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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/05/1992, A1 & 1 - PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION & BKE LANE IMPROVEMENTS MEL-4 AGENDA DATE 5-5-1 REM # Al. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION (REISS/DUNIN/123) Report by Council Subcommittee (Reiss/Dunn) of recommendation for two appointments to the Parks and Recreation Commission. To be distributed under separate cover. AI - I '11111101111�1II � MEETI ;11111 c� or san �a�s oB�spo MMINftmCOUNCIL AGENDA REPORT ITEMINu From: Arnold Jonas, Community Development Director Prepared by: Terry Sanville, Bicycle Program Manager-65 Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator Subject: Consideration of the Bicycle Advisory Committee's list of recommended projects to be funded from the $400, 000 allocated for bicycle projects in the 1991-93 Capital Improvement Projects account. CAO RECOMMENDATION: Adopt a resolution which: (a) Approves the Bicycle Program Budget described in Section III of the Bicycle Committee Progress Report. (b) Concurs with the Community Development Director' s environmental determination to grant negative declarations for the Foothill Boulevard, Higuera Street (between High and Marsh Streets) , Santa Barbara Street and Laurel Lane projects (Appendix D of Progress Report) . (c) Directs the Finance Department carry over unexpended capital improvement funds earmarked for bicycle improvements from the 1989-91 Financial Plan to implement the proposed bicycle program. DISCUSSION: A. Background Over the past four months, the City's Bicycle Advisory Committee has held seven meetings to decide on a list of projects to be funded by the $400, 000 allocated in the 1991 - 1993 Capital Improvement Projects account for bicycling improvements. The attached Bicycle Committee Progress Report provides an in-depth account of how this list of recommended projects was determined as well as a summary of associated work the Committee has completed. The Bicycle Program Budget Summary (the page following page 6) identifies the bicycle program's funding sources and breaks the recommended list of projects into three categories plus funding for a railroad bike path design study and contingencies. A funding level of $400, 000 is required to fully fund the recommended list of projects. The category one allocation of $280, 000 will fund bike lane improvement projects, the category two allocation of $25, 000 will fund promotional and educational programs, and the category three allocation of $20, 000 will fund bicycle parking facilities. (Note: on April 6, 1992 , the City Council approved $6, 620 for the funding of "Bike Fest" which is part of the category two allocation. ) $75, 000 has been budgeted for completion of a design study for the railroad bike path. 1_� '������i�N��IIIIIIIIII� IIU�11 MY osan L"IS OBISp0 lii% COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT It should be noted that City staff has just recently received word from Caltrans officials that the State has approved the City' s requested design exception for lane widths on Santa Rosa Street between Murray and Walnut Streets. This exception will enable the installation of Class II- B bike lanes (reference project #4 in the proposed Bicycle Program Budget) . Furthermore, Caltrans have suggested a design solution that will reduce the City's required funding match by 50% -- a savings of $45, 000. This savings can be used as contingencies for other projects identified in the proposed bicycle budget or can be reserved for other projects not yet identified. The bicycle committee will continue to review project options as implementation of the program progresses. A questionnaire, distributed in November and December of 1991, allowed citizens to give direct input to the Committee with respect to the recommended list of projects (see section IV-G of the progress report) . Responses were tabulated and ranked according to criteria established by the committee. In order to be considered at this time by the Council, recommended projects were required to be consistent with the adopted 1985 Bicycle Facilities Plan. Through additional input from affected residents and business owners, the Bicycle Committee has identified a list of projects that will substantially increase the total mileage of bike lanes within the ' City and provide programs and facilities allowing for a safer and more effective bicycling environment. It is expected that an increased bicycle ridership within the City will follow the implementation of this list of recommended projects. i B. Significant Impacts Bike lane installation on some segments of City streets will require the removal of on-street parking. On other streets, the number of vehicle lanes will need to be reduced in order to allow enough space for bike lanes. Through environmental review (see Appendix D of Progress Report) , ' it has been determined that none of the proposed projects will create any significant impacts. However, because of the substantial changes to existing conditions that will occur, five projects will be discussed as part of this report. The first four projects involve parking removal (the project for Foothill also involves vehicle lane reduction) and the fifth involves a reduction of vehicle lanes with potential to increase congestion (although not by a significant level) . The map included within the progress report (brown pages) shows all areas identified for bike lane improvements on a City map. Recognizing that parking removal was of particular concern, the Committee tried to balance the parking needs of residents and businesses along with the needs of bicyclists. Residents and business owners that would be affected by parking removal were notified and invited to give testimony prior to the Committee's final approval of their list of projects. Four street segments identified for bike lane improvements will require some removal of parking in order to accommodate bike lanes. 1-a u�nil►�Nu�lillllllllh ���pl city of San L.1s OBISpo COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT The following provides a detailed description of the proposed parking removal locations: 1) The southern side of Foothill Boulevard between Tassaiara and the Foothill Plaza (an estimated 33 spaces) : Discussion: Responding to suggestions from residents who live along Foothill Boulevard west of Tassajara Street, the Bicycle Committee has recommended that this segment of Foothill be changed to a two lane street ; with a center turn lane. This configuration will allow for bike lanes and curb parking on both sides of the street and, according to engineering staff, will not significantly affect levels of service. ' However, to handle increased volumes of traffic east of Tassajara, the committee felt that Foothill should be retained as a four lane street. To provide bike lanes along this segment will require the removal of some curb parking. The committee chose the south side of Foothill because a , significant amount of this frontage is now vacant and there were a , greater number of businesses and residential properties along the northern frontage. 2) Selected locations on both sides of Grand Avenue near the corner at Garfield (an estimated 10 spaces) : - I Discussion: The committee considered at least four alternatives for installing bike .lanes on Grand Avenue and tried to coordinate its ideasi with those of the Public Works Department for installing landscaped ) medians. The reason for removing limited parking at the Garfield intersection is to improve bicycling safety at this location. The street right-of-way is narrower and parked cars limit the part of the roadway that can be used by bicyclists while staying out of the way of. fast- moving vehicles. 3) The eastern side of Santa Barbara Street with the exception of the area directly fronting Railroad Square (an estimated 65 parkins spaces) : I Discussion: In response to the opposition from property owners along Santa Barbara Street, the committee's vote was split five to five on a decision to recommend this project. The property owners argued that important curb parking would be eliminated and that Santa Barbara Street was not appropriate as a bike route. Santa Barbara Street is a major entry way for vehicles and bicyclists into the downtown and a connecting route to the north City areas. It is a narrow street with parking on both sides. Staff evaluation of this corridor indicated that there are opportunities for fronting businesses to accommodate patron and employee parking off-street. For example, while curb parking is moderately to heavily used in front of the "Do It Center, " informal surveys of the off-street parking indicate vacancies and there is additional land area on this property to accommodate more off-street parking. Side streets in the area (eg. High Street, Morro Street) could also be used by other businesses fronting the east side of Santa Barbara Street -- however the parking would not be as convenient I-3 ���n��►�►�iiullllllllll� ���IU city of San i..4IS osIspo AM COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT off-street parking. Side streets in the area (eg. High Street, Morro Street) could also be used by other businesses fronting the east side of Santa Barbara Street -- however the parking would not be as conveniently located as existing curb spaces. Property owners and the committee discussed the desirability of Santa Barbara Street as a bike route. While there are other routes that appear parallel to Santa Barbara, such as Chorro Street, they would require bicyclists to take longer and more time consuming routes. The potential; for success of diverting bicyclists to other. corridors is doubtful, however the committee came to no conclusions concerning the potential for alternative routing. The planning staff favors the installation of bike lanes on Santa Barbara Street. The staff understands that in the long term (time frame unknown) the City may decide to purchase excess railroad property and establish a parallel bike route east of Santa Barbara Street along the railroad right-of-way. However, improving bicycling safety at this point in time warrants the installation of bike lanes on Santa Barbara Street. 4) The western side of Laurel Lane between Southwood Drive and Orcutt Rd. (an estimated 65 spaces) . Discussion: The Bicycle Committee felt that now was an opportune time to establish bike lanes before the vacant properties adjoining the west side of Laurel Lane are developed with housing: The present curb parking is very lightly used and there are sufficient spaces along the eastern edge of the street adjoining the residential condominiums available fors area residents. The following project involves a reduction in travel lanes to accomodate bike lanes: 5) Restripina of Higuera Street between Marsh and High Streets. Discussion: Feedback from the bicycle questionnaire indicated that this , street segment is a major bike route into and out of the downtown and that improvements are needed. Travel lanes are narrow and vehicles are moving fast. There are no bike lanes and no curb parking along this segment of Higuera Street. Sidewalks are minimal widths and buildings are located directly behind the sidewalks. The Bicycle Committee discussed various options for restriping the street to include bike lanes. Alternatives included narrowing travel lanes, narrowing the sidewalks, installing bike lanes only on one side of the street, and identifying alternative routes. The recommended alternative (originally suggested by engineering staff) is to restripe the street to provide for bike lanes, two travel lanes (one in each direction) and a center turn lane) . To address the concern for street capacity, the Committee asked the Engineering Division to evaluate the impact of changing the lanes on Higuera Street on intersections at High Street and Marsh-Higuera. The computer analysis conducted by the engineering staff indicated that these intersections will continue to operate at acceptable levels (Level of Service C or better) after the restriping was completed. L - ��������u►�IIIII�IIp IIUIII city of San JS OBISpo _ COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT C. Citizen Participation All meetings of the Bicycle Committee were advertised and attendance by the public has been generally good. The public provided input to the recommended project listing by responding to the questionnaire and by commenting on projects that were considered by the Committee. D. Conclusion The Bicycle Committee has made an effort to recommend projects that will improve bicycling in the City as well as accommodate the parking needs of residents and businesses. The list of recommended projects is fully consistent with improvements specified in the 1985 Bicycle Facilities Plan. By approving the Bicycle Committee's recommendations, the Council will be adding significantly to bikeways within the City and will also be providing a funding source for programs and other facilities that will allow for improved safety and convenience for bicyclists. i CONCURRENCES: The Public Works and Police departments are both represented on the Bicycle Committee and have contributed their expertise to the project recommendations. Engineering staff has also participated in the recommendation of projects and has performed analyses to verify the feasibili7ty of the project designs. Recommended projects that would significantly alter the existing traffic lane configurations (i.e. Foothill and Higuera) have undergone a capacity analysis by engineering , to determine whether or not there would be any significant circulation impacts. In both cases it was determined that no such impacts would result from implementation of these projects. (See Appendix D: Initial Environmental Studies, in the attached progress report for further details. ) FISCAL IMPACT: The 1989-91 Financial Plan (pages D-41 and E-8) included $200, 000 per year for bikeway improvements as a Council Work Program objective. The 1991-93 Financial Plan (page D-52) called for completion of bikeway improvements pending adoption of a bicycle improvement program. Historically, a CIP project must begin within three years or its funding will be cancelled. As such, the $200, 000 budgeted for bicycle improvements in 1989-90 would cease at the end of this fiscal year. In order to implement the proposed bicycle program, the Bicycle Committee requests that the Council allow the carry-over of unexpended capital improvement funds ($400,000) earmarked for bicycle improvements from the 1989-91 Financial Plan. These funds would be encumbered by the end of the 1992-93 fiscal year. The bicycle program budget will fund the category 1,2 and 3 projects identified after page 6 in the attached Bicycle Committee Progress Report as well as a design study for the railroad bike path. The Public Works Department is scheduled to repave Foothill Boulevard and Santa Barbara Street in 1992 and install medians and improve Grand Avenue k5oo 1 ►����►��i►Ii10111111111° 1110 ll�lll city of San tins OBISpo COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT in 1993 (estimated) . Therefore, by incorporating bike lanes into these repaving projects (that are already budgeted for) , no additional costs will be incurred and Bicycle Program Budget funds can be used for other priority projects. With an estimated total cost of $280,000, the category 1 projects will provide a substantial upgrading to the existing bike lane network within the City. Category 2 (with the exception of "Bike Fest") and 3 projects have not been identified to the same level of detail as category one projects. Instead, a list of eligible projects has been identified, only some of which will be completely funded through these allocations. Thel Bicycle Committee will review specific projects within these lists upon the Council's approval of the Bicycle Program budget. ALTERNATIVES TO CAO RECOMMENDATION: i 1) Approve Bicycle Program Budget as amended by Council (Council to identify changes) ; or 2) Continue the decision for further discussion with direction to staff to provide additional information as needed; or 3) Deny the proposed Bicycle Program Budget. ATTACMCINTS: Draft Resolution Adopting the Proposed Bicycle Program Budget Bicycle Committee Progress Report (available in Council Office for review) RESOLUTION NO. (1992 SERIES) RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO: ADOPTING THE BICYCLE PROGRAM BUDGET; APPROVING NEGATIVE DECLARATION DETERMINATIONS FOR PROJECTS SPECIFIED THEREIN; AND DIRECTING THE CARRY OVER OF UNEXPENDED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUNDS WHEREAS, the City of San Luis Obispo ("City") supports bicycling as a form of transportation that decreases congestion, air pollution and energy consumption; and WHEREAS, the City has developed a list of projects to be funded with the $400,000 budgeted in the 1989 - 1991 Capital Improvement Program for bicycle projects; and WHEREAS, the Community Development Director has determined that projects identified in the bicycle program budget for Foothill Boulevard, Higuera Street, Santa Barbara Street and Laurel Lane will not cause significant harm to the environment; and WHEREAS, the bicycle program budget includes funding for non-capital projects that will require a transfer of funds in the amount of $25,000 for non-capital uses; and WHEREAS, the carry over of unexpended funds in the amount of$400,000 from the 1989 - 1991 allocation in the Capital Improvement Program is necessary to fund the identified projects; NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo hereby: 1. Adopts the Bicycle Program Budget attached as Exhibit "A' and incorporated herein by reference; 2. Concurs with the Community Development Director to grant negative declarations for the projects located on Foothill Boulevard, Higuera Street, Santa Barbara Street and Laurel Lane; and 1- 7 Page 2: Resolution (1992 Series) 3. Directs the Department of Finance to carry over unexpended capital improvement funds earmarked for bicycle improvements to cover the cost of implementing the bicycle program budget. On motion of seconded by and on the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted this day of 1992. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk APPROVED: City ' 'strative Officer ty for y Fin c Dire or (� Pj I C unity Devel nt Director a7 1. )Zhief of o ice 1-8 r EXHIBIT `T a 3 � E a� � U � a ,a U �a Q o 0 0005 c p 0 0 0000 o L p C-4 Q F" (� 69 � 69 69 69 69 d4 y U 6J E F M rCd 4.1 vy U CU L CD ............ ;:: > .a: N r} > E O•.'� •O �. cyder ci cd S _C O �{ i0 G•� Pw cd 0 964 cl C v w CD M G ate+ � NMCC r+ C O `� � N SO CA O, V Cd co ccl cd ' C ti 'Q V U V I cd fj {� uC -9 1 I� __..._ .... ..._ __. . . . ... .. .. .... 'FIE CITY OT SAN LUIS OBISPO BICYCLE COMMITTEE PRUGRESS>REPORT .. ... April, 1992 1914 patent 7 Awn Membership: Staff Representatives: Citizen Representatives Terry Sanville, Program Manager Richard Marshall, Chairman Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator Wayne Williams Dave Pierce, Public Works James Lopes Bruce LaHargue, Police Gary Sims Linda Fitzgerald, Recreation Wes Conner n '�� �<< ,�� C°u ��� � ;._ 1 � � ��� � �� '1 �1 `I f. 1 �i: :1. BICYCLE COMMMEE PROGRESS REPORT . APRIL PREFACE PAGE L Getting Started 2 H. Summary of Recommendations 3 III. Preparing a Bicycle Program Budget 4 A. Purpose and Assumptions B. Formulating Budget Recommendations IV. Surveying Existing Conditions and Bicycle Needs A. Summary of Findings 7 B. Current Bike Use Patterns 8 C. Existing Bike Lanes and Paths 9 D. Existing Downtown Bicycle Parking 10 E. Other Community's Programs 14 F. Locations Where Bicycling Safety is an Issue 16 ' G. The November 1991 Bicycle Needs Questionnaire 20 V. Working on Specific Bicycle Projects and Programs 24 A. Bike Lane Account Grant Program B. Orcutt Road Bike Lanes C. Madonna Road Bike Lane D. Bike Rack Installation E. Bike Fest F. Pavement Improvements VI. Next Steps 25 A. Bicycle Budget Approval and Implementation ' B. Proposition 116 Grant Application C. Continued Work on Updating the Bicycle Facility Plan D. Promotional Activities �• APPENDIX Appendix A. Classification of City Bicycle Paths and Lanes Appendix B: Project ideas generated by the November, 1991, Bicycling Questionnaire. Appendix Q Bicycle Committee Minutes Appendix D: Initial Environmental Studies Appendix E: 1990 Transportation Survey Results (Bicycle Exerpt) ' Appendix F: Summary of Other Community's Bicycle Programs FIGURES Figure 1: Streets Often Used by Bicyclists Figure 2: Map of Existing Bicycle Lanes (January 1992) Figure 3: List and Description of Existing Bike Lanes Figure 4: List of Bike Parking Facilities in the Downtown Figure 5: Map of Bike Parking Facilities in the Downtown Figure 6: Survey Results of Bicycle Parking Pattern 1 PREFACE In August, 1991, the City Council created a ten-member committee to promote bicycling as an important form of transportation in San Luis Obispo. The composition of the Bicycle Committee is unique in that its membership include five staff members from City departments (2 from Community Development, 1 from Police, 1 from Public Works and 1 from Parks and Recreation) and five City residents. Since October, 1991 the Bicycle Committee has been reviewing bike lane projects, completing grant applications, surveying existing bicycling conditions and preparing a budget for utilizing funds earmarked in the 1991-1993 Financial Plan and previous plans for bicycle improvements. Meetings have been held on the first and third Monday of each month. Section II and III of this report represents the focus of the Bicycle Committees work. In Section III, a specific course of action is presented in the form of a 'Bicycle Program Budget." Section IV is a synopsis of the background work done by the committee to arrive at specific budget recommendations. L:GETTING:STARTED The Bicycle Committee held its first meeting on October 7, 1991, adopted bylaws and began r consideration of a two-year work program. The committee established a work program that includes the following major components: A. Survey existing bicycling conditions in San Luis Obispo B. Provide recommendations to the City Council for implementing short-range bicycle projects using existing earmarked budget revenues. C. Prepare revisions to the 1985 Bicycle Facility Plan. ' D. Identify promotional and educational programs. E. Evaluate the need for a permanent Bicycle Committee. To date, the Bicycle Committee has completed items A and B of its workP �ro am and has made some progress on items C and D. To accomplish this work, each committee member volunteered to undertake specific research or survey assignments. The member's work was consolidated into a draft report that was presented to the Bicycle Committee for approval. Section IV of this report represents the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the Bicycle Committee. 2 1 .......................................... .......... ................ ............ .......................... ....... .......................................... .. . . .................. ...... ...... ........ . lI. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the research findings presented in this report, the Bicycle Committee recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution: (a) Approving the Bicycle Program Budget described in Section III (the colored pages). (b) Concurring with the Community Development Director's environmental. determination to grant negative declarations for the Foothill, Higuera, Santa Barbara Street and Laural Lane projects (see Appendix D). (c) Directing the Finance Department to carry over unexpended capital improvement funds earmarked for bicycle improvements to cover the cost of implementing the bicycle program budget. r 3 III RECOMMENDING A BICYCLE <:.:PRO:GRAM>BUDGET.; 1. Budgeting Assumptions. The 1991-1993 A. Purpose and. Assumptions Financial Plan and previous Financial Plan earmarked $200,000 per year for bicycle capital improvements. The Bicycle Committee to set out to establish a specific expenditure plan for these funds, targeted at essential bicycle facilities. To construct a budget, the Committee made the following assumptions: 1. Duration of Budget: The recommended expenditure plan would cover the remainder of FY 1991-92 and the entirety of FY 1992-93. A new budget would be prepared in the spring of 1993 as part of the preparation of a new financial plan. 2. Cam Over of Funding: The Bicycle Committee will request a carry over of funding not expended in FY 1991-92 into next fiscal year to allow full implementation of the proposed expenditure plan. The committee feels that this carryover is appropriate since the committee only started it's work in October 1991 and spent significant time soliciting public input into the process. . 3. Funding of Promotional Activities: The Bicycle Committee can use TDA funds (the bicycle/pedestrian reserved funds) to support promotional and educational activities. 4. Eligible Projects: Projects eligible for funding during this first period would need to be fully consistent with the 1985 Bicycle Facility Plan. The implementation of projects not consistent with the existing plan would await the City's revisions to the Bicycle Facility Plan -- targeted for adoption in the fall of 1992. 2. Categorizing and Ranking the Projects. B:: Formulating Budget All of the projects suggested by Recommendations respondents to the 1991 Bicycle i Questionnaire, projects suggested by unsolicited public input, and all ideas generated by the Bicycle Committee itself, were divided into the following four categories: t Category 1 Projects - Bicycle Lanes and Bicycle Lane Improvements Category 2 Projects - Promotional and Educational Programs Category 3 Projects - Bicycle Parking and Other Facilities 4 Within Category 1 projects were evaluated and scored using the following preestablished criteria and scoring method approved by the Bicycle Committee: Evaluation Criteria: 1. Timing: projects or programs that can be accomplished during the funding period (by June 30, 1993). ' 2. Ease of Implementation: easy to construct, city owns the property and controls the project design. 3. Cost: taken individually, a project will not wipe out the budget and will leave funds for other projects. 4. Consistency With City Plans: the project is fully consistent with adopted City plans and policies. 5. Safety Benefits: improves an unsafe condition. 6. Extent of Need: provides a link in an identified bike route. Scoring Method: 0 = Does not meet ranking criteria 1 = Partially meets ranking criteria 2 = Fully meets ranking criteria Given the ranking criteria and scoring method described above, the highest possible score 1 single project (assuming that the criteria are "unweighted") is 12. All of the projects in Categories 1 were scored and placed in numeric order. Rather than establish ranking for Category 2 (promotion and education) and Category 3 (bicycle parking and other facilities) projects (where the criteria were often not applicable or difficult to apply), it was felt that the a certain portion of the bike funds should be earmarked for this purpose and that priorities and a project funding lists would be set at a later date. It should be noted that the budget includes two projects that the City Council has previously supported: (1) Class II-B bike lanes on Santa Rosa Street between Murray and Walnut Streets, and (2) Railroad Bike Path Design Study. The City had previously applied for state grant funding (TCI Program) for both of these projects but was not successful. Caltrans is willing to seek funding from other grant sources for the Santa Rosa Street project . (Highway 1) if the City retains its "matching commitment" of $90,000 (hence the recommended budget amount). It is unlikely that grant funding will be available for the Railroad Bike Path Design Study because grant programs typically give lower priority to design or feasibility studies and higher priority to capital improvements. Local funds will have to be used if the railroad bike path is to proceed. 5 3. Action on the draft Bicycle Program Budget. The Bicycle Coordinator and Program Manager evaluated the results of the scoring process and prepared a draft budget for consideration by the Bicycle Committee. The Committee reviewed the draft budget and subsequent amended versions at its February 3, February 24, March 3, and March 16, 1992 meetings. The committee reviewed each bike lane project and took public testimony from resident bicyclists and property owners affected by some of the Category 1 projects. Residents and business owners were provided notice of the March 16 meeting and over a dozen people provided testimony. The committee's discussions were often high spirited with numerous design options for each project evaluated in detail. For some of the more complex bike lane projects, such as Foothill Boulevard, Santa Barbara Street, and Higuera Street, special design assistance was provided by the City Engineering Staff. In general, the committee was responsive to the testimony of residents that were concerned with the removal of curb parking. Only where curb parking would preclude the establishment of any type of bike lane that met minimal dimensions (either Type II-A or II-B), did the committee support limited parking removal. A considerable amount of time was spent considering the Foothill and Santa Barbara Street projects because both of these street corridors are scheduled to be repaved during 1992 and now is an opportune time to establish bike lanes. In a similar light, Grand Avenue was y given significant attention because the Public Works staff will be presenting a median landscaping plan in the near future which will affect the cross sectional design of the street. For Grand Avenue, the Bicycle Committee is recommending a design that can accommodate curb parking and bike lanes on both sides of the street, four travel lanes and a center landscaped median. The Committee's consideration.of the Santa Barbara Street project resulted in a split vote of the full committee (five in support and five opposed). Key issues that were raised during the debate was the desirability of Santa Barbara Street as a bike route and the removal of curb parking. The Committee voted to forward the project to the City Council with no recommendation along with all minutes and materials that describe public testimony and the Committee's deliberations. After considerable discussion, public input and amendments to the draft budget, the Bicycle Committee recommended that the expenditure plan presented on the following colored pages pages (with the exception of the Santa Barbara Street project) be forward to the City Council for consideration. 4. Environmental Determination. The Community Development Department staff completed environmental evaluation of the proposed bike lane projects. 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IABIAA L14 PAR[ OPO �'E a meq ' P IV. nO yncNEu O NSi �l 1 Z, " 1 � � S uORaSp, SN O r rA ONNA n 2A 3 I I ..ate IARWOOD � I I City of Proposed Bike Lane Improvements San lUIS OBISPO KIM - identifies street segment 90 Palm Street/Post Otfice Box BiDO• San Luis Obispo,CA 93AO3.8100 ►------ - identifies parking removal locations 72-66 1 3 � b e o d � .n1 Kn a +• yyvwinc� as cpi Ei ' Cd v� n O h to y O � � ++ , C u yA � C v al � ❑ O = O Y O L. G N � - h 0 W O O i cC :j O O C y O b cl p v U3o " � � � aaaaaa •-- ;; moo .04 SC cd PC A O 4 � d ' a � o o, 3 3 3 � a � � o ' eq � a cc L co as as �n —S4 o 3: '` tr o � I0 a ' c � o o c c~d - 0 0 0 CLI fj .o O y o x .sa b u a y a c° A vim O+ N .0 O 0. O cd LL w 0, ° GO 0 .-U D ; 1 a o c to cd o - y •�' 3 � cz U .. .. :'� � U "� •� v Ln u ••y v7 �; O .�+ b cd O c. cd tag 04as o o O OOC � � ar d E S o oa � 4W4 ;< ':€ c❑ c4 ca cavy ' n � •�' D 6 0 0 Ono Za cc cd '0 F , 0 0 ' 0 0 a � o o A w a C 0 0 E- co 0 o W y H cl 0 V _H V O U O LN w o � x ' vD V C—n C h 0a 03 0 Cd 0 cd 3 C Cl w vCd v C cc W O o VA U 414 IN C9 •r. cd y Uoo ►° o i w o ° C° � � � � °' cv � y0 cio z cd cd OCd y $ c ' 'w' aaU .0 0 v > F � ƒ E � k k� / \ Cd o � r . � � 0 kE e o _ go ................ \.... . A y ....... / ��� � �.. ... � k k ......... ............ .... . .......... _\ � 2 , � IV. SURVEYING EXISTING CONDITIONS.: To better plan for bicycling, one of the A.::SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Committee's first tasks was to survey existing conditions within San Luis Obispo. This analysis is presented in the remainder of this report. What follows is a summary of the Committee's findings associated with the survey work. Streets Used by Bicyclists All of the streets designated by The 1985 Bicycle Facility Plan as official City bike routes are used by bicyclists. However, observation and experience shows that there are other none-designated routes that may also be convenient to bicyclists. Fourteen streets and the Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way were identified as non- designated routes. Existing Bike Lanes There are over 20 miles of Class 1I on-street bike lanes within San Luis Obispo. Since the adoption of the 1985 Bicycle Facility Plan, bike lanes have been established along eleven street segments. Seven of these projects were City projects while four were established as part of development projects on street frontage properties. Downtown Bicycle Parking The response to the November 1991 Questionnaire distributed by the Bike Committee indicates that additional bike parking is needed in the downtown. �. A field survey of the downtown completed in January, 1992 indicates that there are a number of locations where additional bike racks may be warranted or where existing racks are poorly placed. Other Community's Bike Programs Program materials from eight communities were reviewed. Most of these communities have adopted a long-term bicycle plan similar to San �. Luis Obispo's Bicycle Facility Plan. However, these other communities seemed to have more fully-developed educational and promotional programs and had published a wide range of materials for public use. A synopsis of some other community's programs is included in Appendix F. Areas Where Bicycle Safety is an Issue Traffic accident information was reviewed for the years 1984 through November, 1991. Yearly statistics do not show any clear trend in the incidence of bicycle accidents. Most accidents occur at intersections and involve turning movements. Routes and intersections in the northern part of the City leading to Cal Poly �j and to and from the downtown experience the most accidents. 1 Results of Bicycling Needs Questionnaire Questionnaires were distributed to bicycle user groups, business organizations, schools and neighborhood groups. Over 160 people responded with ideas for improving bicycle facilities in San Luis Obispo. The respondents also identified routes where bicycling safety is of concern. A complete listing of the response is included as Appendix B. 1. Purpose and Scope. The purpose of ....BeStreets Used By Bicyclists' this analysis was to identify any difference between what appear to be desired routes and the official City routes designated by , the 1985 Bicycle Facility Plan The committee wanted to be sure that any recommended improvements would be at locations that benefit bicyclists -- eg. improve safety and convenience and promote cycling. 2. Evaluation Process. Because of time and manpower constraints, no specific bicycle counts were made to quantify the level of bike traffic. However, by experience and field observations, committee members were able to identify preferred bike routes. These observations were compared with the response from the bike needs questionnaire (see Section F below) which asked people to identify routes where bicycling safety is a concern and locations for needed bike lane or intersection improvements. Streets used often by bicyclists are shown on Figure 1. 3. Conclusions and Recommendations. There is a close correlation between the routes . shown on Figure 1 on the following page and those identified in the 1985 Bicycle Facility Plan and the City's 1982 General Plan Circulation Element. However, routes that are used l by bicyclist that do not appear in either of these two planning documents include: Routes used for Bicychns Not Listed hn the:1985:Bicycle.Facility.Plan Suested treat From: To Street Tune Parallel Route (1l Imnrovements. horro Street: Foothill Higuera 2-lane Arterial Yes- Class H Bike Law a Street Foothill Marray 2-lane: local No. Class n Bike urray Street Casa Santa:Rosa 2 lane local: No Class If Bile Lam ainona.AvenueTasajarra. Broad 2-lane Collector Yes d Drive Sant Rosa Patricia. 24ane local. No atricia Drive.... Highland. Foothill2-lane local No ahn.Street Nipomo Santa Rosa; 2-lane local Yes ugusta/Bishop Johnson:. Laurel 2.1ane:local Yes Repave Street ccan aire Madonna Los>Osos 2-lane.Collector No each/Nipomo Chorro I ignera 2-laneJocal Yes onterey Street Grand Chorro 2-lane Artenal:: Yes; .: Class if Biles Law Via athway Ave'; California 2rlanelocal :::. No :Carta ridge/Beeliee Higuera South< . 2-lane;local Yes ailroad RO.W Orcutt Road Cal Poly.::.: RailRoad Right of Way Yes in:Some segments OTES 1) Stree; segment is closoly parallel to designated bike route: 2) Street segments where;tmprovemeats suggested liy resgondeats to`1991 Bike Needs:Queshonnaire It should be noted that many of the routes shown on Figure 1 have also been identified as locations where bicycling safety is of concern (see questionnaire response, Section F). To address safety concerns, questionnaire respondents identified the need for Class II bike lane improvements. 8 i �i1 iS���tV�� ys�f.. �♦\� IIS � �•_�_�s���, . �,� . MIWmL n IM 01 YJ 9901 al III Blom 11 1 . • i [ia€iii i i€ : .i The Bicycle Committee is evaluating alternative types of bike lanes along preferred bike routes that may reduce or avoid impacts on curb parking and is considering alternative routing (eg. parallel routing) where it will serve bicyclist needs. However, in some locations, there will not be physical alternatives or parallel routes and the City will need to establish a priority for using limited street area for pedestrians, landscaping and medians, motor vehicles and bicyclists. 1. Purpose and Scope. The results of the C. Existing Bike Lanes 1990 Transportation Survey (655 City households responding) show that the provision of bike lanes and bike paths is the single greatest action that the City can take to encourage people to ride bicycles. The purpose of this analysis is to determine the extent to which the City has provided these desired facilities and to identify important gaps in the bike lane network. It is the goal of the Bicycle Committee that the City agressively pursue the creation of a continuous network of bike lanes and paths connecting all residential areas with major activity centers such as the downtown, Cal Poly, and outlying employment centers. All major streets in San Luis Obispo were reviewed to identify the location of Class I and Class II bike lanes. 2. Conclusions and Recommendations. Figure #2 and Figure #3 identify the location of existing bike lanes and paths and describe the type of path at each location. In sum, as of January, 1992 the City has the following amount of bike lanes and paths: .... I Total>'Miles:of Bike:Paths and Lanes Within the City of.:San:Luis Obispo (January; 1992) Type of.Path Total Miles in City Class I (Separated from.Roadway):. 0.5 Class ILA.(Outside.:Parking Lane)] 4.20. Class IIB .(Adjacent To'Curb) 16.08 Class II (On road shoulder Without.Curbs) 0.72 Class III Si a e Only):;. ( t g - s* See Appendix'A for description of 1?ilce lane types: New segments of bike lanes added since the adoption of the Bicycle Facilities Plan in 1985 are identified on the following page. 9 U j cat Pooir Q- HIGHLAND RAMOAA A Legend trpPS/o ------------------------------ . Class IIA (with parking) ® Class IIB (no parking) tee. Class IIC (no curb) Existing Narked Bike Lanes J City of San Luis Obispo � YLAGUNA HIGH I c ins l LAKE % o un M1MMrM1NIi mm � i SOUTHWOOO ' p I OROUTT un o l TAI& FARM FIGURE #2: MAP OF EXISTING BICYCLE LANES (January, 1992) On Street Bike Lane Inventory This inventory includes only those streets on which bike lanes are marked. On these streets, information is provided for some sections which are not marked in order to clarify the limits of the markings. The distance provided is in miles. Broad Orcutt - Fuaston 0.59 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIA (inside parking) Funston-High 030 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) California San Luis Drive -Monterey 0.16 East Parking with no lane markings West Parking with no lane markings Monterey- Philips 0.20 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Philips- Hwy 101 0.19 East Class IIA (inside parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Hwy 101 - Hathway 0.20 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Hathway-Foothill 0.22 East Class IIA (inside parking) West Class IIA (inside parking) Foothill- CalPoly 0.10 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Foothill West end -Los Cerros 0.17 North Class ITB (no parking) South Class IIB (no parking) Los Cerros -Tassajara 0.46 Parking with no bike lane markings Tassajara -Ferrini 0.23 North Class IIA (inside parking) = 8' wide South Class IIA (inside parking) x 8' wide Ferrini - California 0.62 North Class IIB (no parking) South Class IIB (no parking) California- Crandall 0.15 North Parking with no markings South Class IIB (no parking) Grand Monterey- CalPoly 0.52 East Class IIA (inside parking) West Class IIA (inside parking) Higaera South I3iguera- Broad 039 North Class IIA (inside parking) FIGURE #3: LIST AND DESCRIPTION OF EXISTING BIKE LANES (January, 1992, Page 1) Higuera,South LOVR- Hind 0S5 Fast Class HC (no curb) Bike lane is narrow as is the traffic lane. West Class IIB (no parking) Hind- Granada 0.15 Fast Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) 1 Granada - Prado 0.26 East Class IIB (no parking) most is raised on sidewalk like structure. Sidewalk is on frontage road. West Class IIB (no parking) Prado- Margarita 0.17 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Margarita- Fontana 031 East Class IIB (no parking). Most of this section has no curb and cars park off the pavement. West Class IIB (no parking) Fontana- Elks 0.17 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Elks -Madonna 032 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) except for about four parking spaces in front of 6 Higuera (Linn's Fruit Bin) Madonna- High 0.27 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Johnson Orcutt- Ella 1.43 Parking with no lane markings Ella- Railroad underpass 035 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Los Osos Valley Road Higuera- Hwy 101 036 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Hwy 101 - Madonna 0.83 County Road with edge fines Madonna- Oceanaire 030 East Class IIA (inside parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Oceanaire - City Limit 0.94 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Madonna Road LOVR - Pereira 0.08 North Merged with traffic South Behind trees adjacent to sidewalk _ Pereira- Oceanaire 034 North Class IIB (no parking) �• South On south side of frontage road Oceanaire- Higuera 1.00 North Class IIB (no parking) South Class IIB (no parking) except from bridge to Post Office where there is no bike lane at all- FIGURE #3: LIST AND DESCRIPTION OF EXISTING BIKE LANES (January, 1992, Page 2) Orcutt Broad - Laurel 037 North Class II mixed A and C South Class I1C (no curb) Laurel - Fernwood 0.17 Parking with no lane markings Fernwood-Johnson 024 North Parking with no lane markings South Glass IIC(no curb) San Lacs Drive Johnson-High School 0.12 Fast Class IIB (no parking) West Class iffi (no parking) High School- California 0.18 East Class IIA (inside parking) West Class IIA (inside parking) Seats Rosa ' Monterey-Walnut 029 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Walnut - Murray 0.41 No bike lanes Murray- Foothill 021 East Class IIB (no parking) West Class IIB (no parking) Foothill -Highland 036 East Class IIC (no curb) West Class IIC (no curb) South S. Higueaa- Beebee 0.14 North Class IIB (no parking) South Class IIB (no parking). Approximately half this distance in front of the Motel has no bike lane. Beebee - Broad 0.66 North Class IIA (inside parking) South Class IIB (no parking) TOTALS BY CLASS Class I (separate bikeway) None Class IIA(with parking) 420 Class IIB (no parking) 16.08 Class IIC (no curbs) 0.72 21.00 miles Total does not include class UC lanes on Higuera or Orcutt as these are not standard widths. FIGURE #3: LIST AND DESCRIPTION'OF EXISTING BIKE LANES (January, 1992, Page 3) 1 Bicycle Lanes &'Paths Created in S'an Luis Obispo Since 1985<:' treet From To 'Ipe Facility Feet.. When Install outh Street Broad Higuera Class II-A/C1assIl-B City Action iguera;.Street. High Madonna Class II-B Street Widenin .guera Street Madonna. Elks Class II-B: City Action I3iguera Street West side south of Prado Class II C City Action Higuera Street; East side @Hinds Sport. Class Development IIB adonnaRoad l0l :Onramp Mercado Class IIB '°. Development adonna .......oad Oceanaue Pereua Class II B%Class III City:Action adonna Road Pereira LOUR Class L(east side} City Action ohnson Avenue kailroad ass II B City Action ank Farm ..0...ad Railroad Orcutt Class II B ': Development �. .0 P..h>71 Boulevard West end at CityLmuts Class IIB Development The widening of Orcutt Road is pending City Council consideration. If authorized, the section of Orcutt Road between Broad Street and Laurel Lane will also have bike lanes. (The Bicycle Committee has supported 8-foot wide Class II-B bike lanes at this location.) There are many gaps in the City's bike lane system, both in streets traversing peripheral neighborhoods and along streets connecting these areas to the downtown. To fill some of the gaps will require the removal of curb parking, the widening of the street, or some combination of actions. Many of the "gaps" have been identified by respondents to the .� bicycling needs questionnaire as locations for bike lane improvements. As part of its work on updating the Bicycle Facility Plan, the Committee will evaluate alternative bike lane designs or the potential for alternative routing where it will meet bicycling needs. 1. Purpose and Scope. Since bicycles are D Downtown:Bicycle`Parlang vehicles, parking facilities are necessary. The City is responsible for installing bicycle racks that allow safe and secure parking along sidewalks in downtown, at public parking lots and at City facilities. Other agencies, such as the County and the Post Office, and private property owners have also installed some bike racks to serve their clientele. The purpose of this analysis is to: Inventory existing bicycle facilities in the downtown. Evaluate the level of use of the existing facilities. Recommend changes to the location of existing facilities and identify appropriate locations for additional racks or enclosed bike lockers. Suggest an overall bicycle parking strategy for the downtown. io l This study did not evaluate the bicycle parking needs in apartment projects or at satellite commercial centers. Further work will be done in this area prior to considering amendments to the City's Zoning Ordinance that establishes off-street parking requirements on private properties. 2. Evaluation Process. The location and utilization of downtown bicycle racks was surveyed on Wednesday, January 15, 1992, and again on Saturday, January 18, 1992. The survey on each date was conducted between the hours of 11 am and 1 pm. The type and orientation of each bicycle rack was noted, the number of parking slots counted, as well as the number of bikes using the racks. The locations of.parked bicycles that were not using the City's I racks were also noted. Figure #4 presents the field survey results. The following is a synopsis of the data Hittlea gsgeDoantwv ,:. n -: Jaa 15 18,1992 ate&uvey #Ma a....#..Spatxs # B�IA Rados; 96 Rack Use #Mck Not in Racy Total Bikes 96d:1115 : 44147. 20 Bikes ... 14% 29(59 of Total).. 50: 1%18 44 147 31 BtLt 21% 38(55%.a Total)'. 69 Figure #5 shows the location of City bike racks in the downtown. Figure #6 shows the location of parked bicycles for each of the two survey days. The response to the questionnaire distributed to bike clubs, student and business organizations, and schools in November 1991 also demonstrates a need for additional downtown bike parking. Of the 67 respondents who identified a need for bike parking, 25 (37%) said that more parking was needed in the downtown in general. Ten people identified the Post Office at Marsh and Morro Streets as a site where racks are needed. From the survey data, field observations, and questionnaire response, the following conclusions can be drawn: Parking_Location: Bicyclists will try and park as close to (and observable from) their destination as possible. If a bike rack is close to that destination, it will be used in deference to other things such as sign poles. However, if bike racks are not very close to the preferred destination, parking meters, sign poles and trees will be used. Conflicts With Pedestrians: In general, bicycle parking on sidewalks does not conflict with the flow of pedestrians. However, there may be some locations where pedestrian flow is high and bike racks may add to the number of obstacles facing pedestrians. Since bike racks are low to the ground, they may be more easy to stumble over. Two high pedestrian areas that have been noted include: The segment along Higuera Street in front of the Network where Higuera intersects Garden Street. The segment of Monterey Street in front of Hudson's Grill, Taco's Mexicalli, and Mission Cinemas. C_ 00 p E _ O ° 3 = V m v �I' o 0.C] Cg U rn a w 1 U � h "�,1• c�••�a�'nr�•iveHH o.�=.'^.���o.o•.� v� ypi•�lvvv � h .+ r r.•i r r r<V fY N tV tV N tV fV IV fV fV �� � .••�.+ +'+�-+.•+.+ '+� '-: .:�., /r/te� �..r //�.��n//vo�w��.a//ve�ra r//���a.//•���a en /�/���+��+a��.a//���a/r�+a.�//w��./r/���� (r(te.�//rte� ((.fi.�n /r/te�a/r�a //r����(r��/r/te.�I�r.�ll((r�.�,�� ((rte.�a((r�.��� m 00 m ab lb Go co lb m 00 oo w w m w w w w w Go lb 00 0000 m 00 00 m 00 w m lb : v1 v1 p•1 p•1 r 1•q r Pq r^1 vq Pq r p•1 p•I p•1 p•1 r p•1 v1 r p•1 p•1 r r p•1 r p•1 h V YN YQ�R NH1 H HHOO .l r 1/}H O T C f.11�1 a�1 Y'2 O !!j i+ e� e+�'i i+.�wi.�r IV IV IV.moi er:w r.� C:w ^ w+i+ w�^r+i+w� .•+�+ tj V V V LJ V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V an h an h an an h V1 an N h all N h h h an h V� h V1 an h ti h an rrrrr. .r..w .r..irr.•+rrr O .••. O N O N N O O r p r N N N r O r O P1 O Nf 0 O O C O p O .+ O r NON r0 O O O N O O O O N 1 0 rlO '+O O O O rl N O t. 00 ? 00 a0 m e.f NNf NN oONNNP1 00 Cl{�? N .•+00NN .••.N NN0000N m 9 ' ::(fil:::': r N Nrrrrrrr rrrrr V rr r r NN rr rr rrNC r 1.1 rr N C 3 _ p v a � o 17 N N m tH til ail fel M N Al Of M m O1 M V V V V ary M NPI Pf Ml N P1(.1 n7 til V to n'Q. C. 7 C C 1 O ° V N v O ° =:R N_ y°.05 bo V m6� H g C cc md R ��_ty�'C a d G d= 07 = O " O O "` ° = C l.J 4 O m m �CO �0 GYy 0cE8t�7J 0Z`m . 2Hm wL o == y QboV _ y L.-S mtt-E ° i`Y> OtuyGW G C_ ?s ? y v v u 0 a uAmrm n� uu0 CmU �G . — C6 ¢ 99 2 '24A7mC �3 <U �YJO �.:cioevic Q V v z Q .saNr4 RoJS4 COUNT/ , ciwRT HOUSE OSOS V W OW A t* POST of/C@ C. OR�aG 6Rp40 • O C City Bike Racks = NO SCALE r i FIGURE #5: MAP OF BIKE PARKING FACILITIES IN THE DOWNTOWN (January, 1992) The results of this parking survey and ongoing field observations indicate that these two particular locations experience significant bicycle parking demand. Recommendations for changing the configuration of bike parking at these locations is outlined at the end of this section. 1 - Preferred Destinations: Commercial destinations that are youth oriented will attract the most bicyclists -- eg. sporting goods, coffee shops, retail music stores, pizza parlors, etc. As the location of these uses change over time, so will the desired locations for bike parking in the downtown. Orientation and Type of Racks: Recently the City has reoriented the metal slotted bike racks so that bicycles are parked parallel to the curb. These racks will accommodate 2 or 3 bicycles. In areas where these racks were occupied, no problems with pedestrian flow was noted. Many bicyclists were using the U-shaped bicycle lock to secure their bikes to the slotted metal racks. In some instances, it appeared that securing the bike was done awkwardly. In other cases people chose to use sign poles and parking meters because locking with a U-shaped lock was easier than using the City's racks. The City should evaluate other rack �. designs that ensure the proper orientation of the bicycle (ie. parallel to the curb) while allowing for the locking of the wheel and the frame. Underused Racks: There are a number of racks that appear to be poorly placed -- they are not convenient to adjoining uses or are not in an area where uses will attract bicyclists. In 1 some instances, it appeared that the racks were installed with the assumption that bicyclists will come to a central location to park (much as motorists do) and walk to their ultimate destination. This survey data suggests that this assumption is erroneous. Duration of Parking: The durationof bike parking was not specifically surveyed. However, field observations noted that the duration of bike parking was short term. It is not likely that downtown employees who ride to work on bikes will park at curbside racks. Most likely, these employees are finding more secure off-street locations. Bike Racks on Private Property: Bike racks have been installed in small commercial centers at the periphery of downtown -- the 7-11 Center at Marsh and Broad; Sandy's Liquor on Higuera at Nipomo; Economy Drug at Broad and Marsh. These racks seemed to be used when they were convenient to popular youth destinations. Weekday v. Weekend Parking Patterns: In general, bicycle traffic in the downtown appears to be significantly greater on Saturday than on weekdays. Figure #1 shows a significant increase in bike rack utilization on Saturday. However, on the two days that were surveyed, the ratio between bikes parked in racks and bikes outside racks remained about the same (.58 v. .55), indicating that even if bike traffic goes up, the proportion of total bikes using bike racks may remain about the same with more bikes choosing other locations. SANTA RO54 COUNTY COURT iF NOU3E OSOS G7'y •* ' M MORRO Po� O/f/CE � ORRO H/55/ON � OQC� C PL.iZA BROAD W * 7F 2 N/POMD Tom-- � iHFil- 1 �t IBikes in City Racks -_ • � *� Other Bikes = �E FIGURE #6: SURVEY RESULTS OF DOWNTOWN BICYCLE PARKING PATTERNS (January, 15, 1992) SANTA ROS4 CO un'Ti' COVRT ,+ousE 1 0505 • `— N crz • �F F7 NlORRO w.sT ORficE Ch'GRRO PL.iZA�Ib iF{F dF 6Rd40 '� iF * iF I~ O N/POMO Bikes in City Racks — • Other Bikes - r FIGURE #6: SURVEY RESULTS OF DOWNTOWN BICYCLE PARKING PATTERNS (January, 18, 1992) t Mission Plaza Bike Parking: Weekdays see little bicycle usage of Mission Plaza. However, bike traffic on Saturdays is significant. There are numerous opportunities to park bicycles against railings or around trees on both sides of San Luis Creek. On the Mission side of the creek, the rack near the fountain or the racks at the Court of Flags outside the art center are seldom used. However, special events in the plaza may warrant keeping these racks. 3. Conclusions and Recommendations. The response to the November 1991 questionnaire suggests that more bike parking is needed downtown. Field observations indicate that the bike racks must be close and clearly observable from the intended destinations for bicyclists to use them. If the racks are too distant from the destinations, many bicyclists will prefer to use sign poles or parking meters. Since the preferred destination of bicyclists will change over time, the City's bike parking program needs to be flexible enough to respond to these changes yet provide racks at locations where parking demand is ongoing. The following is a recommended downtown bicycle parking strategy: (a) Sidewalk Parking Bicyclists should be allowed to park on the sidewalk parallel to the curb and use parking meters or sign poles to secure their bikes. (b) Funding New Racks New youth-oriented business should be required to fund the installation of bike racks in the sidewalk, with bike parking parallel to the curb line. (c) Recycling Unused Racks Some existing bike racks should be removed or relocated (see Figure #1 for recommendations). If possible, these racks should be recycled and placed at locations identified below. (d) Ongoing Surveys Bicycle parking should be periodically surveyed to determine its utilization, and adjustments made. (e) Fastening Racks The City should use methods of fastening bike racks to the sidewalk so that they provide secure parking but can be removed without destroying the sidewalk. (f) Types of Rack The City should evaluate alternative rack designs and select those that meet the following performance criteria: (1) ensure that the bike is properly oriented; (2) allow for locking of both the wheel and the frame with a U-type lock; (3) is compact in its horizontal space requirement; (4) will not damage either mountain bikes or light-framed, narrow tired bikes. (g) Protected Bike Parking At locations where bicycle parking is heavy over time, or where heavy pedestrian traffic conflicts with sidewalk bike parking, the City should establish racks so that bicycles are oriented perpendicular to the curb with the rear wheel in the street. The street area should be protected from adjacent automobile parking with poles, planters or other obstacles. (Note: if the city constructs bulbouts at key mid-block locations, protected bike parking should be considered.) 13 (h) Bike Lockers As part of the County-Wide Trip Reduction Ordinance, businesses with more than 10 employeesshould provide secured bike parking for their employees on-site or find central locations that can serve a group of businesses. The Business Improvement Association and the Chamber of Commerce should assist with the administration of this program. The City should consider installing bicycle lockers at key surface parking lots in the downtown (e.g. Court Street, Higuera at Nipomo, lot adjoining County Historical Museum, lease lot across from the Art Center),in the two parking garages, and additional lockers at City Hall. The County should incorporate bike lockers into the County Government Center Complex. (i) Rack Visibility. Bike racks that are installed on the sidewalk should be painted a bright color to be noticeable by pedestrians. (j) Additional Bike Racks Possible locations for additional bike racks in the downtown are included in Cagetory 3 of the Bicycle Program Budget (the colored pages). 777; 77 1. Purpose and Scope. A key component E. Other u Commnity's Bike Programs of the Bicycle Committee's work program is to update the 1985 Bicycle Facility plan. It is envision that this work .will be complete in the Fall of 1992. The committee wants to evaluate well-established programs in other communities. Bicycle plans, maps, brochures and promotional materials were assembled from the following communities and evaluated: Communities Eugene Oregon Maddison Wisconson Missoula Montana Davis California Gainesville Florida Palo Alto California Boulder Colorado Corvallis, Oregon 2. Survey Findings and Recommendations The committee was impressed with the amount of educational and promotional materials that is available in communities with well-established bike programs. Some of the more interesting ideas and concepts are noted below. These ideas should be considered by the Bicycle Committee and the City Council when updating the Bicycle Facility Plan (to be retitled "The Bicycle Transportation Plan"), when establishing promotional/educational activities for this financial planning period, and when preparing the next Financial Plan. Publications 1 ■ Fliers distributed to the public on safe riding tips and applicable traffic laws. ■ Quarterly newsletters. ■ Cyclist's Survival guide provided to freshman college students. ■ Bicycling map of the city showing all bike routes and including riding tips. ■ Guide to recreational trails in and surrounding the City. 14 ■ Brochures and fact sheets on the benefits of bike helmets targeted at children. ■ Weekly newspaper column that focuses on bicycling and bike tips. 01 A pre-addressed form that would allow citizens to report hazards or contribute new ideas. Activities ■ Bicycle rodeo for children (City has scheduled one for March 28 at Sinsheimer Park). ■ Bicycle licensing program where preprinted envelopes and fliers are distributed with every new bike sold in the community to encourage participation. Also distributed to college freshman- ■ Bike Bank: old bicycles are donated to a non-profit group who refurbishes them and makes them available to needy people. ■ Police bicycle patrol in center-city areas and at other locations where bicycling is heavy. ■ Identify key locations of concern in neighborhoods for children who ride their bikes to school. ■ Transportation impact fee program with part of fee revenues going toward bicycle capital facilities. (City has hired a consultant to prepare an impact fee program that will include bicycle facilities.) ■ Develop bicycle paths along creek corridors. (This concept is being considered as part of the City's update of the General Plan Open Space Element.) ■ Designate streets parallel to busy arterials as official bike routes. ■ Give funding priority to non-automotive transportation modes. A synopsis of programs in other communities is included as Appendix F. In general, most of the communities surveyed have long-range planning document like this City's that identify bike routes and propose improvements to the routes. However, the other communities appear more directly involved in promotion and education. A number of promotional events that encourage bicycling have occured in San Luis Obispo including: SLO Triathlon (last Sunday in July) Bike Rodeo (March 28 at Sinsheimer Park) Ridesharing Week Cuesta Biathlon Thursday Night Activities SLO Criterium The Bicycle Committee has endorsed the City sponsorship of a "Bike Fest" scheduled in May over the Memorial Day weekend. The Committee will continue to evaluate promotional/educational ideas which will be part of its work program during the remainder of this financial planning period (ending June 30, 1993). is In the past, educational programs have not been a significant part of the City's bicycle program. The City should work with Cal Poly, Cuesta College and the San Luis Coastal Unified School district to support ongoing programs that focus on bicycling safety and vehicle code compliance. Another population to reach with education is adult commuter bicyclists. While training in vehicle code compliance and safe bicycling is needed, commuter bicyclists may benefit from coached on planning safe routes from home to work or school destinations. There are brochures and booklets available that can help bicycle commuters select routes that might avoid areas of high traffic congestion. Pamphlets that provide commuting tips should be distributed to area employers, colleges, and the High School as part of the upcoming Trip Reduction Program sponsored by the County Air j Pollution Control District (APCD). 1. Purpose and Scope. The results of the F Areas Where Buycle Safety is: an 1990 Transportation Survey and public Issue comments over the years indicate that cycling safety is a major concern that keeps adults from bicycling in San Luis Obispo or from allowing their children to bicycle. Narrow roadways, fast moving traffic, and busy intersections have all been noted as safety concerns. The purpose of this analysis was to identify routes and intersections-that bicyclists often use where safety is an issue. These locations will be analyzed to determine if there are improvements to the roadway that can be made to improve safety. 2. Evaluation Process. The response to the November 1991 identify a number of routes and intersections where safety is a concern. It should be noted that questionnaire respondents also suggested bike lanes along the routes identified below. ' A review of the 366 accidents indicates that the locations of these incidents are generally dispersed throughout the City. However, there are some intersections, normally involving the intersection of high-volume arterial streets, where bicycle accidents seem more prevalent. These intersections are also shown below. 1 Many of the accidents involve conflicting turning movements between motor vehicles and bicycles. Santa Rosa Street's intersection with Foothill Boulevard is one of the most difficult areas. Bicycles are often traveling in an east - west direction between Cal Poly and student housing areas west of Santa Rosa. Motorists are traveling in all directions and there is significant turning movements at the intersections. About half of the accidents at this intersection occurred when vehicles were turning right and bicycles were going straight ahead. One solution might be to provide right hand turn pockets on Foothill Boulevard on both sides of Santa Rosa and striped slots for straight-ah6ad bicycling. It should be noted that the City's transportation consultant (DKS Associates) has also suggested a right hand turn pocket on Foothill on the west side of Santa Rosa to allow for a better flow of traffic to the downtown. While the construction of turn pockets would help, they will require the acquisition of additional property, the preparation of specific designs, which could be costly. Immediate implementation is not recommended. 16 In general, with a few exceptions, improvements to intersections will require specific intersection studies, and in the case of Santa Rosa and Broad Streets will require the cooperation of CalTrans. Where turn pockets are needed, property acquisition and the relocation of utilities may in some instances significantly increase project cost. Bicycle Routes Where Safety is a Concer (Response from November 1991 Questionnaire) From. To City BikeRoute Type (1)t Existing Lanes s. road Street Foothill Lincoln Yes Class <)n road Street':: Higuera High. Yes,;. Class:III udion Street Broad Johnson Yes Closs:IIl Drina Bifid Fuguera San Luis Yes C1ass.lII Street Foothill Murray No orro Street Foothill Higuera No' Norio Street: ]�oothill Highland Yes .'. Class,III oothill Boulevard City Lmuts Broad` Yes Class IIB No (2) igh"Street Broad Higuera No:.. guera Street Santa.Rosa Nipomo Yes C1ass:III guera Street Marsh High. Yes Class II B: No:. ohnson Avenue ,: Monterey... Buchon . Yes. Class'III olmson Avenue F_lla. ; .0. Yes: ClassII` B adonna Road Oceanaue Dand o Yes Class.II B No (3) .SA Street Johnson Higuera Yes : Class'III Street CaGforma.. ; Chorro ..:. Yes:. Class III onterey Street Grand S Rosa Yes . Class III urray Street Santa:.Rosa Casa No rcutt Road Broad Laurel Yes Class H.-B:: No (4) sos:Street Marsh Leff:.: Yes Class III aafic Street : Nipomo Higuera No: .is Street Johnson Broad: Yes Class III , anta Barbara Leff Broad. Yes Class H-B No aceta.Rosa Street Higuera Pismo Yes- Class III:(5) anta.Rosa.Street Murray Walnut Yes Class H-B No (6) otes .. 1) The bilce lane:types as shown in the 1985 Bicycle Facility Plan (see Appendix A). 2) 7 May, 1991 :the City'Council derided:not to mstall Class II B bike-lanes along this road segment ir responsOld objections:from adjouimg property owners:. 3) Improvements'on the east side:6f Madonna Road north of Oceanaire Drive have been programed b ]?nblie Works:Depait>nent 4) CIass II B Bike lanes programed as part;of Orcuft Road widemngt S) Improving safety at this location will require widening Bridge over San Luis.Obispo Creek. ar 6) City was unsuccessful in receiving.a BLA grant from CalTrans to help fund improvements in this area Other funding.sources are being researched. 17 777 1 Accidents Involving Bicycles in I San Luis Obispo Year # Accidents 1984 54 1985 44 1 57 1987 47 1989 54: ... 1990 39 1991 29 (Through November). TOTAL 366; Source: Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) Bicycle Accidents At Key Street Intersections:(1984"=- 1991).. :. intersection Total Number Fooihill Santa Rosa 20 CaUfornia Monterey 1 SAhta'Rosa Olive 11 Santa Rosa: Monterey10 Foothill - California. 7 Chorro Foothill 6 Chorro Higuera 6 Madonna. - Los: Osos VR 6 Santa:Rosa - .Meinecke b Footfall Broad- 5 Higuera; - Broad: 5 Higuera :Madonna 5 Iiiguera :South 5 Los:Osos VR Laguna:. > 5 Johnson ::San Luis Dr 5 Monterey. Johnson 5 Source: Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) Specific street corridors were also reviewed to see which appeared to have the most accidents involving bicyclists. The following information is offered: ' 18 s Bicycle Accidents Along Malor Street Corridors 1984 1991 freet From To Total Accidents Miles Accidents Mile ear Accident Intersection. oothin Blvd: Patricia California 48 1.14 5.25 14 land Avenue. Slack. Mill 15 0.47 4.0 7 arta;Rosa .: . ....Highlnd.Buchon 51 1.61 4.0 13 ontereyStreetGrand Morro 21 076 3.59 oraia Blvd Foothill Monterey. 21 0.95 2.75 . 6 adonna Road HigiieraLos Qsos VR:._ _16 0.76 2-63 . 5: era St`<' S Rosa Prado 38 2.2T .:: :::.2.13. .19 Osos VR Diablo Madonna 16 104 'c 188 7 road Street< 13igtieraRockview 20 165 115 15 rro Street Baysen Marsh 15. ::: 133 1.38... 10 ohnson Avenue Buchon Southwood 12 142:; 1 8 The bicycle accidents noted for these 11 street segments account for over 75% of the bicycle accidents reported between 1984 and 1991. With the exception of Chorro Street south of Foothill Boulevard and Monterey Street between Grand and Morro, all of these streets are designated by the 1985 Bicycle Facility Plan as bike routes. As expected, the majority of bicycle accidents occur at intersections where bicycles and vehicles are executing a multitude of turning movements. Of the 366 accidents involving bicycles, 185 or 51% involved turning movements while 67 or 18% involved collisions between bikes and vehicles moving straight ahead in different directions. The intersection and link information provided above would suggest that bicycling safety is of more concern in the northern part of San Luis Obispo or streets connecting it with the downtown. This area has the highest concentration of bicycle riders and includes the single largest destination for bicyclists — Cal Poly campus. If there is a link between the presence of bike lanes, well designed intersections and bicycling safety, then street segments and intersections noted above should receive special attention. Clearly, the results of the 1990 Transportation Survey indicate that the respondents linked the provision of facilities with personal safety and their willingness to bicycle in San Luis Obispo. However, accident records would indicate that there are other factors that contribute to bicycle accidents: — Failure of some bicyclists to obey traffic laws. -- Inattention of some motorists to the presence of bicyclists. Over the long term, both of the elements noted above can be addressed through education of both motorists and bicyclists -- beginning in the elementary school levels and continuing through high school and college. 19 e As an ending note, of all accidents involving drivers and bicyclists where police reports established the fault of the accident, bicycles were at fault in 147 accidents or 48% of the ' total while drivers were at fault in 157 accidents or 52% of the accidents (1984 through 1991). 3. Findings and Recommendations. Based on a analysis of accident statistics for 1984 through November of 1991 and from the November 1991 Bicycle Questionnaire, the following can be concluded: (a). Yearly statistics do not show any clear trend in the incidence of bicycle accidents. ' (b) Accidents most often occur at intersections along arterial streets. Many of these streets are designated by the City's 1985 Bicycle Facility Plan and the 1982 Circulation Element as official bike routes. In updating the Bicycle Facility Plan, the Bicycle Committee should establish specific standards for intersection design to better accommodate bicycles. (c) Routes in the northern part of the city experience accidents at key intersections that connect student housing areas with Cal Poly. These routes should be targeted for 1 intersection'and bike lane improvements or alternative routes that are equally attractive to bicyclists should be considered. (d) Many of the accidents involved vehicles and bicycles turning movements,or collisions between bicycles and motor vehicles going straight ahead in different directions. Very few accidents involved motor vehicles and bicycles moving in the same direction (only 5 apparent sideswipe accidents where the driver was at fault) although conflicts between parked cars and bicycles is notable. (e) Education for both drivers and bicyclists might help to increase the need for awareness along routes where motor vehicles and bicycles mix. Educations should start in the early elementary grades and continue through high school and freshman year of college. s 1. Purpose and Scope. The last time that G. A Bicyclmg'Needs Questionnaire. the transportation needs of bicyclists were evaluated was in 1984 when the Community Development Department staff prepared the draft Bicycle Facility Plan. To better understand what cyclists currently need in the way of projects and programs, the Committee distributed a questionnaire to groups and individuals that represent the bicycling population and to non-associated organizations: ' 20 Cal Poly ASI and Administration Cuesta College ASI and Administration San Luis Obispo Senior High School Administration The PTAs of Elementary Schools in San Luis Obispo Local Bike Clubs Business Improvement Area (BIA) Chamber of Commerce Residents for Quality Neighborhoods It's important to note that, in part, response from non-cyclists was also obtained from the City's 1990 Transportation Survey which was distributed to 2,700 households with over 650 households responding. The pertinent results of that survey included in the appendix. The Bicycle Committee was not attempting to conduct a cross sectional analysis of the community to determine the desirability of bike lanes, paths, and parking. The 1990 Transportation Survey (which was a random sample of the City's residents) showed support for these types of facilities. What the questionnaire was designed to do was to (1) identify bicycling routes in San Luis Obispo where bicycling safety is a concern; and (2) generate ideas for new bicycle facilities and promotional/educational programs. 2. Distributing The Questionnaire and Response. Copies of the questionnaire were directly mailed to the groups noted above. Copies were also made available at the City-County Library, area bicycle shops, and at the Community Development and Recreation Departments. Copies of the questionnaire along with public service announcements were distributed to the electronic and printed press. A summary response to the questionnaire is provided on the following page. 3. Findings and Conclusions. The response to the questionnaire provided input to the Bicycle Committee's work on preparing a Bicycle Program Budget (see Section III), and preparation of amendments to the 1985 Bicycle Facility Plan. While the questionnaire provide a variety of "ideas," a significant amount of work was necessary to translate these ideas into understandable project descriptions. On-Street Bike Paths (Class II-A and 11-B) While many respondents identified the need for bike lanes along City streets, they did not indicate the "type" of bike lane -- eg. Class IIA, striped paths on the outside of parking lanes; or Class II-B, striped lanes adjacent to curbs. To achieve a Class II-B bike lane would require the removal of curb parking along the identified street segment. While this is the safest type of bike lane, the City Council has been hesitant to approve the removal of curb parking -- especially in residential areas. However, because some streets are just too narrow, removal of parking may be the only method of establishing a bike lane. Along other street segments, Class II-A paths (a 4- foot wide lane on the outside of parking) might be established. However, to do this would require the restriping of the entire street and may require the narrowing of travel lanes from 12 to 11 feet or 10 feet. 21 r Finally, along some street segments, a minor widening of the street by eliminating part of the sidewalk or parkways would provide enough room to establish Class H-A bike lanes. r It should be noted that the Bicycle Committee's recommended short-range projects (Section III) try to minimise parking removal while providing usable and safe bike lanes. In some specific locations, it was not possible to retain all curb parking and provide for adequate bike lanes. Bicycle Needs Questionnaire (November, 1991) Responses Comments 1otal Respondents. I56 treet;Segments Recommended 28. S proposals are consistent witb or Class II Blke Lanes Bicycle Plan, 20 are not. umber:of Class I Separated:: A bike path.along.the railroad tke Paths Recommended 11 received the greatest response umber of Changes to Existug 9 6proposals are cons>stent wi icycle Lanes 1985 Bike Lanes;`three artbe not. intersection Improvements 10 Turn pockets and stuping for bi7cesmost common suggestion Recommended Improvements to 28. avement. Pavement problems referred to Public Works Dept. for resolution ecommended..Bicycle: Parking 14. Downtown and the Post Office cations on Marsh are most frequentl mentioned:1 ocations: Note: for complete listing of responses, see Appendix B. The response to the questionnaire demonstrates that the City will again have to address the issue of priority use of city street area - should .streets be used for parking or for the movement of vehicles (including bicycles) and pedestrians. The Committee will also be evaluating the possibility of establishing bike routes along streets parallel to existing ' designated routes. However, the potential for selecting new routes that limit bicycle/automobile conflicts is limited since most parallel routes require bicyclists to go out of their way. to reach their ultimate destination. Bicyclists, like motorists, will seldom do this unless the alternative route is shorter, quicker, or in some way more attractive. r 22 Separated Bike Paths (,Class I1. Fewer respondents to the questionnaire had ideas for establishing Class I (separated) bike paths. However, of the 11 projects that were identified, a bike path along the Southern Pacific Railroad was mentioned most frequently. Another suggestion was to build a bridge over the railroad to connect the Ella Street neighborhood with the downtown. Other ideas included a bike path extending from Madonna Road through Laguna Lake Park to Foothill Boulevard and Los Osos Valley Road and a route extending from Broad Street north of the freeway, paralleling the freeway southward to Madonna Road through the Madonna Inn property. In general, the proposed separated bike paths would serve both commuting and recreating bicyclists. However, because they all involve the purchase of property (or easements) and the installation of new travelways, their costs will be substantial, beyond the scope of the City's current capital funding program for bicycle facilities (eg. $200,000/year). The Bicycle 'Committee, in updating the Bicycle Facility Plan, will need to investigate other sources of funding if these separated bike paths are to be implemented: While some grant funding is available from the state, the competition for it is high. Some form of bond financing and/or revenues from impact fees will probably be needed. Intersection Improvements. These suggestions include relocating or installing bike- activated signal changers in the pavement and providing a slot at the left edge of right hand turn lanes to direct straight-ahead bicyclists. Some of the key locations where these suggestions were made are state highways (Santa Rosa Street and Broad Street south of South) which are controlled by Caltrans. Caltrans intersection standards typically do not allow for signal actuation by bicyclists. Providing better channelization for bicyclists through an intersection by providing striping is possible in some of the suggested locations. However, it may require a narrowing of the travel lanes or minor widening of the street at the intersection. Nonetheless, costs for these projects are generally modest. Pavement Improvements. Suggested improvements included the fixing of potholes at a variety of locations, minor pavement projects, improved street sweeping of bike routes and some major paving projects. South Higuera Street between Prado Road and the south City limits was most often identified as an area where repaving is needed. The City Engineer suggests that the City wait until the vacant properties along street frontage have developed (2 - 3 years) and have installed frontage improvements. At thatpoint the City would repave the entire roadway, establishing Class 11-B bike lanes on both sides. Bicycle Parking. Suggestions included bike racks at peripheral shopping centers in San Luis Obispo (Madonna Plaza, Central Coast Plaza) and in the downtown. The need for more downtown bike parking was the most frequent response. However, few specific locations were indicated with the exception of the Post Office on Marsh Street. Respondents also called for coin-operated bicycle lockers in the downtown and showers for employees. 23 As an independent study, a Bicycle Committee member surveyed bicycle parking patterns and use of city bike racks in the downtown and identified 15 locations where additional bicycle parking appears warranted (see the yellow pages). V::WORKING ON SPECIFIC BICYCLE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS While the focus of the Bicycle Committee's and staffs work was preparing the Bicycle Program Budget, a number of other important projects were also worked on: iA. Bike Lane Account Grant Programs: The Committee support two grant applications (1) Construction of Class II-B bike lanes on Santa Rosa Street between Murrey and Walnut; and (2) funding of a design study for the railroad bicycle path. The City Council adopted a resolution'supporting both of these projects in December, 1991. B. Orcutt Road Widening Project: The Bicycle Committee reviewed various options for including bike lanes on Orcutt Road between Broad Street and Laurel Lane. The Committee recommended that 8-foot wide Class H-B bike lanes be included on both sides of the street. C. Madonna Road Bike Lane: The Committee reviewed and supported the expenditure of $30,000 to redesign the culvert and widening the bike lane on the southeast side of Madonna Road, just north of the Oceanaire Drive intersection. This project will be part of other street improvements being made by the Public Works Department. D. Bike Rack Installations: The City installed its first "wave" type bicycle rack in the parking lot off of Broad Street between Higuera and Marsh. Unfortunately, shortly 1 thereafter, it got crunched by a vehicle but luckily was straightened into usable form and protected with curb stops and striping. The Bicycle Coordinator has also received tentative support from the Post Master to install bike racks at the Marsh Street facility to the rear of the sidewalk. E. Bike Fest: The Bicycle Committee supported the idea of establishing a week of bicycling promotional activities and supported City funding of these events. On April 7, 1992 the City Council approved the funding request for Bike Fest. G. Pavement Improvements: The Bicycle Committee has referred the list of pavement improvements derived from the November 1991 Bicycle Questionnaire to the Public Works Department. These projects can be handled as part of the City's on-going street maintenance program. ' 24 VI. NEXT STEPS A. Bicycle Program Budget Approval and Implementation. After the City Council approves a Bicycle Program Budget with specific projects and programs, the Bicycle Coordinator (Craig Anderson) will be working with the Public Works Department to ensure that design and construction is accomplished. It is the Committee's goal to have all budget projects completed by July 1, 1993. B. Proposition 116 Grant Applications The Bicycle Committee will identify major bicycle projects that would be eligible for Proposition 116.funding. Draft grant applications will be completed for submittal to the City Council during May, 1992. Grants should be submitted to SLOACC by July 20th to be considered by the Area Council in August, 1992. There are two funding sources under Proposition 116: ). 1. A state-wide fund for bicycle projects ($20,000,000 over five years). While the California Transportation Commission (CTC) had initially spread the $20,000,000 bike funding over five years ($4,000,000 per year), the CTC has approved funding of "first year" projects in excess of the yearly appropriation ($7,050,000). This action depletes grant funding for subsequent years. In total, the CTC received first year grant applications for projects with costs in excess of $22 million dollars. Many of the non-funded first year projects will be refined to better meet state funding criteria and be resubmitted. Also, there is discussion at the state level that the program may be shortened to have only one additional funding cycle. Given the level of state-wide competition, the probability of the City receiving grant funding from this source is low. 2. A county-wide fund for all types of alternative transportation projects including bicycle, transit, paratransit, rail, and pedestrian projects ($10,5002000). With the exception of the multi-modal transit center project, the City has yet to identify projects suitable for funding under this program. The Bicycle Committee will be evaluating project needs and forwarding its recommendations to the Council. C. Continued Work on Updating the Bicycle Facilities Plan. The response to the November 1991 Bicycling Questionnaire and committee discussions have generated a broad range of new project and program ideas. The evaluation of these ideas will be part of the updating of the 1985 Bicycle Facility Plan. It is anticipated that this plan will also include (or be accompanied by) a five-year capital expenditure program. To prepare a five-year expenditure plan will require an assessment of projected funding sources and the cost of completing a recommended network of bike lanes and paths. 2S , It is the goal of the Bicycle Committee to have the City Council adopt the revised Bicycle plan by the end of calendar year 1992 so that it can be implemented as part of the 1993-1995 Financial Plan. ! D. Promotional Activities. The Bicycle Committee will be involved in organizing 'Bike Fest 92" and working with community organizations and agencies to participate in a wide range of promotional activities. 1 26 I APPENDIX 1 Appendix A. Classification of City Bicycle Paths and Lanes Appendix B: Bicycle Questionnaire Results Appendix C: Bicycle Committee Minutes Appendix D: Initial Environmental Studies Appendix E: 1990 Transportation Survey Results (Bicycle Excerpt) Appendix F: Summary of Other Community's Bicycle Programs 1 t 1 1 1 1 . t t I t t l t t I i f rL t PATI ypEyvqL9 AW-A MOTOR vEN10LE LANES CLASS 1 BIKE PATH SEPARATED t t APPENDIX A. CLASSIFICATION OF CITY BIKE PATHS AND LANES mwuF i ,. 1vAiaON6 LANE BNfE IAMB MOTOR VEMCLE LAMES &KL 4Ne OARIONO LAME CLASS 11®A BIKE LANE cmI f l i 1 elRe IAMBr MOTON VEHICLE ONES BIKE IMIE CLASS '11®13 BIKE LANE APPENDIX A. CLASSIFICATION OF CITY BIKE PATHS AND LANES , 1 It i UNPAVED MINIMUM MINIMUM UNPAVED SMOLLWA SIR! LANE MOTOR VEHICLE LAMES BIKE LANE SHOW II CLASS -11-C BIKE LANE NO CURB ■ 1 � NIUIRI 1 It 1 Ir PARKING LANE MOTOR VEHICLE LANES - W PARKING LANE CLASS III- BIKE ROUTE SIGNAGE ONLY APPENDIX A. CLASSIFICATION OF CITY BIKE PATHS AND LANES A 110 �d0O•—, JO. 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CL � txI� C4� C� C� c� v� v� v� v'� v� incnv� ArAEnvncn o APPENDIX C ' MINUTES SAN LUIS OBISPO BICYCLE COMMITTEE Inaugural Meeting of October 7, 1991 The meeting convened at 7: 00 p.m. in the City Council Hearing Room ROLL CALL Present: Craig Anderson, Wes Conner, Linda Fitzgerald, Bruce LaHargoue, Jamie Lopes, Richard Marshall, Dave Pierce, Terry Sanville, Gary Sims, Wayne Williams Absent: None MINUTES 1. Approval of Committee Bylaws On motion by Wayne Williams, seconded by Richard Marshall, the BC approved the draft committee bylaws. (motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) 2 . Adoption of Committee Work Program Committee members discussed the draft work program and agreed to its content with the following additions: I. Survey Existing Conditions ' - Review of relevant information from other communities (e.g. Boulder, Co. and Davis Ca. ) which have established bicycle programs. ' - Inventory of existing bicycle facilities. - Description of road conditions/hazards to bicyclists. IV. Prepare Revisions to the 1985 Bicycle Facilities Plan - Hold public workshops to identify community desires for updated facilities plan. - Include rail road bike path as part of updated plan. On motion by Wes Conner, seconded by Richard Marshall, the BC approved the draft committee work program with the above changes. (Motion passed by a unanimous voice vote. ). 3. Orcutt Road Widening Project , After a description of the proposed project (alternative three) by Wayne Peterson, City Engineer, the BC discussed the various options ' for accommodating bicycles within the project design. Among the methods suggested for improving the design were separated (Class I) bike paths, changes in bike lane width, narrowing of the median strip and curb height bike lanes. The committee also discussed the ' desirability of removing vehicle travel lanes from the proposal and consider a two lane street with a center turn lane and eight- foot bike lanes. However, the BC agreed to limit their ' recommendation to the matter of how best to accommodate bicycles. On motion by Wayne Williams, seconded by Richard Marshall, the BC ' approved alternative three of the Orcutt Road Widening Project, showing eight-foot Class IIB bike lanes. (Motion passed by a vote of S to 2, with Wes Conner and Gary Sims ' dissenting. ) 4 . Appointment of Committee Officers , Acting Chairperson, Terry Sanville, opened the floor to nominations ' for the position of Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson. The committee elected Richard Marshall as Chair and Linda Fitzgerald as Vice Chair. The meeting adjourned at 10:30 p.m. to the meeting of October 21, 1991. Respectfully Submitted, ' Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator Secretary to the Bicycle Committee 1 . ' MINUTES SAN LUIS OBISPO BICYCLE COMMITTEE Regular Meeting of October 21, 1991 The meeting convened at 5:15 p.m. in the City Council Hearing Room ROLL CALL Present: Craig Anderson, Wes Conner, Linda Fitzgerald, Bruce LaHargoue, Richard Marshall, Dave Pierce, Terry Sanville, Gary Sims, Wayne Williams Absent: Jamie Lopes MINUTES ' ApRroyal of Minutes of October 7. 1991 ' The committee discussed changing the minutes to reflect an addition to the work program assigning a time line in the updated bicycle facilities plan for the Southern Pacific (Rails with Trails) project. ' On motion by Wes Conner, seconded by Terry Sanville, the BC approved the minutes of October 7, 1991 with changes as indicated. ' (motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) ' 1. Mproval of bike lane along Madonna Road Committee members discussed the expenditure of$30,000 from the Bikeway Improvement Fund for the proposed bike lane along Madonna Road near Oceanaiie Drive. The committee discussed potential changes in the thickness of the bike lane asphalt and ideal widths for the bike lane. The committee felt that the proposed thickness was acceptable and that a bike lane width of five or six feet would be sufficient. Public comments suggested strong support for the proposed improvements. On motion by Wayne Williams, seconded by Wes Conner, the BC recommended council approval of the expenditure of$30,000 of the Bikeway Improvement Fund for the proposed ' bike lane on Madonna Road. (Motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) 2. Selection of candidate 12rojects for the State Bike Lane Account Grant Program After a description of the projects identified for the BLA, which included a feasibility study for the railroad bike path and bike lanes along the west side Santa Rosa Street between Murray and Olive Streets, the committee discussed the merits of the proposed projects. Concern was expressed by committee members and some members of the public over ' funding the feasibility study with BLA funds. It was felt that this project was unrealistic and that funds were better spent on projects that are more easily accomplished. Other members felt that the BLA funds offered an excellent opportunity to begin a high-priority , project that might not otherwise get started. The committee decided to vote separately for the two proposed projects. ' On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Wes Conner, the BC approved the submission of a BLA grant application for the rail road bike path feasibility study. ' (Motion passed by a vote of 7 to 2, with Bruce LaHargoue and Richard Marshall dissenting.) ' On motion by Wayne Williams, seconded by Bruce LaHargoue, the BC approved the submission of a BLA grant application for bike lanes along Santa Rosa Street. ' (Motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) 3. Approval for distribution of City Bicycle Survey ' The committee and members of the public discussed and made improvements to the ' proposed survey design. On motion by Wes Conner, seconded by Terry Sanville, the BC approved the distribution i of the revised Bicycle Survey. (Motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) ' The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. to the meeting of November 4, 1991. Respectfully Submitted, ' C � � Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator ' Secretary to the Bicycle Committee ' MINUTES SAN LUIS OBISPO BICYCLE COMMITTEE Regular Meeting of November 4, 1991 ' The meeting convened at 5:20 p.m. in the City Council Chambers ROLL CALL ' Present: Craig Anderson, Wes Conner, Linda Fitzgerald, Jamie Lopes, Richard Marshall, Dave Pierce, Terry Sanville, Gary Sims, Wayne Williams Absent: Bruce LaHargoue ' MINUTES ' Annroval of Minutes of October 21. 1991 The committee discussed changing the minutes to reflect committee recommendation of City Council approval, rather than direct approval of bike lanes on Madonna Road. Also, a vote on item two needed to be changed to indicate. that there were only nine members present at the meeting. On motion by.Wayne Williams, seconded by Richard Marshall, the BC approved the minutes of October 21, 1991 with changes as indicated. (motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) Discussion items: ' 1. Revised City Bicycle Survey and Distribution List The committee discussed the revised bicycle survey (needs assesment) and, with public input, made additional improvements to the design. The initial survey distribution list was expanded through public comments and committee discussion. ' 2. Bicycle Committee Work Program Assignments Committee members discussed and approved of the assigned tasks from the committee's ' work program. Information Items: 1. Progress of Bike Lane Account Project on Santa Rosa Street 1 Craig Anderson informed committee members as to the latest developments on the Santa , Rosa Street bike lanes project. 2. Dade County Bike Program Video The committee watched a fifteen minute video on a bicycle program being implemented in the Miami, Florida area. ' The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. to the meeting of November 18, 1991. Respectfully Submitted, Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator ' Secretary to the Bicycle Committee 1 i 1 t 1 i 1 i A ' MINUTES SAN LUIS OBISPO BICYCLE COMMITTEE Regular Meeting of November 18, 1991 ' The meeting convened at 5:15 p.m. in the City Council Chambers ROLL CALL: Present: Craig Anderson, Wes Conner, Linda Fitzgerald, Bruce LaHargoue, Jamie Lopes, Richard Marshall, Dave Pierce, Terry Sanville, Gary Sims, Wayne Williams Absent: None MINUTES: ' Approval of Minutes of November 4. 1991 On motion by Linda Fitzgerald, seconded by Terry Sanville, the BC approved the minutes of November 4, 1991. (motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) ' ACTION ITEMS: 1. Screening criteria for bicycle project implementation 1 The committee discussed the screening criteria proposed by staff and agreed to the following categories and criteria: ' -- GROUP 1: SHORT-RANGE PROJECTS/PROGRAMS Group 1 projects should meet the following criteria: Timing: projects/programs that can be accomplished during FY 1991-1992 and would encumber the first year's budget allocation ($170,000). Ease of Implementation: easy to construct; city owns the property; city controls the ' design. Budget Impact: will not wipe out the first-year budget; will leave funds for other Group 1 projects. Safety Benefits: improves an existing unsafe condition. Consistency With City Plans: is consistent with adopted City plans and policies. Extent of Need: provides a link in identified bike route -- GROUP 2: LONG-RANGE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS OR THOSE OR 1 THOSE THAT DO NOT MEET GROUP 1 CRITERIA Group 2 projects/programs would be those that are subject to further analysis to determine their benefit or those projects that will take a long time to implement ' (e.g. the Railroad Bike Path). Group 2 could also include short-term projects/programs that do not meet all of the criteria listed for Group 1 (e.g. a project that with a cost over $170,000). ' -- GROUP 3: NON-ATTAINABLE PROJECTS/PROGRAMS These are projects/programs that the Bicycle Committee does not feel should be pursued by the City. ' On motion: by Jamie Lopes, seconded by Terry Sanville, the BC approved of the screening ' criteria. INFORMATION ITEMS: ' 2. New "Wave" bike parking for Broad Street Staff announced a new bike parking facility installed as part of parking lot improvements and funded through bike account funds. 3. Unmet bicycle needs hearing of December 4 . 1 Staff announced this meeting of the San Luis Obispo Area Coordinating Council as an informational item.. 4. Progress ss reports on committee member work assignments ' Committee members briefly discussed the progress made on their work assignments. However, since most members had not completed their assignments, more detailed , discussion was reserved for future meetings. OTHER ITEMS: 5. Distribute Bicycle Questionnaire ' Committee members and the audience were provided with copies of the Bicycle Questionnaire by staff. 6. Bicycle Committee Photograph ' A photograph was taken of committee members for advisory body recognition. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. to the meeting of December 23, 1991. Re7t�_ y Submitted, , ' 1 v' Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator , Secretary to the Bicycle Committee 1 ' MINUTES SAN LUIS OBISPO BICYCLE COMMITTEE Regular Meeting of January 6, 1992 The meeting convened at 5:25 p.m. in the City Council Chambers' Roll Call: Present: Craig Anderson, Wes Conner, Richard Marshall, Dave Pierce,Terry Sanville, Gary Sims, Wayne Williams Absent: Linda Fitzgerald, Bruce LaHargoue, Jamie Lopes Public Comments: ' Brett Cross wishes the BC to address the issue of the "no parking - bike lane" signs that have recently appeared at numerous locations within the City. ' Julie Millsap, ex-officio committee member and staff to the Area Coordinating Council, forwarded a request from Supervisor Delany regarding improvements in the bike lane at the Madonna Rd./Higuera intersection. Minutes: ApRroval of Minutes of November 18, 1991 On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Wes Conner, the BC approved the minutes of November 18, 1991. (motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) ' Action Items: 1) Promotional campaign to be combined with San Luis Obispo Criterium The committee discussed staffs proposal to sponsor a bike week as part of the committee's promotional responsibilities. Ideas for promotional events to be included within bike week came from committee members and audience members. Many people expressed strong support for bike week. Timing of the event was discussed and it was agreed that the best ' dates would be from May 21-27. The committee asked staff to prepare an estimate of what such a promotional campaign would cost and it was agreed that this estimate would be provided by the meeting of February 3. ' On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Dave Pierce, the BC approved support of bike week as a promotional campaign and agreed to partially finance bike week using the City's bike improvement fund. A specific amount will be decided at a future meeting. (the motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) Discussion Items: ' 2. Committee member work assignments - results Member Dave Pierce was assigned to prepare an inventory of existing bike paths and lanes ' within the City. A detailed map showing the locations of these facilities was provided to the committee. ' Members Richard Marshall and Gary Sims were assigned to review documentation pertaining to bicycle programs within the cities of Missoula, Madison, Davis and Palo Alto. A report of successful programs implemented with these cites was presented to committee members. Members Wes Conner and Wayne Williams were assigned to observe bike use patterns in ' the City and identify well used routes and potential improvements. A proposal was made to committee members for an alternate route to Higuera Street, a heavily used and ' dangerous bike route. 3. Bicycle Questionnaire - preliminary results , A chart showing street segments which had been identified by questionnaire respondents for bike lanes was provided to committee members. A map was drawn to show the location of these new lanes. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. to the meeting of January 20, 1992. , Respectfully Submitted, Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator ' Secretary to the Bicycle Committee 1 ' . MINUTES SAN LUIS OBISPO BICYCLE COMMITTEE Regular Meeting of January 20, 1992 ' The meeting convened at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber Roll Call: Present: Craig Anderson, Linda Fitzgerald, Jamie Lopes, Richard Marshall, Dave Pierce, Terry Sanville, Gary Sims, Wayne Williams Absent: Wes Conner, Bruce LaHargoue ' Minutes: Anvroval of Minutes of January 6. 1992 ' Richard Marshall asked that the minutes be changed to indicate that Madison, Wisconsin not Minneapolis, Minnesota was surveyed as part of his work assignment. On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Linda Fitzgerald, the BC approved the minutes of January 6, 1992 with changes as noted. (the motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) Action Items: 1. Draft results of Bicycle Questionnaire and committee approval of project listing, budget apportionment and project ranking Staff asked committee members to change action item so that only the project listing and budget apportionment scheme would be voted upon. On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Dave Pierce, the BC approved of changing the action item as requested by staff. (the motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) Staff described the questionnaire results and the proposed project ranking. The BC discussed the project listing and the questionnaire results. It was suggested that the item be continued until the next meeting when committee members have had an opportunity to review each of the projects. On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Dave Pierce, the BC approved of continuing the item to the next meeting. ' (the motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) Discussion Items: , 2. Committee member work assignments - results Terry Sanville presented the committee with the results of his survey of bicycle parking facilities in the City. Staff then reminded committee members of upcoming deadlines on their work program and asked that assignments be completed and in the correct format by , the meeting of February 3. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. to the meeting of February 3, 1992. ' Respectfully Submitted, Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator Secretary to the Bicycle Committee ' MINUTES SAN LUIS OBISPO BICYCLE COMMITTEE Regular Meeting of February 4, 1992 ' The meeting convened at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber Roll Call: Present: Craig Anderson, Wes Conner,Linda Fitzgerald, Bruce LaHargoue, Jamie Lopes, Richard Marshall, Dave Pierce, Terry Sanville, Gary Sims, Wayne Williams Absent: none (Jamie Lopes arrived at 5:45) Public Comments: ' A request was made of the committee to investigate problems associated with the Cal Poly bike path which feeds west bound bicyclists into oncoming traffic on Highland Dr. Minutes: Approval of Minutes of January 20 1992 On motion by Wayne Williams, seconded by Wes Conner, the BC approved the minutes of January 20. (the motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) Information Items: 1. Progress of Santa Rosa Street Bike Lane Account Project ' Staff informed committee members as to the status of this project. The local Caltrans district has denied the requested design exception of narrowing lane widths ' to 11' and providing four foot bike lanes. Headquarters in Sacramento has so far supported this denial. The project would not be funded through BI.A funds and could not be completed until a design exception could be granted. The project has ' been endorsed by the City Council, the Area Coordinating Council (composed of all 5 County supervisors, and council representatives from all seven cities within the County) and the County's Technical Transportation Advisory Committee. The City ' will continue to pursue a design exception from Caltrans. Discussion Items: t 2. Status report on Committee member work assignments Committee member Bruce LaHargoue presented his findings on bicycle accident locations and causation. Action Items: 3. Results of Bicycle Questionnaire and committee approval of project listing, budget ' apportionment and project ranking Committee members and the public were invited to add any projects they felt should ' be added to the project listing. Member Jamie Lopes questioned staff regarding the absence of projects that had been present on previous lists. Staff responded that ' these projects had been mistakenly identified as being consistent with the 1985 Bicycle Facilities Plan in the previous listing. Pat Veesart, a representative from the Alternative Transportation Task Force then asked the committee to consider adding ' two specific projects to our listing: 1) Create a 'bicycle boulevard" on Broad between Foothill and Lincoln with ' barricades limiting through traffic and; 2) Install stenciling on Marsh and Higuera indicating that the right and left lanes are "ok for bikes". Committee chair Richard Marshall suggested a strategy for handling the remainder ' of this item in which the full list of suggested projects would be read and certain projects would be identified for detailed consideration and public testimony. Staff then explained the proposed bicycle program budget showing a recommended total expenditure of $404,000 for bicycle projects and programs. ' Foothill Boulevard: The first project to be discussed was the proposed restriping of Foothill Blvd. that would remove parking on the South side. After taking public ' testimony from residents who were strongly opposed to the proposal and from others who were in favor of the proposal, the committee discussed various options for striping to allow bike lanes. ' On motion by Jamie Lopes, seconded by Wes Conner, the BC approved of changing the recommended restriping on Foothill to allow for parking on both sides from the ' City limits until Tassajara with two Class IIA bike lanes, two vehicle lanes and a center turn pocket/left turn lane. At Tassajara four vehicle lanes would be provided to California. As a second alternative to this project, the road would remain two ' lane only until La Entrada. The feasibility of these alternatives is to be determined by engineering staff and presented to the committee at the meeting of Feb. 24. (the motion passed by a vote of 8 to 2, with Bruce La Hargoue and Dave Pierce dissenting) 1 Santa Barbara Street: The BC next considered the striping recommendation for Santa Barbara where the west side would retain parking and accommodate a Class IIA bike lane and the east side would have parking eliminated and be striped for a Class IIB bike lane. Public testimony on this project indicated strong support for the proposed alternative but expressed a need to retain parking on the west side since there appeared to be a.lack of off street parking here. ' On motion by Richard Marshall, seconded by Craig Anderson, the BC approved of the recommended restriping on Santa Barbara with the exception that parking along ' the east side at railroad square (where no parking is currently allowed on the west side) would be retained and the center line adjusted accordingly. The feasibility of this alternative is to be determined by engineering staff and presented to the committee at the meeting of Feb. 24. (the motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) Higuera Street: The final project to be considered by the BC was the restriping of Higuera to allow for two Class IIB bike lanes. Public testimony indicated strong support for this project but clearly showed that the greatest need for bike lanes was in the southbound direction. On motion by Terry Sanville seconded by Wes Conner, the BC supported changing the recommended project description to allow for four, 10' travel lanes and one 4' southbound bike lane. The feasibility of this alternative is to be determined by engineering staff and presented to the committee at the meeting of Feb. 24. (the motion passed by a vote of 6 to 4, Gary Sims, Linda Fitzgerald, Dave Pierce and Wayne Williams dissenting) On motion by Jamie Lopes, seconded .by Linda Fitzgerald, the BC voted to recommend that the City Council pursue the acquisition and relocation of properties along the west side of Higuera to allow for widening of the road. (the motion passed by a vote of 8 to 2, Wayne Williams and Gary Sims dissenting) On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Craig Anderson, the BC voted to refer both the originally recommended project (with bike lanes in each direction) and the ' recommendation made in the first motion to the engineering department for further consideration. The feasibility of these alternatives are to be determined by engineering staff and presented to the committee at the meeting of Feb. 24. ' (the motion passed by a vote of 9 to 1, Bruce LaHargoue dissenting) The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. to the meeting of February 24, 1992. Respectfully Submitted, ,s Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator Secretary to the Bicycle Committee MINUTES ' SAN LUIS OBISPO BICYCLE COMMITTEE Regular Meeting of February 24, 1992 The meeting convened at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber ' Roll Call: Present: Craig Anderson, Wes Conner,Linda Fitzgerald, Bruce LaHargoue,Jamie Lopes, Richard Marshall,Dave Pierce,Terry Sanville, Gary Sims, Wayne Williams ' Absent: none Public Comments: Committee member Wayne Williams informed those in attendance of the progress ' of Prop. 116 bicycle allocations from the State. Minutes: , Approval of Minutes of February 3. 1992 Member Gary Sims indicated an error had been made in recording the motion and vote for recommending widening Higuera Street between Marsh and High (the ' second of three motions for a project on Higuera). The minutes should have read that Linda Fitzgerald seconded the motion and that Gary Sims along with Wayne Williams dissented. On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Linda Fitzgerald, the BC approved the minutes of Feruary 3 with changes as indicated. (the motion passed by a unanimous voice vote) Information Items: , 1. Engineering department findings on bike lane project recommendations for Santa ' Barbara Street and Foothill Blvd. Wayne Peterson, City Engineer, presented strip maps of Foothill Blvd. and Santa , Barbara Street to those in attendance. The maps showed the BC's recommended striping changes for these streets. Comments on the proposed Foothill restriping concerned the width of bike lanes and travel lanes and parking removal on the north and south sides of Foothill east of Tassajara. Comments on the proposed Santa Barbara restriping concerned parking removal on the east side particularly between Morro and High Streets. ' ' Discussion Items: 2. Committee discussion of recommended project listing and budget apportionment iThe BC discussed the recommended project listing and the removal of projects from the previous listing. Of particular concern was the removal of the project for Orcutt i Rd. This project, along with 4 others had been removed to provide sufficient funding for two additional projects. These two projects were for funding for bike lanes on Santa Rosa Street ($90,000) and for a design study for the railroad bike i path ($125,000). The BC briefly discussed these projects and inquired as to why these had not been included in previous listings. Staff responded that determinations from the State for bike lane account funding, City Council i expectations, timing and previous staff work were all factors in the inclusion of these projects. The BC asked that a revised listing be prepared for the following meeting in which all previous and currently recommended projects be included regardless of i whether the total cost would exceed our current budget. The BC also discussed bike lane improvements for Grand Ave. that would be done as part of an upcoming major' street improvement and median project. The BC asked that a determination be made as to how many parking spaces would be affected given a recommendation for bike lanes on both sides. The BC agreed to carry over further discussion of recommended projects to the next meeting. 1 Action Items: i3. Committee approval of Bike Fest preliminary event schedule and budget i After a brief introduction of this item by staff, the BC questioned exactly how the proposed bike fest fit into the work program. Concerns over liability and feasibility of some of the proposed events were also raised. The BC directed staff to discuss liability concerns with City staff and to show how bike fest would serve to accomplish the goals established as part of the BC's work program. A decision of whether or not to fund bike fest would follow this presentation. The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. to the meeting of March 2, 1992. iRespectfully Submitted, Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator Secretary to the Bicycle Committee i i i . MINUTES ' SAN LUIS OBISPO BICYCLE COMMITTEE Regular Meeting of March 2, 1992 The meeting convened at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber ' Roll Call: Present: Craig Anderson, Wes Conner, Linda Fitzgerald, Bruce LaHargoue,Jamie Lopes, Richard Marshall,Dave Pierce,Terry Sanville, Gary Sims, Wayne Williams ' Absent: none Minutes: ' Approval of Minutes of February 24. 1992 ' On motion by Linda Fitzgerald, seconded by Bruce LaHargoue, the BC approved the minutes of February 24. (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) Action Items: i 1. Draft committee approval of recommended project listing and budget apportionment ' Grand Avenue: The first category one project discussed for tentative committee approval (final approval would follow community input at the meeting of March 16) was for establishment of bike lanes.on Grand Ave. Staff introduced the following recommended project: From Slack to 101, double stripe bike lane on east side (retain parking) and stripe 8' bike lane adjacent to curb on west side (restrict parking); from 101 to Monterey, restrict parking near curve or where adequate bike lane can not be established adjacent to parking. The BC discussed the proposal including the desireablity of striping a bike lane adjacent to the curb on the west ' side between Slack and 101 given the high speeds that bikes would be traveling. The following motion was made: On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Jamie Lopes, the BC voted to support the staff recommended project for establishment of bike lanes on Grand. (The motion failed by a vote of 7 to 3, Craig Anderson, Jamie Lopes and Terry Sanville voting in favor.) The BC further discussed the options for striping the bike lane on the west side ' between Slack and 101 and the following motion was made: i ' On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Craig Anderson, the BC tentatively approved of staff's recommendation except that the bike line stripe on the west side between Slack and the southbound 101 entrance would be eliminated. A right turn ' pocket and a dashed stripe designating a bike lane would be included through the 101 intersection, however. (The motion failed by a vote of 8 to 2, Craig Anderson and Terry Sanville voting in ' favor.). Member Dave Pierce, sensing confusion and dismay on the part of other committee ' members, then presented an artistic interpretation of the proposed project showing . median, vehicle and bicycle lane width. Suddenly enlightened by this new information, the following motion was made: On motion by Jamie Lopes, seconded by Wes Conner, the BC tentatively approved staff's recommendation with the addition of the improvements indicated in the ' second motion. (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) ' California Boulevard: The next category one project discussed was for bike lane improvements on California from Foothill to Hathway. Upon a brief introduction ' by staff of the proposed project the following motion was made: On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Wes Conner, the BC tentatively approved ' of the double striping of California Blvd. between Foothill and Hathway at an estimated cost of $5,000. Parking would be eliminated (an estimated 2 parking spots southeast of the comer of California and Foothill) to establish a continuous 5' bike lane along this street segment. ' (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) The next recommended project, also on California was for improvements to the bike ' lane between Phillips and the intersection with 101. The following motion was made: 1 On motion by Bruce LaHargoue, seconded by Wes Conner, the BC tentatively approved of double striping of California between Phillips and the 101 on-ramp and restriping the bike lane across the 101 intersection to allow for better through ' movement of bikes. This project would be combined with the recommended Category 2 project at California and Hathway which specified improving the intersection design for better through movement of bikes. These improvements ' have an estimated cost of $20,000. Other improvements to the intersection of California and Taft and to the bike lane on the east side of California (widening) would also be included as part of this project, assuming available funds. (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) Johnson Avenue: Staff introduced the proposed improvements to the bike lane on the east side of Johnson between Lizzie and San Luis. The following motion was made: 1 On motion by Jamie Lopes, seconded by Linda Fitzgerald, the BC tentatively ' approved of adjusting the bike lane striping on the east side of Johnson between Lizzie and San Luis Drive to allow for a safer transition through the Johnson/San Luis intersection. This project has an estimated cost of $500. (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) Santa Rosa Street: Staff introduced the proposed improvements to Santa Rosa ' Street which had been discussed at earlier meetings in association with the State's Bike Lane Account. There was considerable discussion on the merits of this project relating to its cost and benefits. Staff stressed that a great amount of time and , effort had gone into working with Caltrans and other agencies to support this project and that our partial funding was essential for its implementation. On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Craig Anderson, the BC tentatively approved the expenditure of$90,000 for installation of 4' gutter/bike lanes on Santa Rosa Street. , (The motion passed by a vote of 5 to 4. Wayne Williams, Gary Sims, Bruce LaHargoue and Dave Pierce opposed, Linda Fitzgerald, abstaining.) Los Osos Valley Road: Staff introduced the proposed improvements for LOVR. ' The following motion was made: On motion by Wes Conner, seconded by Dave Pierce, the BC tentatively approved ' the expenditure of $500 for removal of botts dotts and other minor improvements to the bike lane on the east side of Los Osos Valley Road from Diablo to the City ' Limits. (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) Previously Eliminated Projects Category 1 projects: The following category 1 projects had been identified for elimination from the ' recommended project listing. The BC was to decide which, if any, should be put back on this list. Orcutt Rad: Dave Pierce introduced his idea for a modified project (the original project for Orcutt Road was for $104,000) to establish bike lanes on Orcutt Road. ' On a map, Dave showed those in attendance where improvements, such as fire hydrant relocation and shoulder widening, could be made to establish 5' bike lanes on Orcutt between Bullock and Broad. ' On motion by Dave Pierce, seconded by Gary Sims, the BC tentatively approved the expenditure of$40,000 for shoulder widening and other improvements necessary to ' establish 5' bike lanes on Orcutt Road between Broad and Bullock. (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) South Higuera: Staff proposed removing this project, which included removing the existing sidewalk and installing an on-street bike lane between Meissner and Granada, from the recommended list of improvement projects. On motion by Wes Conner, seconded by Richard Marshall, the BC approved the ' removal of the sidewalk removal/bike lane installation project from the recommended project listing. (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) Johnson Ave: Staff proposed removing this project, which included parking removal ' and bike lane establishment on Johnson between Ella and Bishop, from the recommended list of improvement projects. On motion by Bruce LaHargoue, seconded by Wes Conner, the BC approved the removal of the bike lane installation project on the west side of Johnson Ave. between Ella and Bishop. (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) Laurel Lane: The BC discussed including this project, which was for bike lane striping on the west side on Laurel between Southwood and Orcutt, back on the list for reasons of timing (much of the area was currently undeveloped) and relative ease of implementation. tOn motion by Jamie Lopes, seconded by Wes Conner, the BC tentatively approved the expenditure of$10,000 for bike lane striping on the west side of Laurel between ' Southwood and Orcutt. 2. Committee approval of Bike Fest budget As requested at the previous meeting, staff provided BC members with an excerpt of the approved work program showing how the proposed bike fest fit in. Staff had also met with other City personnel to discuss risk related issues and had indicated that none of the proposed events had been specifically opposed. Members Bruce LaHargoue and Linda Fitzgerald indicated that they had also talked with City personnel regarding the acceptability of certain proposed events and had received 1 a greater level of concern than staff had indicated. Member Jamie Lopes indicated support for the proposed bike fest but felt that no mention of the criterium or other non-City supported events should be included as part of the City's proposed budget. ' Jamie also wished to add $500 each to the items of providing food to volunteers and misc. expenses (total budget of $8,500). ' On motion by Jamie Lopes, seconded by Gary Sims, the BC approved the expenditure of$8,500 from the Committee's promotional budget for sponsorship of Bike Fest. (The motion passed by a vote of 9 to 1. Bruce LaHargoue, dissenting.) The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. to the meeting of March 16, 1992. Respectfully Submitted, Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator Secretary to the Bicycle Committee 1 ' MINUTES SAN LUIS OBISPO BICYCLE COMMITTEE Regular Meeting of March 16, 1992 The meeting convened at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber ' Roll Call: Present: Craig Anderson, Wes Conner, Linda Fitzgerald, Bruce LaHargoue,Jamie Lopes, Richard Marshall, Dave Pierce,Terry Sanville, Gary Sims, Wayne Williams ' Absent: none Public Comments: Brett Cross requested that the Bicycle Committee examine the issue of requiring employers of over 50 to install shower and locker facilities for bicyclists who commuter to work. Minutes: ' Approval of Minutes of March 2. 1992 Linda Fitzgerald requested that under action item 2, approval of Bike Fest budget, that the minutes be amended to include discussion regarding the disconnection of the criterium with the City's sponsorship of Bike Fest. ' On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Linda Fitzgerald, the BC approved the minutes of March 2 as amended. (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) 1 Action Items: ' 1. Final committee approval of recommended project listing and budget apportionment Staff made a brief introduction to this item stating that the recommended project listing would be approved as a whole by the committee following public comment. This recommended listing would then be forwarded to the City Council for final ' approval at their meeting of April 28. Santa Barbara ' The recommended project for Santa Barbara called for parking removal on the east side of Santa Barbara. This would allow space for bike lanes on both sides of Santa ' Barbara. 1 Public Comment: Mike Wilson of the Pacific Home Do It Center stated that his business generated the most traffic on SB and that the west side had much less ' traffic. Safety was his major concern. He asked why bike lanes were being proposed on such a major street. Steve Rehrig owner of Daylight Gardens stated his concern for safety. Many of his ' customers use the street for parking., planning on building new center , Debbie Collins of the Del Monte Cafe stated that they had parking which accommodates most of parking but that there was still a deficiency in parking in the area. She further stated that SB is a busy street with a lot of accidents. Dave Maxudian of S&S auto electric stated that motor homes and boats backing in and out of their drive into a bike lane was a concern to him. , Kenneth Brooks stated that there was a lot of traffic on SB and he was concerned about truck delivery. SB is a major route for commuters downtown. , Suzanne Smith of HP&Co. stated that SB street was a terrible place for bike lanes because of traffic. There is a lack of parking on entire street. ' Pat Veesart agreed that SB was a major road. The point of improving bike lanes is to encourage people to ride. Bicycles need a place to ride. The fact that SB was , a busy and dangerous street underscored the need for bike lanes. Dennis Noble of Noble Building Co. stated that bikes don't patronize many of the businesses along SB. The City is moving in a poor direction with bike lanes. The City should pursue a bike path along SP ROW as an alternative. Committee Comments: Craig Anderson stated that bikes will continue to use this , street and bike lanes will enhance safety. Bruce LaHargoue stated that not all bike lanes have been shown to improve safety. , Wes Conner stated that cyclists don't always need bike lanes. Lanes are helpful to children to identify the location in street where they should be riding. , Terry Sanville stated that the choice is to take bikes off Santa Barbara and re-route or to provide place for bike to ride on SB. SB was identified as a priority in , questionnaire. Bike lanes focus location where bikes should be. Proposal to remove parking in one side is a reasonable compromise. On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Wes Conner, the BC voted to support the recommended project for Santa Barbara Street (The motion tied by a vote of 5 to 5, Craig Anderson, Wes Conner, Jamie Lopes Richard Marshall and Terry Sanville voting in favor.) 1 ' On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Wayne Williams, the BC approved forwarding the project for City Council determination. The Council would be informed that the BC was split in their support for the project. (The motion passed by a vote of 8 to 2. Bruce LaHargoue and Gary Sims dissenting.) ' Grand Avenue The recommended project for Grand Avenue called for parking removal on the west side between Slack and Highway 101. Public Comment: A long time resident stated that, although the majority of Grand Avenue residents on the west side had adequate off-street parking opportunities ' available to them, they did not. Parking removal on the west side would therefore present a hardship to them. On motion by Jamie Lopes, seconded by Gary Sims, the BC approved changing the 1 recommended project for Grand to retain parking, 5 foot bike lanes and two 11' travel lanes on both sides (from Fredericks, to Hwy 101 on the west side parking would be removed for a right turn lane). (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) ' Hi era The BC decided to reserve further discussion of this project, which called for reducing the current four lanes to two with a center turn lane and bike lanes, until engineering could present their capacity analysis findings (to be presented April 6). ' On motion by Wes Conner, seconded by Terry Sanville, the BC approved of continuing further discussion of this project to April 6. motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) Foothill Boulevard Staff's recommended project for Foothill included parking removal on both the north and south sides of Foothill between Ferrini and Tassajara. West of Tassajara, traffic lanes would be reduced from four to two with parking and bike lanes included on both sides. Public Comment: The owner of a business commented that parking availability on the northern side of Foothill between Tassajara and Ferrini was insufficient and that ' any reduction in parking would present extreme hardship to businesses on this portion of Foothill. On motion by Terry Sanville, seconded by Wayne Williams, the BC approved the restriping of Foothill to allow for parking to remain on the northern side between , Ferrini and the City Limits (some parking would be removed east of the Tassajara intersection and where sight distances require) and parking to be removed east of Tassajara on the south side. Bike lanes would be installed adjacent to parking on ' the northern side and adjacent to the curb on the south. Other striping changes for Foothill would include reducing the current four lanes to two west of Tassajara with bike lanes and parking on both sides. (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) On motion by Richard Marshall, seconded by Linda Fitzgerald, the BC approved ' the recommended project listing and budget apportionment for City Council final approval. ' (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) 2. Approval of Bicycle Committee Progress Report ' The committee discussed the draft form of the Bicycle Committee Progress Report and concerns were raised about the specific listing of locations for bike parking areas. It was agreed that no preference for such locations had been endorsed by the committee and that this should be reflected in the progress report. Some committee members also requested that additional material showing completed survey work should be included in the report. On motion by Craig Anderson, seconded by Wayne Williams, the BC approved the Bicycle Committee Progiess Report for forwarding to the City Council with changes as noted. (The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.) , The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. to the meeting of April 6, 1992. Respectfully Submitted, Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator ' Secretary to the Bicycle Committee APPENDIX D city of san lues osispo INITIAL STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SITE LOCATION IT / VGt•w r«t pe-fwte + gurS4 APPLICATIONNO. E/L & fc; ' PROJECT DESCRIPTION rev s tie �a�es . �S+/�. yr 4h•S LvOVttp k;o'C trCATad fD CfWO wyf-A 4 CAPoLer -tyrpi �dln t APPLICANT /'�'� 64 )L� STAFF RECOMMENDATION: NEGATIVE DECLARATION MITIGATION INCLUDED EXPANDED INITIAL STUDY RE/O/�WRE/D� ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT R QUIRED PREPARED BY `rmrS Ao%weoy , ►yC�i�1 `Dlroifnw��0r DATE y S 7— PREPARED ' COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR'S ACT DATE -- V SUMMARY OF INITIAL STUDY FINDINGS ' I.DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING II.POTENTIAL IMPACT REVIEW POSSIBLE ADVERSE EFFECTS ' A. COMMUNITY PLANS AND GOALS ........................................... ........ B. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND GROWTH.......................... . ....... ...... ... C. LAND USE ............................J...................................... . D. TRANSPORTATION AND CIRCULATION Q�.ro�.. rn,.(cue/ o Sc��!ee . .,!t/+�a�to-+ Ct Ky�0.'ti"7��+ ' E. PUBLIC SERVICES ................................................................. F. UTILITIES...................•..................................................... ' G. NOISE LEVELS ..................................................................... H. GEOLOGIC&SEISMIC HAZARDS&TOPOGRAPHIC MODIFICATIONS ..................... V I. AIR QUALITY AND WIND CONDITIONS................................................ J. SURFACE WATER FLOW AND QUALITY ................................................ e jol K. PLANT LIFE...................................................................... ' L ANIMAL LIFE..................................................................... M. ARCHAEOLOGICAL/HISTORICAL ................................................... N. AESTHETIC ...................................................................... 0. ENERGYIRESOURCEUSE .......................................................... P. OTHER .......................................................................... III.STAFF RECOMMENDATION ' -SEE ATTACHED REPORT sem 1 PROJECT: Restriping of Higuera from Marsh to High DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT This project involves the restriping of Higuera Street from Marsh to High Streets. A portion of Higuera north of Marsh would also require restriping in order to channel vehicles and bicycles correctly through the Higuera/Marsh intersection. As a result of the proposed striping, Higuera would be reduced from four to two lanes with a center turn lane ' and 5 foot bike lanes from Marsh to High Streets. POTENTIAL. IMPACTS ' Transportation and Circulation As a.result of a capacity analysis performed by the City's traffic engineer, it has been found that the proposed project will not significantly impact circulation on Higuera Street. The ' overall level of service at the Higuera/Marsh and the Higuera/High intersections will remain unchanged. However, the level of service on the southbound approach north of the Higuera/March intersection may drop one level of service (from current level B, to level ' Q. The increase in congestion will occur as vehicles merge from two lanes to one. In the northbound direction, south of the Higuera/Marsh intersection, no circulation impacts are expected as the center turn lane will be serving as a left turn lane at this location, , effectively duplicating the current striping. South of the Higuera/Marsh, through the Higuera/High intersection, no significant impacts to circulation are expected. The installation of a center turn lane may eliminate- rear-end collision problems. Some alteration to the present pattern of circulation may occur as a result of this project. Some vehicles using this portion of Higuera may shift to Hwy 101 between Marsh and ' Madonna Road as a result of increased congestion experienced at the Higuera/Marsh intersection (southbound). The overall effect of this project will be to allow a safer interaction between bicycles and vehicles. The extension of bike lanes on Higuera in this ' location will fill a gap in a regionally significant and State-designated bike route. Conclusion: No significant impact on transportation or circulation is expected as a result ' of implementation of this project. However, a potential drop in the level of service from B to C may occur north of the Higuera/Marsh intersection in the southbound direction. The overall impact to circulation will be an improved interaction between bicycles and vehicles. RECOMMENDATION ' Grant a negative declaration of environmental impact. 1 city of San WIS OBIspo INITIAL STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ��� tooC4 wCOr4 L� l gkCAIw d- "S{tcv% V l(!Aw� SITE LOCATION '� Ett 4PPLICATION NO. PROJECT DESCRIPTION If-IRSS 7L 64c la•+cs . PIlrklm tvovf*O 6c re_s4w-'•.4- over- 4 r 000..on o4 Ao4 APPLICANT Ipt>� e.r— ° S C-O STAFF RECOMMENDATION: NEGATIVE DECLARATION MITIGATION INCLUDED EXPANDED INITIAL STUDY REQ�UIIRRE�D, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT REQUIRED PREPARED BY C^o � o� G�m& DATE Y 3 7 Z COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR'S ON: DATE 3 92 1�fEL-!>i►llti � SUMMARY OF INITIAL STUDY FINDINGS 1.DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING II.POTENTIAL IMPACT REVIEW POSSIBLE ADV? E EFFECTS ' A. COMMUNITY PLANS AND GOALS ......... ....... ................................... B. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND GROWTH .......................................... C. LAND USE .................:....................-..I........;....................... D. TRANSPORTATION AND CIRCULATION .....SC p.r Gr Sf*� aril.+ cilIf� ' E. PUBLIC SERVICES ................................................................ F. UTILITIES........... • ............................................................. J G. NOISE LEVELS ......................................................................� H. GEOLOGIC&SEISMIC HAZARDS&TOPOGRAPHIC MODIFICATIONS .................... 1. AIR QUALITY AND WIND CONDITIONS................................................. J. SURFACE WATER FLOW AND QUALITY .............................................. KPLANT LIFE......................................................................... LANIMAL LIFE..................................................................... M. ARCHAEOLOGICALIHISTORICAL ................................................... N. AESTHETIC ...................................................................... 0. ENERGYIRESOURCE USE .......................................................... ROTHER ........................................................................... Ill.STAFF RECOMMENDATION ' -SEE ATTACHED REPORT sari PROJECT: Foothill Blvd. repaving and restriping from city limits to California Blvd. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT ' The project involves the repaving and restriping of Foothill Boulevard from the western city limits to California Boulevard. Vehicle lanes would be reduced from the current four to two},3es travel lanes and a center turn lane from the western city limits to Tassajara Street with bike lanes installed adjacent to parking on both sides. Striping changes east of , Tassajara would require the elimination of parking on the southern side of Foothill (approximately 33 spaces) and the retention of the existing parking on the northern side. Five foot bike lanes could then be installed on both sides of Foothill. No other striping , changes are being proposed for Foothill east of the Lucky shopping Center. POTENTIAL IMPACTS ' Transportation and Circulation The proposed project will result in the loss of 33 parking spaces on the southern side of Foothill between Tassajara and Ferrini Streets. These parking spaces have an average ' occupancy of 21% (survey conducted March, 1992). The majority of parking that would be lost is currently adjacent to an undeveloped site. Restriction of parking at this location will likely improve pedestrian safety as many of those using the existing parking cross Foothill at a mid-block location to access properties and businesses on the northern side. Demand for on-street parking on the northern side of Foothill and in other nearby parking areas on the southern side may increase as a result of the implementation of this project. Overall, the impact of parking removal along this portion of Foothill will not present a significant ' impact and may increase pedestrian safety. The engineering department has determined that the project will not significantly reduce the level of service on the street or at intersections or contribute to any other circulation impacts. The overall effect of this project will be to allow a safer interaction between bicycles and vehicles. The extension of bike lanes on Foothill to the western city limits will fill a gap in a regionally significant bike route. Conclusion: No significant impact on transportation or circulation is expected as a result of implementation of this project. The loss of parking on the southern side of Foothill may increase demand in nearby parking locations but may also contribute to increased safety for pedestrians. The overall impact to circulation will be an improved interaction between bicycles and vehicles. RECOMMENDATION Grant a negative declaration of environmental impact. city of san lues oBispo INITIAL STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SITE LOCATION 114 core / Z4 49 w !jfh a&w*M/ OkXU APPLICATIONNO. L2GoZ�/� PROJECT DESCRIPTION567 C osde 1 �f✓l n ,`^d a •door t 1` .w vo �G r TnfS /v&.60^ APPLICANT ! D� STAFF RECOMMENDATION: NEGATIVE DECLARATION MITIGATION INCLUDED EXPANDED STUDY REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT RPORT R UI rZ<<v� ,� 00 ""iDATEPREPARED BY ED y COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR'S ACTI DATE SUMMARY OF INITIAL STUDY FINDINGS ' I.DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING IL POTENTIAL IMPACT REVIEW POSSIBLE ADV? E EFFECTS A. COMMUNITY PLANS AND GOALS ................................................... B. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND GROWTH............................ .............. , C. LAND USE .. ............. .....................................1...r............ ... f/O D. TRANSPORTATION AND CIRCULATION .......V.S � $ o � J � E. PUBLIC SERVICES ................................................................ F. UTILITIES........................................................................ ' G. NOISE LEVELS ................................................................... H. GEOLOGIC&SEISMIC HAZARDS&TOPOGRAPHIC MODIFICATIONS .................... 1. AIR QUALITY AND WIND CONDITIONS............................................... ' J. SURFACE WATER FLOW AND QUALITY ............................................... 401, K. PLANT LIFE....................................................................... LANIMAL LIFE...................................................................... M. ARCHAEOLOGICAUHISTORICAL ................................................... ' N. AESTHETIC ...................................................................... O. ENERGY/RESOURCE USE ..........................................................�D P. OTHER ........................................................................... III.STAFF RECOMMENDATION ' -SEE ATTACHED REPORT seas PROJECT: Striping of Bike Lane on Laurel from Southwood to Orcutt DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT The project involves the striping of a bike lane on Laurel Lane from Southwood Drive to ' Orcutt Road. This striping change would require the elimination of approximately 65 parking spaces on the western side of Laurel. An eight foot bike lane would take the place of the existing parking area. 1 POTENTIAL IMPACTS Transportation and Circulation The proposed project.will result in the loss of approximately 65 parking spaces on the western side of Laurel between Southwood Drive and Orcutt Road. These parking spaces have an average occupancy of 7% (surveys conducted March, 1992). The parking that would be lost is currently adjacent to an undeveloped site. Restriction of parking at.this ' location will likely improve pedestrian safety as most of those using the existing parking cross Laurel at a mid-block location to access properties on the eastern side. A minor increase in demand for on-street parking on the eastern side of Laurel will likely occur as a result of the implementation of this project. ' Conclusion: No significant impact on transportation or circulation is expected as a result ' of implementation of this project. The loss of parking on the western side of Laurel may increase the demand in nearby parking locations but will contribute to increased safety for pedestrians. The overall impact to ' circulation will be an improved interaction between bicycles and vehicles. RECOMMENDATION Grant a negative declaration of environmental impact 1 r city of San 1LUS OBISPO INITIAL STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SITE LOCATION Sp'.� �1.a•. St�•� APPLICATIONNO. 6e 6V-9a PPROJEECCT DESCRIPTION 4m A 0-• �7^f _c e,,40. d r4'K yr-jr4- r S, � /A at vs oon '6vjA gide S o(- SAc c+ . pitrA19%. "y/do tze f4ev"t 9440( oh e45f St�� . APPLICANT C 1 Olt STAFFCOMMENDATION: ✓NEGATIVE DECLARATION MITIGATION INCLUDED EXPANDED INITIAL STUDY REO RED / ENVlRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT RE UIRED. PREPARED BY era ' y�}rt�lr$f3n mK�je(e LQCf�a{� DATE40 S Z COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR'S ACTION: n I DATE- r2-c0. ATE r2-c0. c S 0,�7 l ut Ix c l arta-r l w✓ SUMMARY OF INITIAL STUDY FINDINGS ' 1.DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING 11.POTENTIAL IMPACT REVIEW POSSIBLE ADVERSE EFFECTS ' A. COMMUNITY PLANS AND GOALS ......................... .......................... 9000, B. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND GROWTH.......................................... C. LAND USE .................................................-.............. . ...... ... D. TRANSPORTATION AND CIRCULATION ......... 'rr(..... E. PUBLIC SERVICES ................................................................ F. UTILITIES........................................................................ G. NOISE LEVELS ................................................................... H. GEOLOGIC&SEISMIC HAZARDS&TOPOGRAPHIC MODIFICATIONS ..................... I. AIR QUALITY AND WIND CONDITIONS............................................... T J. SURFACE WATER FLOW AND QUALITY .............................................. K. PLANT LIFE..................................................................... LANIMAL LIFE.....................................................................� ' M. ARCHAEOLOGICALIHISTORICAL ................................................... �J N. AESTHETIC ...................................................................... O O. ENERGYIRESOURCE USE .......................................................... P. OTHER ......................................................................... ' IIL STAFF RECOMMENDATION ' 'SEE ATTACHED REPORT ss es PROJECT. Repaving and restriping of Santa Barbara from Leff to Broad ' DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT , This project involves the repaving and restriping of Santa Barbara Street from Leff to Broad Streets. Santa Barbara would be restriped to allow space for 5 foot bike lanes on both sides. On the west side the bike lane would be installed adjacent to parking. On the east side the bike lane would be adjacent to the curb. This striping would eliminate approximately 65 parking spaces on the eastern side of Santa Barbara. POTENTIAL IMPACTS , Transportation and Circulation , This project will result in the elimination of parking on the eastern side of Santa Barbara with the exception of the area directly in front of railroad square (across from the bus stop). Approximately 65 parking spaces with an average occupancy of 26% (survey conducted March, 1992) will be eliminated. Demand for on-street parking on the western side of Santa Barbara and in nearby off-street parking areas on the eastern side will likely increase as a result of the implementation of this project. , Surveys of on-street parking uses on the eastern side of Santa Barbara reveal that the areas between High Street and Railroad Square and in front of the 'Do-it-Center" were in ' greatest demand. The "Do-it-Center" did not appear to have a deficiency of on-site parking, as many spaces were still available. Furthermore, the Do-it-Center yard area appears to have sufficient area to accommodate additional customer and employee parking if demand ' increases in the future. Therefore no adverse impacts are expected along this portion of Santa Barbara. Businesses north of High Street (i.e., S&S Auto Electric, Noble Construction) did appear to lack adequate on-site parking for their uses. Vehicles in need of repair appeared to be stored on the street in this location. Additional parking in this area was available on High Street (on the east side of Santa Barbara). Parking removal along this portion of Santa Barabara will likely produce a general increase in demand for ' parking in surrounding areas. No other impacts to transportation or circulation are expected as a result of implementation of this project. The overall effect of this project will be to allow a safer interaction between bicycles and vehicles on Santa Barbara: The installation of bike lanes on Santa Barbara will partially fill a gap in a regionally significant bike route. Conclusion: No significant impact on transportation or circulation is expected as a result of implementation of this project. The overall impact to circulation will be an improved interaction between bicycles and vehicles. However, an impact on parking availability on Santa Barbara Street between High Street and Railroad Square may result. The loss of parking spaces in this area will ' likely increase demand in nearby parking locations. The following plan is suggested to alleviate any impacts that may result from parking removal in this location: ' ' The City, in cooperation with businesses and residents of the area, should develop a parking management plan for Santa Barbara Street between High ' Street and Railroad Square. This plan would identify: a) the locations where parking will be available; b) the locations best suited for employee, residential and customer parking; c) trip reduction measures for employees of businesses ' in this area. ' RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Grant a negative declaration of environmental impact 2. Implement the proposed narking management plan L 1 1 f i aw of San IMS OBISPO i TRANSPORTATION SURVEY RESULTS The City of San Luis Obispo mailed this survey to a random sample of 1,935 residents during January of 1990.A total of 655 surveys were returned by the deadline, for a total response of 33.8%. The City is currently updating its General Plan Circulation Element,with the help of transportation consultants.This surveywas conducted as an means of collecting information from the public regarding their activities and preferences for local transportation, to assist in that process. Responses have been tabulated.and are indicated by percentages.For further information, contact Terry Sanville, of the Community Development Dept., at 549- 7178. i ' 1.Consider the different types of transportation The age profile of the people responding is not the below. Please check those that you have used same as the city as a whole. Senior Citizens are over during the past week and estimate how much you represvtted while young adults are under represented ' have used them for all trips within San Luis Toget an estimate of the transportation habits of the Obispo city or county. whole city, we adjusted the response to Question 1 Number of respondents = 637 based on the known city age profile. This adjusted ' response is shown below. The total is slightly more Percent of Use 21Re of Transportation Used than 100% due to rounding up when calculating percentages. ' 73.2% Automobile 12.3 Walling Weighted 6.6 Bicycle Percent of Use Tune of Transportation Used 4.3 City Bus 1.5 Motorcycle/Scooter/Moped .69.4% Automobile ' 1.0 Car/Van Pools 13.7 Walking 0.4 Regional Bus 9.8 Bicycle 0.1 Taxi 5.0 City Bus OS Other 2.1 Motorcycle/Scooter/Moped 0.8 Car/Van Pools 99.9% Total 0.6 Regional Bus 0.1 Taxi The responses here show the use'of each mode of 0.4 Other transportation,as indicated by those who answered ' the survey. 77iey are ranked by frequency of use. 101.8% Total APPENDIX E: 1990 TRANSPORTATION SURVEY RESULTS BICYCLE RIDRlr , 6.6 8.8 Other incentives? (write in) 8.Do you currently ride a bicycle at least once a ' week? Number of respondents = 643 48.2 39.9 I would not ride a bicycle 31.3% Yes. 68.7% No. because (write in): ' %of those who For what purposes? Please check all that apply. would not ride %of all 44.8% Physical limitations/age , respondents 26.7 Feel that it is unsafe 68.7% Do not ride a bicycle 15.5 Don't own a bicylce 28.0 For recreation or exercise 7-8 . Must carry things ' 15.8 Transportation to work or school 4.7 Environment considerations 129 Transportation to visit friends (hills, etc.) ' 120 Transportation to shopping or 26 Use alternative transportation entertainment 16.4 Other 1.2 Transportation for medical visit Both those who do and those who do not , 0.9 As part of a job currently ride a bicycle express a desire for better 0.9 Other(write in) facilities for riding and parking, and less BICYCLE RIDING (cont.) competition with traffic.Among the large number. ' 9.Would you ride a bicycle more often if one or uninterested in riding, many have physical more ofthefollowingwasavailable?Pleasecheck reasons yet safety and ownership are also of ' all that apply. Number of respondents = 582 concern. %who do not of all ' ride bikes respondents 21.9% 35.2 Bike lanes were separated from streets ' 19.5 36.1% More bike lanes were created along streets 16.5 25.9 There were fewer cars and ' trucks using the streets 13.3 23.2 Safe places were provided to park bicycles , 10.4 14.8 You lived closer to where you wanted to go ' 7:2 15.1 Roads were smoother to ride on 3.4 4.6 Your work or school schedule were changed to make it easier 3.8 4.8 You had someone to ride ' along with 2.7 7.2 Showers were provided where you work or go to ' school APPENDIX E: 1990 TRANSPORTATION SURVEY RESULTS ' Bicycle Advisory Committee ' Community research James Lopes February 16, 1992 Corvallis, Oregon ' Corvallis is a small city located approximately 40 miles north of Eugene in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Oregon State University is located adjacent to downtown. It has been designated as the second most livable city in America in the Rating Guide to Life in America's Small Cities. A Bicycle Advisory Committee works with a Public Works Committee to review a bicycle capital improvement program. Both committees have held neighborhood meetings to receive community input. ' The city has prepared a Bikeway Corridor Plan, which emphasizes an on-street network of bikelanes on collector and arterial streets. The bikelane marking program was proposed to five neighborhoods for their input. An initial $30,000 funding package was approved by voters in November, 1980 for the first ' three years. Eugene, Oregon Eugene is a city of 106,000 residents (1980) on hilly terrain within the Willamette Valley. A bicycle ' committee was formed in 1970, with five staff and five lay members. It is the model for the San Luis Obispo committee organization. A bikeway master plan was prepared by a consultant, adopted in 1974. The committee updates the plan annually. Every five years it is professionally updated. The citizen ' members of the committee were advocates for bike lane improvements and projects. Their job is to win the approval of the community and the City Council. Staff includes a bicycle coordinator for day-today duties for the bicycle network. ' Consensus is important with the committee. When it is not reached, often a subcommittee of staff and citizen members will provide a plan that the full committee can accept. The committee also serves to ' educate new staff members or Council members to think bicycles. Funds from a National Bikeway Demonstration Program built a river bridge for bicyclists and ' pedestrians. Several other bridges have followed, to link a half dozen commercial and residential areas within easy.reach of bicyclists. Riverbank bike paths were planned and easements obtained for future development. Bikepaths. Paths are recommended to be 12 feet wide to anticipate that pedestrians will also use them, with white edge striping plus center line stripes on curves. ' Semi-diverters. Some streets are partially blocked to automobile entry in one direction, and bikes are encouraged as a route or "bicycle street." Parking is then lett in place. The reduction in auto traffic attracts more bikes than other parallel streets have cars. Railroad crossings. The Southern Pacific Railroad bisects the city. Local and state bikeway monies funded two undercrossings to link neighborhoods. APPENDIX F: SUMMARY OF OTHER COMMUNITY'S BICYCLE PROGRAMS Bridge adaptation. The busiest bridge was expanded to provide a protected bike and pedestrian path , across it, with ramps carrying bicyclists to a riverbank trail. Bike lanes. To provide safe bike access on the most logical (level, shortest) routes, narrow streets often ' have been used. Parking has been removed on one side and travel lanes have-been narrowed. Streets have been widened to provide on-street parking for businesses. Striping is 8 inches wide between the car and bike lanes. It is dashed near an intersection and located ' inward, placing the car right-hand turn lane at the curb. It is also dashed through the intersection. This encourages motorists to use caution when making their weave across a bike lane. An additional 4 inch stripe is added next to the parking lane if parking is so light that drivers confuse the space for another car lane. Otherwise, this supplemental stripe is not needed. Near intersections, a sign , is used saying "Bikes Merge.' Downtown bike lanes on one-way streets have been safer located on the left side, where fewer car turns ' are likely. Transition blocks.outside downtown are striped to transfer bike traffic to the other or both sides of the street. New gutters are now installed at 4.5 feet width instead of one foot where bike lanes are adjacent to the ' curb. Curb inlets are used to drain away surface water and they replace bike-eating metal grates. , Special easements. Several short easements provide critical linkages to link areas, such as between a furniture store and a restaurant, or through a public utility yard. ' Travel lane widths. Car travel lanes have been narrowed to 1 I feet, sometimes to 10, and turn lanes to 12 feet. Parking lanes have been narrowed to 7 feet of parking turnover is low, and traffic volumes , are under 7,000 per day. Shelters. Where major destinations will attract many bicyclists, covered shelters for bike racks will protect commuters' bikes from rain and sun. Simple canopies can provide the necessary shelter and may aesthetically add to the image of bicycling. Maintenance. There are enough bike paths in Eugene to hire someone half-time to clean them in the , summer. A bike cart carries brooms, pruning shears, and containers for broken glass and litter. Signs. Over 1,000 signs have been installed, mostly ones saying "Bike Route." Others give point to ' destinations and warn motorists, such as "Bikes Merge" and Bike Xing". Safety instruction signs also are used, such as "Ride with care, if you want to get there -- Wear a helmet - Use the bike lane- Signal your turns - Light your bike.' APPENDIX F: SUMMARY OF OTHER COACWMTY'S BICYCLE PROGRAMS 1 Madison, Wisconsin Tssu Bicycle Transportation Plan ' Facilities : drain grates , road debris , railroad crossings , road Width , signal detection , guardrail and signpost setbacks , route signs , national standards ' Education : currently directed at children ' goal is to alio direct at adult cyclists and motorists Enforcement :' ' Police Department has civilian bicycle/pedestrian monitors Legislation : uniformity of ordinances, intoxication , headphones , mandatory ' registration , cyclist identification , skill tests Resources : ' funding Liability: ' standards 1 ' APPENDIX F: SUMMARY OF OTHER COMMUNITY'S BICYCLE PROGRAMS 1 1 Madison, Wisconsin Publications Bicycling Resource Guide and Route Map includes traffic laws, registration information , safe riding tips, defensive driving, hints for parents Bicycling Improvement Request pre-addressed form for reporting hazards, new ideas , etc . Be Bright Vhen Cycling At Night safety when riding at night - lights and reflectors Be A Well-Dressed Cyclist - Wear A' Helmet promoting helmet wear Now You Can License Your Bicycle By Mail bicycle registration application form Bicycling On Sidewalks : Is It Safe? safe riding tips ' Bicycle Transportation Plan For The City of Madison and Dane County, Wisconsin ' 1 1 1 1 APPENDIX F: SUMMARY OF OTHER COMMUNITY'S BICYCLE PROGRAMS 1 ' Missoula, Montana Related Programs LIMB - Low Impact Mountain Bicyclists local "club"' - newsletter , education , preservation Missoula Trails Project publishes guide to regional trails ' Safe Kids/Keep Every Youngster Safe national campaign to get all children to wear helmets produces magazines, brochures , fact sheets local Program conducts Cycle Challenge - bike rodeo for children cooperative program.with Bell .Bicycle , Inc . - "buy a bike , buy a helmet" Bicycle Licensing ' printed envelope for mail registration tags on new bicycles encourage registration Missoula Bike Club prints a pre-addressed card for suggestions Weekly Bike Tips ' column appears in local newspaper every week. Bike Bank. ' "Friends of the City of Missoula Bicycle Program" rer_•e_ F donated bikes , refurbish them and make available to needy families 1 APPENDIX F: SUMMARY OF OTHER COMMUNITY'S BICYCLE PROGRAMS 1 Missoula, Montana Publications ' : The City of Missoula 's Bicycle Program - 1980 to present ' 1-page flyer summarizing Program activities , If You Ride Your Bike .On Downtown Sidewalks, Read This! ' flyer - safe riding tips Do You Know Missoula :s Bicycle' Laws? summary of applicable traffic laws ' Program Resource List services, equipment , materials, publications , videos. City of Missoula Budget $29, 901 for Bicycle Program ' Missoula Cyclist quarterly - newsletter format University of Montana Cyclist ' s Survival Guide provided to students as part of orientation Missoula Bike Map , also includes traffic laws . safe riding. tips divides and color-codes network into ••orange• (tusy , streets ) and. ••green" (quiet streets ) APPENDIX F: SUMMARY OF OTHER COMMUNITY'S BICYCLE PROGRAMS ' ' BOULDER, COLORADO TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN FOR BOULDER VALLEY SEPTEMBER, 1988 PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF PLAN The Boulder Valley Transportation Master Plan was designed as a guide for all ' transportation-related issues through the year 2010 as well as the meeting the desire to reduce automobile traffic within the community. Policies and objectives were developed to address a wide variety of issues: ' • Pedestrian System -- Elevate the status of pedestrians by increasing their convenience, comfort, and safety while walking to work/school, on errands, to transit facilities, and for pleasure, recreation, and health. 0 Bicycle System — Make bicycling safer and more convenient for everyday transportation to work, to school, on errands, and to transit ' facilities, as well as for pleasure, recreation, and health. • Transit System -- Provide all residents with convenient, accessible, attractive and affordable transit services, developed with various ' agencies. • Automobile System — Provide a street system that will accommodate trip making in a way that maintains acceptable traffic flow and minimizes negative influences on the environment and neighborhoods. • Neighborhood integrity within the transportation system — Recognize the ' importance of and contribute to neighborhood identity and integrity by protecting and improving the quality of life within neighborhoods while at the same time facilitating the movement of vehicular, bicycle, and ' pedestrian traffic. • Air quality -- Design the transportation system to minimize air pollution by promoting the use of alternate transportation modes, reducing auto traffic, maintaining acceptable traffic flow, and locating facilities so they do not block air drainage corridors. • Noise related issues "-- Design and construct roads, bridges, and other transportation facilities so as to minimize noise levels, and shall work to reduce noise levels where they are excessive. ' • Land use/urban design issues — Design the transportation system to achieve desired land use patterns and functional, attractive urban design'. • Energy consumption -- Design the transportation system to minimize ' energy consumption by promoting the use of energy-efficient alternative transportation modes. • Public participation -- Include the public in review of public. ' transportation capital improvement projects and long term transportation issues through a variety of mechanisms including establishment of a APPENDIX F: SUMMARY OF OTHER COMMUNITY'S BICYCLE PROGRAMS i , Transportat on Board • Coordination -- Work cooperatively with other agencies (schools, ' counties, etc.) and private employers to design complimentary strategies for auto and non-auto transportation alternatives and parking and coordinate with other agencies to assure that transportation-related , actions in the community support implementation of the Comprehensive Plan. • Financing the transportation system -- Give funding priority to non-auto ' transportation modes to encourage the shift from autos to alternate modes ' In addition, three policy statements were written to stay within focus of the plan's intent: • Cohesively set forth community values related to the transportation , system • Provide a bridge between community values and the technical aspects ' of the Transportation Plan • Extend the useful life and breadth of the Plan by providing enduring ' policies to guide decision-making. From this, four goals were developed and detailed regarding the needs and ' expectations of the Boulder Valley community: • Provide a transportation system that improves air quality, visual quality , and neighborhood cohesiveness, and reduces noise levels, and other negative environmental and community impacts. • Provide a transportation system that offers all citizens, including the , mobility impaired, a choice of transportation modes and facilities that are accessible, convenient and safe. • Create sufficient, timely, and equitable financing mechanisms for ' planned transportation system improvements and maintenance. • Increase public participation and regional coordination in transportation ' planning. SIGNIFICANT POINTS OF INTEREST , The following points were derived.from the Boulder Valley Transportation Plan and , could be of some interest in how it relates to San Luis Obispo's Plan: • Adopted specific policy statements for pedestrians, cyclists, transit, autos, etc. ' • Identified key areas of neighborhood concern • Coordinated with county, university, school districts and private employers for ' auto and non-auto use strategies APPENDIX F: SUMMARY OF OTHER COMMUNITY'S BICYCLE PROGRAMS ' • Proposed a transportation excise tax which would be used to fund off-site ' arterial transportation for new development. Developers would pay for all on- site improvements. Tax would fund pedestrian, bicycle, street and transit costs. ' • Bicycle system to use on-street (commuter-served) as well as off-street and mixed-use paths for recreational use. ' • Shared use of bicycle and pedestrian paths on overpasses and underpasses. • Develop bicycle paths along riparian corridors along drainages. • Parallel bicycle corridors to busy streets was advocated. 1 1 - 1 APPENDIX F: SUMMARY OF OTHER COMMUNITY'S BICYCLE PROGRAMS 1 MEETIN °c`�s'a DATE, AjTGf.M� I� Er UWCAO O �� cm o XIM 13 xCWT-TEA a O xecDUL ❑ �FII.E 0 UML DUL bi 2 t; s em aaw GGrL d. a, l --RAI ctv L�0 ri�Q r✓„ TU �I riv o �_ __ � J A Yr _.- IJ REAu: n Ik1F-5 1 i SS—7 SM was OWPO,cn - mr-ETING AGENDA DATE ITEM # caP��Ta: April 27, 1992 ff❑°carnM:�L-Aru,o:, ,p Mayor Dunin and Councilmembers ! c�o ❑ IT-2.i7.tt 990 Palm Street/Post Office Box 8100 IYV ACRO ❑ ;rz San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-8100 M ❑ FWDJa. EJ J-r Re: Proposed Bicycle Lane Improvements E PLc C_) TiLD', Dear Mayor Dunin and Councilmembers: As bicyclists and residents of the City of San Luis Obispo, we are writing this letter to express our support for the bicycle lane improvements recommended by the Bicycle Committee to be considered by the City Council.May 5, 1992. My wife and I have been riding our bicycles throughout the City,to college and now to work, for a combined total of 16 years. We feel that riding our bicycles to work is not only beneficial to our health but that it is beneficial to our City in that it helps preserve our air quality and reduces congestion in the downtown area(where parking spaces are better utilized by tourists and local shoppers). Of the five bike lane improvements recommended by the Bicycle Committee, my wife and I feel that the installation of bike lanes on Santa Barbara Street and Higuera Street are the most important. We feel that these two improvements are vital because they will enable cyclists to more safely commute to the many areas of employment in the airport area as well as on South Higuera Street. In the past, the currently dangerous cycling conditions on these two streets provided an incentive for my wife and I to drive our car from our downtown residence to our work places on Prado Road and South Higuera Street, potentially a very easy and flat bicycle trip. Also, having lived at the corner of Leff and Santa Barbara Streets for more than three years I can personally attest to the need for bicycle lane improvements on both sides of this street. Due to the narrowness, speed of automobile traffic (typically above the speed limit), and poor site distance (just south of the Leff/Santa Barbara Street intersection-- southbound), there is very little room for error when riding a bicycle and driving a car on this street. We would also like to point out that we feel, from a cyclists standpoint, that there is not a direct loss of revenue for businesses located along these streets who lose adjacent street parking spaces to bicycle lanes. We often shop in the downtown area on our bicycles because it is easy to get around, traffic is traveling slower, and parking is not a concern. However, we avoid businesses that are not easily accessible by bicycle (e.g., True Value, PHIC, etc.) or drive our car to these places. The point is, is that if businesses such as those along Santa Barbara Street or Higuera Street were more easily accessible by bicycle people such as ourselves would shop there by bike, thus minimizing the loss of revenue that is perceived to occur when street parking is eliminated. Thank you and please call if you have any questions. Sincerely, William and Susan Henry 1290 Foothill Blvd. R F. C 9 ! v San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 545-8210 APR 2 A 1992 CITY CLERK SAN LUIS OBISPO,GA mom I 1 DAN g 99" bomd, ATOM .�eL®t.OCa�+ Ci1CXM L=Qi O m aaamu Im our Ron Dunin `" City Council We are writing to you to encourage your support for expanded and improved bike ways in and around San Luis Obispo . As health care professionals and recreational cyclists who occasionally bike commute, we can' t emphasize enough the importance of bikeways. As traffic has increased drastically in recent years the threat to safety has also increased to the point of deterring our riding. Safety must be a priority. Wide, well marked and maintianed lanes must be established on on all axes to and from the city center and though downtown. If experienced cyclists are afraid to compete for road space with tons of fast moving steel , then there will be little hope of enticing inexperienced or hesitant riders to use this alternate form of transportation. Communities with established infrastructures for bicycles have by far the highest percentage of bike commuters. We are fortunate in that this county is ideally laid out for bike commuting. Many of the outlying cities, Pismo Beach , Avila, Morro Bay, Los Osos are within easy riding distance of San Luis Obispo . Bik:e' routes would also be of substantial recreational value to residents and tourists as well . The benefits of cycling such as improved air quality, decreased traffic congestion and improved fitness can have substantial positive impact on the entire community. The enormous costs to society associated with heart disease and stroke, which are exacerbated by sedentary life styles should be sufficient reason alone to promote cycling . Please use your position of leadership to make bike commuting and recreational cycling a reality in this community. Thank You RECEIVED ;� Jo Ann Rogers RN NAY 4 a Intensive Care Unit Sierra. Vista Hospital CITY 00�NpW BAN LUIS0411a Dr . Walter Rogers Chief Clinical Pharmacy Services Sierra Vista Hospital i'c�0no m �. A ll 00R ❑ PDLL DUL 4320 S: �. ❑ tmi� San Luis Obispo,CA 93401 G3.1 t/etoC. D toia m May 4i IM ❑ &UMILAM ❑ coat_ p for Mo S Luis Obispo: Fa a regular e ca®muter,I urge you to accept all of the bicycle committee's recommendations concerning bice lane improvements. I would also lige to add that Santa Barbara Street,heavily used by bicyclists needs additional space for bicycles. We definitely need bike Ian es on both sides from Leff to Broad with parking restricted on east side(except area directly in front of Railroad Square). I do not see why should businesses oppose the idea. I know that the hardware store has its own parkdng lot and rve never seen it so full to a point of overflowing. I feel that the business owners are being unreasonable.'TSee n oA e_ Moreover,it is to your interest to encouragemiam people to ride bicycles to decrease traffic,now and air pollution. Morepeoplewould nide bicycles if it were safe to do so. I do my share in patronizing businesses,whether by bike or by car. Small items I can easily load onto my bike packs and baskets. Lack of parking spaces does not deter me from giving business to folks;rather it encourages me to ride my bicycle more and do my small-item shopping on bike. Just know that bicyclists alsogive business,not just car drivers. Rather you should focus on air quality as the city will be fined heavily if it does not bring air quality up to standard. We need to reduce car trips by making streets safer for bicycles. In the long run it will pay off. Air quality will improve and folks will be healthier and happier. For emphasis,Td like to remind you that many of us moved here for better air quality,to get away from the smog. Than we should do all we can.so that we don't become like Los Angeles. I visited Davis last year and truly enjoyed the city's hospitality towards bicyclists. I reveled in seeing whole families ride together during weekends on bicycles. The streets were quiet and peaceful and the air was great. It was so enjoyable. I also paid attention to businesses and they were all thriving nicely. I really appreciated the wide bike lanes and the safe riding conditions there. If Davis had our climate I would have surely moved theme. There is no reason why this town cannot emulate or even supersede Davis and become the bike capitol of California. We have better climate than Davis,more sunshine and comfortable temperatures. We could enjoy a great quality of life hem td like to address you personally,Mayor Dunn,and remind you that you came from Poland where people ride bikes a lot there. During the war when there was gas rationing,it was the only cl people to get around. What if we had a gas shortage here? How would people get around then? Eventually they'd have to ride bikes then. At least,we'd have the infrastructure ready by then. You sound like a can-do person.who went through a lot of hardships. Why not apply the same can-do approach hoe in our own town? I'd like to we all of us become more independent from cars and more self-reliant I would expect more from you as a European than any American here to encourage bicycle use from a practical and economical point of view. So how about it? Lays hear a yes vote from you in favor of safe bicycling in town. Thank you for your attention,all of you. RECEIVE Sincerely, MAY . 4 1992 CITY CLERK Eva Uran SAN LUIS 0816M.CA e : On rarw0.� �a ��Q c4� haul rove m 'd*e vrSalaa Ros4 S1 . aq cYle��Ce� whelr2 carr COW Par-K S Fac�Y on-i-� a eo�s�s`�c�e . Were banned, and no—`iced �`lere vias rkeriOF roorr% on ViQa�� 4zrsec-+"; 5�teels 11 e- �� h Cus�orners con wal{C a �� s�eps, SQ �klere i5 aposs',lo�e. S 'J ;on . MEM -dFff IIIADA TE 77A" _ 1335 Palm Street Apt D San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 May 4, 1992 O*D��o4.AM= O Ffi WCAO [�Y,�+o �ae� City Council �"� City of San Luis Obispo .taw O MCUL 990 Palm Street - San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Honorable Mayor and Council-Members: I strongly urge you to support the bike lane projects that are before you this evening. Recently my car needed repairing so I decided to ride my bicycle to work. It is only a couple of miles from my house.to work so I figured it would be relatively easy to ride my bike. Unfortunately there was not a route I could take that had bike lanes the entire distance. The lack of a network of continuous bike lanes made it very uncomfortable for me to ride to work. In fact I waited until traffic subsided in the evening before I left. Although I found it simple to ride my bicycle to work, I also found it very dangerous. I must admit, now that my car is fixed I am again driving it to work. I would like to ride my bicycle, but I feel it is unsafe. By providing bicycle lanes I am certain that those of us who now feel it is unsafe to commute to work by bicycle will be much more inclined to ride instead of drive. Thank you for making San Luis Obispo a safe place for bicycling. Sincerely, Choi Cheryl G. Smith P° M. ,'ING AGENDA l""�'��'° DATE ��u ❑ PK'DW, g❑ mmom 538 Felton Way PWDIL �OwG O FOLKSOL San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 ❑❑ M 18A O W.DQ 541-6474 Z1ZLD=. DW May 4, 1992 q /L -i San Luis Obispo City Council—and-Mayor Dunin 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 RE: Bicycle Committee Recommendations for a Resolution Dear Mayor and Councilmembers: I have lived in the City of San Luis Obispo for 26 years. Like many, I came here to go to Cal Poly and didn't want to leave. I have seen many changes and one of the most disturbing changes has been the increase in automobile traffic; it has negatively affected our air quality, visual quality and noise level. I am very supportive of the City's creation of a bicycle committee to study an alternative mode of transportation and I am supportive of the County's clean air plan. Because of my distress over the increasing air pollution, and with the support of fellow members on the Alternative Transportation Task Force, I have made a real effort to avoid driving my car and have become increasingly aware of the problems associated with bicycling in our city: Existing bike lanes are too narrow; they are full of debris, ruts and grates making them dangerous; highly traveled bike lanes are not marked for safe travel and turning; and, highly traveled bike routes have no bike lanes at all and can make for a very stressful, dangerous commute. There are many things that can be done to improve our situation as one can see in other cities and envision for our own community; for instance, a bike trail following the Southern Pacific Railway and bike lanes in our downtown center. The city's funding priority has to shift to non-auto transportation modes to offer citizens a safe and convenient choice if we are to continue to have the quality of life that keeps many of us living in this area. I hope the City Council will adopt a resolution to approve the Bicycle Committee's proposal, and, I hope the City Council will be open to future projects that will encourage alternative modes of transportation for every day commuting, as well as for recreation and health. Thank you for reading this letter. Sincerely, 4& WXC& 5 1992 Adele Anderson �AY amr couNCIL rA Steve Boyle ` 17ETING AGENDA t,,,fE S-5-9znEM#,�_ elf. ii%0141L T_ S■Sorgensen R Voges r9. Sona S C.f} dersan I.Wherel1=would:•lSLOi.jlose;parking '„traffic ,lanes.?'' T.. ,...�, .?L.tq yhM"0.i' '• ^'.f:v �.:..,1''Ifllti d0 ' .. ' �' i .. (� 'I�itet.. vinll•17,.rN.nmr•• �' Of•the..11,`bicycle lane projects:' dobe together at that point to allow for street sions with residents who effectively torpe- recommended by.the San Luis Obispo: widening,while a computer analysis-by city:"doed last year's plan to.eliminate all,p4rking Bicycle Committee;fourwtndd elimi%Y'•engineering:staffr.'found tlje. intersections':'on the street nate parking and two would elimina Involved'would :continue to operate. ■ Grand'Avenue, near the. comer of } r acceptable levels"'''+ •'""Garfield Street,parking would be removed on tralfic.lages.K$'' .;.y'ay� .µ.x, .fir K� Foothill Boulevard;west;of'Tassajara301boih sides-of the street to make room for 6=' Here s:a brief look at the char those p ojectswould create: b : j' `Drive,would be restriped to allow one tnaffi foot bike]ones. „,..,• aa+• lane In each.direcllon,a.eenter turn lane,a �✓■ Sante Barbara Street,parking would be a ('O'i,�.HI0 rL%Street,3.6etwea er, .k n� :.parking.a�d,lbike lanes on both sides,of tlff,�'eliminated.along the.east side of the street '1 High strew-would be•restripe ito;eliminate: .street:From Tassalara to the'Foothill•Plaza;, xeept in front of the Railroad plaza: ].one traffic.lane;leavingbrietraffielaneineacHrtiparkjpg;would be-removed••along;the-east tLaurel Lane,between Southwood Drive direction and middle'lum lane. Bike lenges;l•side of the street to accommodate bike lanes`vend Urcutt Road,, would have:parking re- ':.''would be added to botb sides of th0.street'q 'and tour traffic lanes.The committee struck ;.moved,on jhe western side.. ataff report stats:that:;the buildfnest e> o;% this;compromise after:a mumben.of.discus-'." r . Ken McCall 00,00 R CEIVED MAY 5 1992 ctrr cowvoll. >aaN laws Datsea oe � COMM: - ❑ m MEETlg6,qZ AGENDA �cu A(CMDm DATEITEM# WC—AO ❑ M.DIIL 1t AT1�YD FW DUL may 4, 2992 �aEwvoR�c D tea{. ❑ MGMT.TFAM ❑ RBC.DR 0 CRPADFIIE 13 unLDI Deaic Lvunci.0 i',e�nbe�to, rio a atfiev and are vcca&,t.oru 6vicyrz& cowadea .d at'c°r cupNoXt bine .lane tpjwwverrento. One pwyert on yvurc tT do iz eope% cert tical to cwrnect both tireiudoerrue i<oad and Jvuth Hziupwra aAeao to doa wore. The p.larured i"vemerrta an hZjuerra betuaeen Pladanrra and Ljl vL h ruould vaotly &wdwa6e .the vajetry ok cyc.-j. . i connate betaeen i4adonna Ku. a4ea and mry home near dvuvefvun, and .that atne tch Za the aAtevvwvn e o .the one meat obotac& to a nate Aide. rw PaAlu'r`y AcfitovaL tZ Ae yuutett PIT thio yaw fW--:. Lven ijaleotaiww ruLa bew it by the 64/te .lane buf A between them on veay nwvuwr ' ' and the tAakpc that nvur waA,6 b f a cvupie feet a=y. l/uh paAti cutaA pnv fact calla yet a km peopte out of .thein cwra. Pteaae appwve it. Pkrruy o f the ob fecti vw to jwmth ane in Aact ob f ect i ono to the ynvmth of .the heavZey 4ubeidi4ed vehi,cza:w% tna�.icuieirh hao ovewhR,&ae i Qo ninth ok Lu4ic a vu a. Jv.Lve theae pwb.teneo and you wL& Ac i Ci trete the necea.smuy and inevi table eowth we face. RECEIVED Thanhyou, MAY 5 1992 �w'" �• r�°b�`t° CITY CLERK dog (,WL&A it.., SLL SAN LUIS OBISPO.CA P'-TING . AGENDA bit(ES=ITEM #�_. April 28,1992 Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator City of San Luis Obispo 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, California 93401 Dear Craig: I am in receipt of the notice concerning the Bicycle Committee's proposed bike lane improvements to be presented at the next City Council Meeting. However, I must regret that I will be unable to make the meeting due to a prior engagement. I would like to voice my support for the proposed bike lane improvements. I am an avid cyclist and ride my bicycle to work everyday, as well as on errands and pleasure riding. I regularly find myself riding throughout town and on many of the streets that your committee has identified as needing improvement. I believe that the improvements proposed on Higuera, Santa Rosa and California are the most important and therefore would like to see those enacted as soon as possible. I am however, in support of all of the improvements that your committee has proposed and would support any changes that would make bicycling in the city of San Luis Obispo safer for bicyclists and motorists. Thank you very much for the meeting notice. If I can be of any further assistance please write of call. Sincerely, Tim W. Albers L MAI O t�1r1 �i�u cumGr COMA O FU�9 FW�O ox 0 �� M ONG AGMA DAME ck- — ITEM # _ May 411992 CMW7n: 17*DommAdlm 13 City of San Luis Obispo WCaMA UrcDax ATTN. Pam Voges WCAD . ❑ r+nv.out 990 Palm St iir-ACAo ❑ Fwa-mw San Luis Obispo, CA 93403 TlaY p❑ Ft� wZWORic. D FOMCK 0 mammm 13 mem RE: Bicycle Improvement Recommendations 1CRFADFu MunmL City Councilmembers: I am writing in support of the improvements recommended by the Bicycle Committee. I have lived, studied and worked in San Luis Obispo for 10 years, and I am an avid cyclist As such I am familiar with the city streets both from a recreational cyclist's and a commuter/errand cyclist's perspective. I commuted regularly for a couple years from the Laguna Lake area to downtown, and know first hand the dangers of riding a bike along South Higuera St Being forced into the Sunshine Donut parking lot by merginghurning vehicles was a weekly occurrence. The lack of safe bike facilities is a definite deterrent for cyclists coming from the Laguna Lake area into downtown. This is one of the proposed improvement areas that you will be considering. I feel it is vital to provide improvements for cyclists to encourage those who are already using their bikes for everyday purposes,as well as to provide an incentive for others to leave their cars at home. San Luis Obispo is blessed with well designed, pleasant downtown core. This same area also provides only limited options for handling increasing traffic flows. H San Luis Obispo is going to grow, or to continue to act as the business center for the county, it will have to accommodate ever increasing traffic flows. Every effort should be made to try to get people, especially SLO residents to reduce their dependence on automobiles. The proposed improvements address key segments that will help achieve this goal and will more importantly provide for a bike way infrastructure for new developments proposed at the city's fringes. By providing the improvements as recommended,you will be taking a step,hopefully a first step towards making San Luis Obispo more of a "Bike" city. Sin rely, 'Steven McMasters 750 Chorro #12 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 RECEIVED MAY 5 1992 Clnr COUNCIL SAN w. .is.QBkM Q ME' SIG AGENDA DATEITEM # H E U E IV 1: U April 30, 1992 MAY 0 x; 1992 Richard R. Wolfe CITYOFSAN LUIS OBISPO 3001 Johnson Ave. COMMUNITYDEVELOPMEW San Luis Obispo, CA. 93401 COTIS To: ,13-D�.�� ❑ Fa LD CMW P(CDDDIR City of San Luis Obispo �� ❑ M.DM 990 Palm St. QPAGiO ❑ FMCHEF P.O. Box 8100 om ❑ Fouac-,. ❑ MOff.T� ❑ MC DIN. San Luis Obispo, CA. ❑ UADFIIE ❑���tm n� 93403 T-T L Fi Dear City Council, I am in full support of all the proposals for bike transportation improve- ments for the City of San. Luis Obispo. This is needed and very progressive. Most important are the bike lanes in high automobile traffic areas, for that is also where most bikers will travel. This will promote safe. efficient and healthy bike travel. I have been bike commuting to work for over a year now and love it. With more bike lanes, more people will commute and understand the positive effects of such a simple pleasure. Sincerely, 7e , D TETINO 5_92 AGENDA # I May 4, 1992 RE: City Council Meeting on Bicycle Committee Project Recommendations City Council Members, I am an avid bicycle commuter as well as a recreational bike rider. With regards to providing for a better,and much safer.commute,I strongly encourage the proposed suggestions for Santa Barbara Street I use Santa Barbara Street daily as I commute from Broad and Orcutt to the County Government Center. Everyday I see this road is heavily used by many other cyclists who will also benefit from these improvements. From the brief description of improvements,it is not clear if restriping is a part of the proposal. I think it would provide a much safer situation i> as a result of removing parking on one side, that the centerline of the street would move to the. east and bike lane striping in)0l directions could be accomplished. In addition, I suggest that the cracks and potholes along this section of road be filled in as well to provide for safer conditions. On a recreational level, I use and support the improvements proposed on Orcutt Road (which is currently very narrow and very dangerous for cyclists), Higuera Street and Madonna Road. Yours Truly for Safer Cycling, 9 John McKenzie COMM. •�., 3335 Broad Street, #31 p na" Id CMDML 'San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 O FK Dm (805)541-1678 pQO F=cHmF � aoc O SCK 13 O wcatr.�w Cp! R�scnoe RECEIVED MAY 4 1992 siw wJS out c^ IWNG AGENDA 2250 Ring Street #25 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 May 49 1992 aortas»: Pam Voges, City Clerk O••as�rArU. D r1rt City of San Luis Obispoca.0 �cmBnt P.O. Bog 8100 GO Fid.ML � �ACAO O MECFMF San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-8100 e> Y a FWVL ' UVQMj JW-r. ❑ POuQaK RE: City bike lane improvements ❑ Mcwr.wAm U AEc am 16 VI Dear hk Voges: LLE Thank you for sending me notice of the May 5, 1992 public heating. I wish to express my support for facilities and improvements which encourage bicycle use'in the City,and which make riding a bicycle a safe and an attractive means of transportation. The personal and societal benefits of cycling as opposed to auto travel are numerous,including improved health,air quality and reduction in traffic congestion. Ey==benefits each time someone decides to leave their car at home and bicycle or walk. I have a short, daily commute by.bicycle from King Street to the County Government Center. My usual route is east on South Street to Broad, then onto Santa.Barbara and Osos Streets. Therefore, the proposed changes to Santa Barbara Street would make my two daily trips safer and more enjoyable. Eliminating the worry of a car door opening in-front of me would be a great improvement The other"important proposed change from my viewpoint is the installation of a bike lane on Higuera Street from Marsh to High Street This mU be the most unsafe section of roadway in the City from a cyclist's perspective. The only way to ride that section with any margin of safety is to take up an entire lane. Those of us who are smart and have ridden it a few times know to stay clear,but carefree riders and cyclists inexperienced with the City streets place themselves in a very dangerous situation. In order of importance, the other outlined sections which need improvement, but are not discussed on the notice are: 1)Orcutt Road from Broad to Laurel Lane,2)Madonna Road from Zozobra to Oceanaire, and 3) Santa Rosa Street from Walnut to Murray. I support the decision to hire a Bicycle Coordinator, and hope that the City leaders are serious about making substantial improvements for bicyclists. Sincerely, ' RECEIVED ERIC N. WEER 1992 WV O SPPO.CA From Sheldon Smith's"Send Only"Macintosh 805.544.7931 (voice only) MU5/1/92 04:21 PM d 2/2 EM 0 from the desktop of MEEn Sheldon DAA 5�5-99;L. .L.._. ;;.i.,. Smith RM 0 May 1, 1992 Dear Ron Dunin and distinguished city council members of The City of San Luis Obispo, 1 am writing to you in support for the proposed bike lanes in San Luis Obispo. As a 6 112 year resident of San Luis Obispo,and soon to be homeowner.I have seen the proliferation of bicycle use in this city. The proposed bike lanes,especially on Santa Barbara Street,make sense because there is simply not enough room for bicycles and cars to share the road wider its present configuration. The roads are currently too narrow for parking,cycling,and car travel. The safety of motorists,cyclists, and people parking their cars is seriously in question. For years the question has been asked by the business community and city officials,"What are we going to do with cars and parking?" After building two parking structures,establishing a downtown trolley,and by allowing curbside parking,the city has placed enough emphasis on motorised vehicles use. The questions now is, "What.are we going to do with the bicycles,and the promotion of alternative transportation?" The Lily has made great strides in the promotion of cycling by supporting the revived downtown criterium and by hiring a bicycle coordinator,but now the city must take"actions one step further. Bike lanes are essential for the promotion of sate alternative transportation. The parking problem at Cal Poly is not going to disappear soon and student bicycle use is increasing. The downtown parking situation has been alleviated in the meantime,but with the increasing proliferation of motor vehicles,the parking structures are only stopgap measures until alternative transportation methods are supported by the city. City support of bike lanes is the foundation for the promotion of alternative transportation in San.Luis Obispo. Without safe bike lanes,no sane and safety conscious person will have a reason to ride their bicycle in San Luis Obispo. This city has set high and progressive standards for other cities to attain by supporting a smoking ordinance,the downtown trolley,and Fanners Market. Supporting hike lanes will only add to die progressive nature of thus city. The hundreds of cyclists in San Luis Obispo will tlanik you for it. Sincerely, Sheldon K. Smith RECEIVED ' CoPHSTO' em ❑•Dmotes Action t ❑ FYI 273 Churro St. MAY } 991 19 C=103 SfCDDDIR San Luis Obispo CIiY COUNCIL I1 f CAO ❑ RK DM 805.544.7931 SAN LUIS 011300%CA A O El FIRE CHIEF �ATTGtL�EY 11 FW DRE ;CLERK/OR'C. ❑ POUCECIL ❑ MCMT..TEA 1 FI P.EC.DI•: C�6F=1 FILE jrjL DTP. I MEETING GENDA coPrSTo: ❑•Dctaes Adan ❑ FYI • • ove � ❑❑ FIN.DI& PL oific Ho e_. IKA 0 ❑ FMCHMF 1 May R f: O FwDUL ' ORIG. ❑ POLICE CFL LJ .TEAM LJ PEC DUL T0: San Luis Obispo City. Court LE ❑ DI, 2034 Santa Barbara Avenue FROM: Pacific Home Do—it Center ��� Post Office Box 192 Lessee of 2034 Santa Barbara Street ✓ n Luis Obispo, CA 93401 San Luis Obi:spo, Ca 93401 Phone: (805) 543-2191 We wish to express our concern about the proposed bike lanes along Santa Barbara Street. 1. The bicycle committee met in March to discuss this bike lane pro— posal on Santa Barbara Street and could not reach a decision on whether to approve or disapprove the recommendations set forth by their own committee. They optioned to send these recommendations to the City Council to make the final decision. Present at this meeting were representatives of ,the Daylights Garden property, Brooks Woodcraft, Del Monte Cafe, Noble Building, S '& S Electric, HP Community Recovery Center and Pacific Home Do—it Center. It was a unanimous decision by the representatives present to reject the current bike lane recommendations. The inability of the bicycle committee to reach a decision and the strong representa— tion of businesses along Santa Barbara Street that recommend keeping the street as is should speak for itself. 2. As you know convenient parking is always an important component to the positive continuation and growth of any business. Parking along Santa Barbara Street is a need and businesses rely on this parking during peak times for overflow. With the continued growth and success of our business as well as others the parking along Santa Barbara Street will become more and more important to deter congestion. 3. Daylight Gardens is proposing a new facility. This along with the ultimate development of the Gas Company property and the property directly north of Mid—State Bank will definitely add to the flow of traffic along Santa Barbara Street. The safety of bike lanes is in question due to egress and ingress to businesses and the speed of traffic. Before a final decision for bike lanes is made we feel a survey should be conducted to determine if this is a suitable route. 4. After talking with many bike riders they have expressed their concerns whether this is the proper street for bike lanes. Before a final decision is made on the issue these factors need to be addressed. Based on the factors discussed we the lessees of 2034 Santa Barbara Street want to go on record to oppose the proposed bike lanes. Sincerely, RECEIVED Mike S. Wilson MAY199Z General Manager, Pacific Home Do—it Center Clry COUNCIL AM6 DATE M31•._ J t R 6 C a l V 6 COrf1:STO. ❑-Dcro:ea action ❑ FYI ircnQ1 SICDDDIR. APR S 0 1992 V CAO ❑ FN.DIM grACAO ❑ FIRE Ct IEr• CITY CLERKTTOiL�?EY Clr-W DU-L SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA CLc'�. lcalC. Ll POLICE 01 Cl MONIT.TEAM ❑ PEC.DI 1.7 Er ❑ tirLDi ®/' MEr'�NG AGENDA �II� DAA " ITEM #..L. i COPTS TO: Denise Farmer i 11•Dates Pfion ra'C Mdi V CDaDa 454 Spanish Moss Lane, WCAO ❑ MI.DIR 1 Arroyo Grande, CA. 93420 ❑�XACAO ❑ Fm e�`E'' April 27 1992 �SToK� ❑ Pw CE , CLFRK/OR'.i--. ❑ PaLiCE CI-? ❑ MQ fr.TFA,1 CJ P,FC DISCREADFILE s �T-T �L_F't� � Dear Honorable Mayor and Council members: -In the very near future you will be making an important decision that will affect myself, many other present and prospective bicyclists and anyone who needs to breath air to survive. You will be making a decision on recommended bike lane improvement projects. This decision will be twofold since the effect will be not only be safe pathways for the bicyclist but also a major encouragement to utilize the bicycle as a form of safe transportation to and from the workplace as.well as for pleasure rides. This in turn will create less traffic on our streets and less pollution in our air. The car is our number one pollutant and is destroying the very air that we breath. Other forms of transport must be found to try and correct this horrendous problem that we have created. Studies show that a high percentage of Americans live less than five miles from their job and that many would consider bicycling to work if there were safe pathways. The business owners opposing the safe pathways have plenty of parking available to them in the recently built multi- story car parks and the loss of parking on one side of the street will not be a major hardship to them. Consider the number of bikes that can be parked into the space required for a car , which is twelve, perhaps their business will increase? My support is for the bike lanes to be implemented and I hope you will also see the importance of these improvement projects. Yours sincerely, Denise Farmer The Honorable Mayor and Council Members. City of San Luis , P. O. Box 8100 San Luis Obispo, CA. 93403-8100 RECFIVFQ APR 3 0 1992 CITY CLERK MMnNG AGENDA DATEi_.� April 26, 1992 SLO City Council 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Attn: City Council Subject: Bicycle Plan Dear Council Members: I strongly support the new bicycle plan which would improve bikeways in the City of San Luis Obispo. Though this plan is not complete and would leave us far behind the City of Boulder, Colorado. It is a start and should be approved and incorporated in to the City'.s General Plan and the future downtown planning element. This would insure all projects get completed and not put on the shelf as the 1985 Bilge Plan was. The recent Earth Day Event where over 150 people bicycled to the Fair is a strong indication bicycle safety and bike lanes are important to the citizens of San Luis Obispo. I also think the budget should be increased to $400,000 per year. The present amount of $15,000 is unacceptable. Sincerely, Gary S. Felsman 2234 Santa Ynez Ave San Luis Ob�'spo, CA 93405 (805)549-0532, Eves, Wknds (805)541-0488, Days cc. Bill Roalman, Peg Pinard, Ron Dunin, Jerry Reiss, Penny Rappa - k . K COPIE5TO: ❑•Denotes Adion ❑ FYI a: K�CDD DM CAO ❑ RN.MR. R E C 1E W F ID CAO ❑ FIRE C1s.IHF iJ ATTORNEY ❑ FW DIX ff(CLEIW/ORIC. ❑ POLICE ClL APR 9. 9 1992 ❑ MCMT.TEAM ❑ REC.DIR C.YRFrAD FILE 1:1 UTILD;Pt CITY CLERK SAN LUIS OBISPO,CA 1oft V":TING AGENDA D,41 F ITEM # �i�►►��IIIIIIIIlIIIIIIIIIII�������Dillliiillll �1�� city or sAn hili OBISM ACOF:'_r TO: 990 Palm Street/Post:OffIce Box 8100 • San Luis Obispo, CAi9VApp D April 24, 1992 ` F71 0 f . CICOUNCIL MEETING NOTICE LJ COUNCIL i .D i=,�r C _,T::. TY BICYCLE comm TTEE PROJECT RECOMMENDAT14k Our records indicate that your property,is located adjacent to streets that will be considered for bike lane installation by the City Council at their meeting of May 5, 1992. You may listen to the meeting on Cal Poly radio station KCPR FM 91.3. The map on the other side of this page shows locations where bike lane improve- ments are proposed. Parking removal locations are indicated by dashed lines. Briefly, these are the proposed changes to existing conditions that may affect your residence or business: Foothill Boulevard: From City Limits to Tassajara, reduce to two vehicle lanes with center tum.lane, retain parking on both sides and install bike lanes. From Tassajara to Broad, increase to four vehicle lanes, restrict parking on south side and install bike lanes on both sides. (See #1 on the map.) Grand Avenue: Selectively restrict parking (approximately 10 spaces total) on both sides at comer near Garfield Street. (See #3 on the map.) Higuera Street: Reduce to two vehicle lanes with center turn lane from Marsh to High and install bike lanes on both sides. (See #6 on the map.) Santa Barbara Street: Install bike lanes on both sides from Leff to Broad with parking restricted on east side (except area directly in front of Railroad Square across from bus stop) and parking retained on west. (See #7 on the map.) Laurel Lane: On ma side from Southwood to Orcutt, restrict parking and install bike lane. (See #11 on the map.) The agenda report, including recommendations by staff, will be available for review in the City Clerk's Office (Room #1 of City Hall) the Wednesday before the meeting. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 5, 1992,.beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the City/County Library, 995 Palm Street. The public is welcome to attend and comment. Written comments are encouraged. The Community Room of the Library is accessible to the disabled. (� < For more information, please contact Craig Anderson, Bicycle Coordinator, in the W N Cdhimunity Development Department at 781-7108. Y S L'�-.� z • CIC J 9 v d V � 'l LUa P Voges, City Jerk � MM AGM DATIM-1:2&MR11 April 22, 1992 Dear Mayor Dun i n, 1 moved to San Luis Obispo in 1975 and bought my house in 1977. I have worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad as a locomotive engineer for 23 years. I am 42 years old. I own a car which I drive occasionally. 1 am neither a wild-eye radical nor a Luddite, but I believe we must rethink how we move people around our beautiful town. We need to restrain the automobile and encourage bicycles. We are blessed with a mild climate, and since San Luis Obispo is fairly compact any part of the city is within easy bicycling distance. I know this because 1 use my bicycle for getting to work, shopping and running errands. Many of my friends say they would do the same but are afraid of automobile traffic so they drive creating more traffic and air pollution. On April 28th I hope you will support the proposed bike lane improvements. They are particularly needed on Higuera between Marsh and South St., Santa Barbara St., and Foothill. Grand Ave has several hazardous spots which need to be addressed. Thank you for your consideration of this matter. I consider it a very important issue......one that affects the quality of life in San Luis Obispo. Sincerely, David J. Sheridan IESTO- 2061 Slack St. EE te, FYISan Luis Obispo, CA 93405 0DD 544-4792 FIN.DR It DIR FIRE CHIEFy ❑L WC. ❑AM ❑LE ❑ APR 2 2 1992 CITY CLERK CA::LUZ OBISPO,CA ME= . A Q _ 7 AGENDA San Luis Obispo Area Coordinating Ar- fro Grover City Morro Bay rand Regional Transportation Planning Agency Paso Robles Pismo Beach San Luis Obispo - San Luis Obispo County April 28, 1992 I COFIIyTO: Mayor Dunin and City Council Members APR 3 0 1992 ❑°D--+.oe3Action ❑ ZI j San Luis Obispo City Council i 19 courc1 §(CDDDIR. j P.O. Box 8100 CITY CLERK VCAO El �, D,R I SAN LUIS OBISPO.CA P0 ACO [f -RE1Z 2E- San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-8100a�Io��rY r� ��.;D_R1 CLERK r i i I t'iLiCE a I. ! RE: Support of San Luis Obispo Bicycle Projects. ! ❑ MCMT.T&121I ❑ =C.DI C PL Dear Mayor Dunin and fellow City Council Members, The city of San Luis Obispo currently has more miles of bikeways than any of our region's other cities. It also is host to the greatest number of commuter and recreational cyclists. The San Luis Obispo Bicycle Committee is proposing improvements to the bicycling conditions to address dangerous locations that still exist for cyclists. Through the years, the San Luis Obispo Area Coordinating Council has been very supportive of the efforts made by the city to create safer and more efficient bikeways for the increasing numbers of cyclists. I would like to encourage your support of the proposed bicycle projects to be presented at your May 5th City Council meeting. These projects include selectively removing parking and implementing lane and median design alterations on Foothill Blvd., Madonna Rd., Grand Ave., Orcutt Rd., Los Osos Valley Rd., California St, Johnson Ave., and Santa Rosa St. We support the Santa Barbara St proposal for it offers a unique solution for accommodating the businesses and cyclists along this corridor. Parking will be removed in a meandering fashion to allow the impacted businesses to continue providing parking in front of their locations. The road will then be resurfaced and restriped to provide for bike lanes. We will support the Higuera St. project if it can be shown that the current levels of service will not deteriorate as a result of these proposed modifications. The process of identifying these projects required compromises with the neighborhoods, bicyclists, committee members, and engineers. Area Council Staff has provided technical assistance throughout this process and support the recommendations of the committee. The Area Council has previously taken a strong position in favor of bicycle projects that increase the efficiency of the existing transportation system and provide a safer travel way for experienced and novice bicycle riders. We also support these projects for the following reasons. 1. Regional Bikeway Gaps will be Eliminated. A major goal adopted in the Regional Transportation Plan's (RTP) Bikeways Element emphasizes the completion of gaps in the existing bikeway system. Bicyclists can then make the transition from a safe regional bike lane or wide shoulder to a local bike lane to connect bicycling commuters with downtown, residential, and busy activity areas within the city limits. These projects will also help connect bicycling with other modes of transportation, such as transit and rail. 2. Consistency with Regional and State Transportation Plans. The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), Air Pollution Control District's Clean Air Plan, and Caltrans' District 5 Long Term Transportation Strategy all concluded that greater emphasis needed to be given to maximizing the efficiency of the existing transportation system. Bike lanes are effective in providing a safe travel way for cyclists and require less land and less maintenance when County Government Center, San Luis Obispo, CA 93408 (805) 549-5612 compared to vehicle lanes. 3. Bicycle Safety. Bike lanes increase driver and cyclist awareness and provide a safer travel way in which cyclists can ride. These projects propose improvements to existing roadways that are presently dangerous and potentially hazardous for cyclists. According to the San Luis Obispo Police Dept., there have been, on average, 66 bicycle accidents every year. They also report that most of these accidents occur on Foothill Blvd., California St, Grand Ave., Los Osos Valley Rd., and in the downtown area. Out of these bike accident totals, 30%,of the bike accidents'involved major injuries to the cyclists. Even with these dangers, bicyclists continue to ride on these major roadways to reach their destinations quickly and conveniently. Safe travel lanes and signage need to be implemented to reduce the number of serious accidents occurring. 4. Promotion of Alternative Transportation Modes and TSM Planning. TSM Planning encourages low cost solutions for continuous congestion problems. These projects are not looking at widening roadways, but adjusting road designs to accommodate more vehicle modes safely. The proposed Trip Reduction Ordinance and the Congestion Management Plan will encourage vehicle drivers to shift to bicycling for some of their commuter trips. Bicycling for all short range trips (equalling up to 5 miles one way) is considered reasonable. Over 90% of trips within the city limits of San Luis Obispo are 5 miles or less. 5. Cost Effectiveness. These projects offer immediate low cost solutions to the growing problem of the increased motor vehicle/bicycle conflicts. Costs dramatically increase when roadways are widened to accommodate any additional widths. Generally, it is less expensive to modify vehicle lanes'widths or take out lanes to accommodate the minimum 4' bicycle lane. Some of these proposed bike lanes are interim improvements to accommodate more transportation modes until an alternative route or bike path can be implemented. These projects could accomplish all these achievements if approved and implemented. Cyclists will have a safer bike lane in which to travel. This reason alone should encourage support and implementation of these projects. By implementing these projects, the City of San Luis Obispo will also be enhancing its competitiveness for state grant funding. State grants are looking at the applicant's devotion to improving bikeways in the past two years. The lack of implementation of such projects has been a contributing reason for the state's denial of the city's applications. The city's efforts to address these problems are to be commended. There are tremendous benefits associated with increasing bicycle travel, including; reduced traffic congestion, reduced air pollution, and increased personal health benefits. These projects will be accommodating the bicyclists,the residences, and the community as a whole. I strongly urge your support for these bicycle projects. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Julie Millsap at 549-5190. Sincerely, /e-%- 010 G�..e.' Ronald L DeCarli, Executive Director San Luis Obispo Area Coordinating Council Q\wp51\lurie\slocfty.ron AGENDA DATE "5-9Z ITEM ._..-. SIERRA CLUB SANTA LUCIA CHAPTER rauMo�o it �Bg3 P.O. Box 15755 ® San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 RECEIVED Chair: Tom Knepher Mayor Dunin MAY 4 1992 Vice-Chair: Jim Merkel Council Member Rappa Council Member Reiss CITY CLERK Uk y_c� Council Member Roalman SAN Luis oBt5P0,Ca Dames ❑ Council Member Penard CA,,,O mDpflL City Hall CAO A FKML 990 Palm Street WACA0 ❑ PmEcHiEF ' San Luis Obispo California 93401 A77U*a'Y PWam he CLNtIC OM H FO=CK 13MC UT.WAM LJ RHC DIR May 4, 1992 cXTn �` FILE Dear Mayor and Council Members, The Executive Committee of the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club would like the following comments and recommendations to be entered into the record for the hearing on May 5th, 1992 regarding the bicycle programs. You will be voting on May 5th on a compromised implementation of the 1985 Bicycle Facilities Plan that by itself is very weak. Not a single bike lane was proposed in the downtown area. This is where safe lanes are needed the most to encourage commuters and shoppers to use their bicycle. The Sierra Club recommends the following: 1. Approve the recommendations of the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Committee to be completed in 6 months. 2. Approve the removal of parking on the East side of Santa Barbara Street to allow for a Bike lane on both sides of the street. This street is currently very dangerous for cyclists and is a very important route. 3. Approve two important Downtown bikelanes that were identified in the Bicycle Questionnaire that could be completed quickly. These include: a) Higuera from Santa Rosa to Nipomo, the 2nd most desired project. Simply change the right lane into a bike lane. The two traffic lanes can handle the ADT. An inexpensive paint project that is consistent with city and county policy of reducing ADT to come into compliance with State Air Quality Requirements. b) Marsh from Johnson to Higuera, the 5th most desired project. Same as item a) above. 4. Update and expand the Bicycle Facilities Plan using a concurrent implementation method. Serious deficiencies will still exist upon To explore. enior, and pruirrr she nation's srrnir rrsourres . . . � c T SIERRA CLUB ov SANTA LUCIA CHAPTFR IOYXDiD IX YgS completion of the above projects. a) Not a single complete safe route will access Downtown. Several are needed to connect sources of trips(homes) with destinations(.work, shopping, schools K-college, churches, recreational areas). The goal must be safety, directness, avoid hills, avoid pollution of autos, cost effective and convenient. b) Currently there are no significant Class I bike paths. These are necessary to encourage cycling by providing a safe place for all ages to get to their destination away from the danger, noise and pollution of the automobile. - Continue developing the bikepath along the RailRoad. With 1% grade, and no intersections a bicycle could reach their destination before an auto would. - Continue consideration of the bike path from Madonna Inn to Foothill on the west side of 101. 5. Budget $400,000 per year to complete the downtown and class I bike lanes mentioned above. 6. Expand the Bike Coordinator position to full time. Sierra Club policy is much like the San Luis City Policy in that we both recognize the problems caused by the automobile. Locally, State air quality standards are violated, traffic and congestion are growing at 5% per year and there is pressure to develop oil off our precious coastline. Each person operating an automobile in San Luis City also contributes to Global Warming, Acid Rain, Oil spills in Alaska, and Oil Wars. The global issues are of equal concern to the Sierra Club. Providing safe bike lanes has been shown by the Air Pollution Control District to be the least cost method of bringing our county into compliance. With the average age of city residents at 23 and very health conscience, it is quite reasonable that 25% ADT(average daily traffic) of the 550,000 daily auto trips internal to the city could be shifted to the bicycle. With the transit system currently carrying only .3% of all trips, an 83 times increase in our bus ridership would be needed to shift 25% ADT to the bus. This would have tremendous costs and still be leaving us in a. cloud of smoke. The option of planning for cars leaves us with the prospect of grid lock on most city streets at build out. Ride sharing programs will help this situation but in no way ease the global impact of the imbodied energy that goes into the construction of automobiles. . . . To explore. eniny. and prawn the nation's erenir rrsoarre% . . . 71 MEETING, : AGENDA DATE- ' „ ITEM O�_ TO WHOM IT 11AY CONCERN: As I cannot find out who could do something about this problem I am writing to everyone I can think of. In order to save fuel and to cut down on air polution there is underway a big push to increase- the use of bicycles. There are several problems involved. In the days when traffic was not as heavy as it is today the laws regarding pedestrians and bicycles required that they face the traffic in order that they could see cars when they were approaching. This 'rule was changed to treat bicycles like cars and have them travel in the same direction. This would be fine if bicycles like cars and motorcycles were equiped with rear view mirrors, but this is rarely the case as there is no such requirement. The other laws requiring bicycles to obey the stop signs, traffic signals, be equipped with lights at night and reflectors are ignored by 907 of the riders. I have observed bicycles running three traffic signals in a row and had one run into the side of my car when they ran a red light. It is impossible to report such violations as there are no license plates such as there are on other vehicles. If they were required by the State to be licensed it would be on record so that if a citizen noted a violation they would be able to locate the violator. Also fees could be used to help pay for bike lanes and other related costs. This would also be a means of assuring that all riders were aware of their responsibility to obey the laws. At present, I have been told, any licensing is the responsibility of �,,,tjlg city and of course even if they licensed local bikes`it would �0 cover people from other areas. It therefor should �� practice so that all would have to comply. ❑-De�Ac*m 3 FYI MAY 4 199 EK Very truly you , ❑ �,D1R QITY 4LEHK ❑ FUtEaREF &hAl Lyle pPl$60,CA �d���/ ` fCUW.K/CM POLKE i M U W_DQ NINA 14. NORTON ❑ CREADF7LE OAMDIL 3860 SO HIGUERA ST B19 SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93401 P . S . ONE NIGHT I SAVA/ A BIKE GOING DOWN THE STREET WITH NO REFLECTORS , NO LIGHTS AND WITH DARK CLOTHING MAKING IT HARD .TO SEE UNTIL RIGHT ON TOP OF THE RIDER AND AT THE SAME TIME SAW A JOGGER WITH REFLECTORS ON HIS SHOES , CLOTHING AND A FLASH LIGHT . �Z/� CIS MAY 4 1992 SAN LUIS(jtiil9�t�•CA n� Kings Of the Road By Follo�t ilig Tllis Simple Guide, Cyclists Can Continue to BUG the Heck Out of Motorists t BY VELD`SCOFCFf'CIpEDEs l .'The rules oJthe road should be strictly adheeB�ycter,1880 We've certainly come a long way from those days!Today,as 1 soil of us on the Central Coast.know,the bicycler is a :rir aal god of the road,beholden to no law and not bound by -the least sense of common courtesy or even self-preservation -:.To help the unenlightened Hilly join the two-wheeled,Ihave brother- ' and sisietY.aa'.of^ IAI roads and highways,I have prepared 5tfie following gui I:eade: ` U.G. and use it =' • rt the Bicyclists'Universal Gesture(B. ).. ' 1 and can be used'n an mcred- as ca- often as posale.Its simple,a �extend - ible variety of csrcurnstances.Inst raise either hand not strictly re4uned You may also, _he middle•finger.Although between a snarl and 'if you desire,contort your fax into s cross betty it steer as you employ the Gesture. In any area where there is or vehielm This requires res ay to te. left of it into the lane used by good deal of chutzpah for the single rider.but is much easier if there are two or more riding together.in the lit sum t the left got a chance to pass you safely! ride side-by-side instead of single file,ma)®g •Always.always t'er:tcmbcr that no matter what you are most rider is weal out in the traffic lane.If any ntotori5.passes j " t!If a motorist honks o curses at you, c eir horn,or even if lacy stow deNa doing.y,0,_are in a rich. - Whether lyre}'ha\':jus!i]arnrned nn uno brci:eS t:1 a��:^['.�'l?_'a. you dcse'•y or soun3 h behind you(this car,only mean they a e;mpauen[N'I h yo➢)• I you ride through a stop signor been fora_'i`;o iu .r:-_ use the B.U.G. Wben riding ill a traffic lane to avoid hitting you as You sudden!)'swcn a o' =,n ,A corollary to the preno,�s entry.really hasirin our front of them, large•gro7 p,spread out all over the road amp g Y it is atrel ��c�.i`y air ser-se of exclusive right to it.In a large group,you are invulnerable,and Never lock apolog your combined disregard for the law and motorists is truly self-rigbteousncss about such situations. awesome Try to give the B.U.G in a wave. -A brief guide like this cm-mot hop to eilolc aall�sr�:°ru As wear dark clothing and avoid a rule of thumb,try'to do the thing that.When riding at nightdang��to you or annoying to motorists.Avoid reading the mounpng tacky geegaws like lights or reflectors on your Vehicle Code and make up Your Own private"rules of the;oad" machine.If you do have a rear reflector ri�c the left side of that reflect your self congratu story egotism..If you do this. the street so it is not visible of aof riding on-corning on a heavily tmVeled you'll be well on your way to frilly joining an e`'et"�pN li,E •When you have the choir of riding Y p�OII of Central Coast bicyclists. street or an adjacent quieter one,always use the bray street an many bicyclists out there Remember, God,you have a right to be there,however Unfornmately,there u who ride single rile,stay well within bike lanes,obey trafF - -. to others and so on.Try not to be angry Alw may sem red lights and stop sig rns As a bicyclic. it —trot devices,signal for nnas c les of to stop and start,and the adrenaline rash at them;rather,Pio them end try to help[hem.C�r7' oP ta'.-,rs tar�ch energy oP. �e oce to any bicyclist you see engaged+s7 such :produced by close calls is terrific.c. Jws Smae. gi' tlyc image you pr ;:�'-:.:`:'r- Nish to oject. a. •Whetn riding�,�reeu with no bite 1®e.rtde.side bY � avtor.THey only detiact hvm iblc to ride safely and weave back and forth wacta-bay..If a motors stm:_ - > motorists that it is poss or,if alone, tai catch up+°: - "sharing the Toad".A ,. ....mega to pas<you,use the B.U.G.If .r+m dte'ta�; :. �8:velnllY, Y cheat at a stopsign or traffic signal,p».. n tame.of a Los Osas resident s t leas cd fits.slytrWs that Y0°.. :: >=. Yelo Soorrh Cipedrs is the.pe r t hake theist pass you again. to have biked"tens of thousands of miles. rile riot bound by c�Y CO be=,end*.Oq aidU .VIdy1� ..•;who swears =when dare-to drivers that have patientlybung back :.. ( ►.._.#ING S-�& ZAGENDA San Luis Obispo Area Coordinating NUaciLff&Xa Gr/de Grover G?> Morro Bc. W nd Regioned Tr<uisportation Planning Agency Paso Robes Pismo Beccn RECEIVED San Luis Obiscc• - San Luis Obispo Couni, April 28,1992 MAY 5 1992 COPIPsT: Mayor Dunin and City Council Members CITY CLERK SAN LUIS OBISPO,CA ❑.pe��n ❑ FYI San Luis Obispo City Council ��� mDpa I P.O. Box 8110 A ❑ FIRE CHIEF I San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-8100 wrfURNEY ❑ FWDIX ; RrCLEIWORIG ❑ P0►.10Ea1 ' RE: Support of San Luis Obispo Bicycle Projects. ❑ MCiWTEAM ❑ M6CpIR Dear Mayor Dunin and fellow City Council Members, The city of San Luis Obispo currently has more miles of bikeways than any-of our region's other cities. It also is host to the greatest number of commuter and recreational cyclists.The San Luis Obispo Bicycle Committee is proposing improvements to the bicycling conditions to address dangerous locations that still exist for cyclists. Through the years, they San Luis Obispo Area Coordinating Council has been very supportive.of the efforts made by the city to create safer and more efficient bikeways for the increasing nubers of cyclists. I would like to encourage your support otthe proposed bicycie.projects to be presented at yout May 5th-City Councilmeeting. I These projects include selectively removing parking and implementing lane and median design alterations on Foothill Blvd., Madonna Rd.,Grand Ave.,Orcutt Rd., Los Osos Valley Rd.,California St, Johnson Ave., and Santa Rosa St We support the Santa Barbara St proposal for it offers a unique solution for accommodating the businesses and cyclists along this corridor. Parking will be removed in a meandering fashion to allow the impacted businesses to continue providing parking in front of their locations. The road will then be resurfaced and restriped to provide for -bike lanes. We will support the Higuera St project I it can be shown that the current levels of service will not deteriorate as a result of these proposed modifications. The process of identifying these projects required.compromises with.the neighborhoods,•bicycGsts,.committee members, . and engineers. Area Council has.provided technical assistance throughout this process and support the recommendations-of the committee. The Area Council has previously taken a strong position in favor of bicycle projects that increase the efficiency of the existing transportation system and provide a safer travel way for experienced and novice bicycle riders. We also support these projects-for the following reasons. 1. Regional Bifceway' Gans will be Eliminated. A'inajor goaf'adopted in the Regional Transportation Plan's(RTP) Bikeways Element emphasizes the completion of gaps in the existing bikeway system. Bicyclists can then make the transition from a safe regional bike lane or wide shoulder to a local bike lane to connect bicycling commuters with downtown, residential, and busy activity areas within the city limits. These projects will also help connect bicycling with other modes of transportation, such as transit and rail. 2. Consistency with Regional and State Transportation Plans. The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), Air Pollution Control 'District's Clean Air Plan, and Caltrans' District 5 Long Term Transportation Strategy all concluded that greater emphasis needed to be given to maximizing the efficiency of the existing transportation system. Bike lanes are effective in providing a safe travel way for cyclists and require less land and less maintenance when County Governme-nt Center, San Luis Obispo, CA 93408 (805) 549-5612 Li _ . . compared to vehicle lanes. 3. Bicycle Safety. Bike lanes increase driver and cyclist awareness and provide a safer travel way in which cyclists can ride. These projects propose improvements to existing roadways that are presently dangerous and potentially hazardous for cyclists. According to the San Luis Obispo Police Dept., there have been, on average, 66 bicycle accidents every year. They also report-that most of these accidents occur on Foothill.Blvd., California St., Grand Ave., Los Osos Valley Rd:, and in the downtown area. Out of these bike accident.totals, 30%of the bike accidents involved major injuries to the cyclists. Even !_ with these•darigers, bicyclists continue to ride on these major roadways to reach their 7,r;,ac:.; destinations-qu ckly and conveniently. Safe travel lanes and signage need to be =" implemented to, reduce the number of serious accidents occurring. =r:;r; - t 4: ; Promotion of Alternative Transportation Modes and TSM Planning. TSM Planning encourages low cost solutions for continuous congestion problems. These projects are -:-'not looking`at widening roadways, but adjusting road designs to accommodate more Vehicle modes-safely. The proposed Trip Reduction Ordinance and the Congestion Management Plan will encourage vehicle drivers to shift to bicycling for some of their commuter trips.- Bicycling for all short range trips (equalling up to 5 miles one way) is considered reasonable. Over 90%of trips within the city limits of San Luis Obispo are 5 miles or less. 5. Cost Effectiveness. These projects offer immediate low cost solutions to the growing problem of the increased motor vehicle/bicycle conflicts. Costs dramatically increase when roadways are widened to accommodate any additional widths. Generally, it less expensive to modify vehicle lanes'widths or takeout lanes to accommodate the minimum 4' bicycle lane. Some:of these proposed bike lanes are interim improvements to accommodate more transportation modes until an alternative route or bike path can be implemented. These projects could accomplish all these achievements ff approved and implemented. Cyclists Will have a safer bike lane in which to travel. This reason alone should encourage support and implementation of.these prpjects. By implementing these projects, the City of San Luis Obispo will also be enhancing its competitiveness for state grant funding. State grants are looking at the applicant's'devotioh to improving bikeways in the past two years. The lack of implementation of such projects has been a contributing reason for the state's denial of the city's applications. The city's efforts to address these problems are to be commended. There are tremendous benefits associated with increasing bicycle travel, including; reduced traffic congestion, reduced air pollution, and increased personal health benefits. These projects will be accommodating the bicyclists,the residences, and the community as a whole. 1 strongly urge your support for these' bicycle projects.If you have any questions or comments,please contact Jute Mllsap at 549-5190. Sincerely, Ronald L DeCarfi, Executive Director San Luis Obispo Area Coordinating Council C:\wp51\lube\slocity.ron