east of South Higuera Street. Of course, such analysis should be done within the much needed revision of the City's Land Use and Circulation Elements. 3. Future Efforts to"Humanize" our Arterial Streets This is mentioned in our Circulation Element and should be pursued. It is important to remember that one of the highest goals of our Circulation Element reads as follows:. "Widen and extend streets only when there is a demonstrated need and when the projects will cause no significant long-term environmental problems." I would like to Oadd to this that the phasing of road extensions must be very carefully considered. 2 IF Securing land for infrastructure makes sense,but building infrastructure(for example: Oroads) for the full build-out is unreasonable in many cases. Two years ago we had highly enjoyable public workshops about Broad Street between South Street and Orcutt Road. But, to my knowledge, nothing happened and no further information was given to the public. Thank you for your involvement in creating a civilized discourse about planning for this beautiful town. Sincerely, ir Eugene JUD, Fellow Institute of Transportation Engineers At: Faculty Civil and Environmental Engineering California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 Phone: (805) 756-1729 0 Or. Jud Consultants POB 1145 San Luis Obispo,CA 93406-1145 Phone and Fax: (805) 545-5919 http://www.judcons.com O 3 Please support the South Street Road Diet Tonight Page 1 of 1 SLID Citycouncil - Please supp6.. the South Street Road Diet Tonight From: "Amy K. Kardel" <amy.kardel@cnsslo.com> To: <slocitycouncil@slocity.org> RECEIVED Date: 6/6/2006 2:17 PM Subject: Please support the South Street Road Diet Tonight JUN 0 6 1006 SLO_CL7�a Dear City Council, As a mom and someone who lives.in the downtown neighborhood I know that the proposed solution for crossing South Street will be a huge improvement. Kids from my kid's school live on both sides of South and are really cut off from each other without a safe crossing. Thank you for supporting this plan. It is such a shame that it took the death of a child to get us to fix a really dangerous situation. Thank you, I n Amy OUNCIL e RED FILE AO DDD DIA MFS ING AGENDA �rIN DIR IfCOJO TORNEY ,;-, FIRE CHIEF DA� ITEM # ERWORIG '?W ICE R CLICECHF Amy Kardel FADS SEC DIR CFO L171L DIR Computer Network Services 1R aIR 'R DI SAVe time: try SAVe, our spam and virus filtering service. Call fora free demo and trial. amy@cnsslo.com 805.543.1930 x12 phone 805.543.5760 fax #### This message has been scanned by F-Secure Anti-Virus for Microsoft Exchange. For more information.connect to http://www.f-secure.com/ file://C:\Documents%20and%2OSettings\slouser\Local%2OSettings\Temp\GW}000O1.HTM 6/6/2006 June 6, 2006 Dear Mayor Romero and members of the San Luis Obispo City Council, The Central Coast Low Vision Council has always had many concerns regarding the South Street corridor. In its present state it is not accessible to most, but especially not those who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise disabled. As a growing number in our community, the likelihood of an incident involving a person I ith disabilities is increasing quickly. We urge you to make the environment safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists by supporting CalTrans, City Works and the South Street Focus Group in reconfiguring the South Street corridor. This is a street that has been overlooked for many years. Sincerely, The Central Coast Low Vision Council