HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-05-2019 Item 7 - Anholm Bikeway Phase 1A - Foothill CrossingDepartment Name: Public Works
Cost Center: 5010
For Agenda of: February 5, 2019
Placement: Consent Item
Estimated Time: 0 Minutes
FROM: Daryl Grigsby, Public Works Director
Prepared By: Luke Schwartz, Transportation Planner-Engineer
SUBJECT: ANHOLM BIKEWAY PHASE 1A – FOOTHILL CROSSING
RECOMMENDATION
1.Approve plans and specifications for the Anholm Bikeway Phase 1 A – Foothill Crossing
project, Specification No. 91619; and
2.Authorize staff to formally advertise for bids; and
3.Authorize the City Manager to award the construction contract if the lowest responsible bid
is within the Publicly Disclosed Funding Amount of $257,000.
4.Adopt a resolution renaming the “Anholm Bikeway Plan” to the “Anholm Neighborhood
Greenway Plan” (Attachment E).
DISCUSSION
Background
In August 2017, the City Council adopted a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Plan for Bishop’s
Peak and Pacheco Elementary Schools. The SRTS Plan provides a blueprint to guide
transportation infrastructure investments, traffic enforcement strategies, educat ion and outreach
programs to make active transportation modes—walking and bicycling—more viable options for
students and families traveling to school. Based on community input, the highest -priority
improvement project recommended in the SRTS Plan was the installation of an enhanced bicycle
and pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Ferrini Road.
Building off the recommendations of the SRTS Plan, the City Council adopted the Anholm
Bikeway Plan (previously “Broad Street Bicycle B oulevard”) in April 2018, with additional plan
amendments approved in September 2018. The Anholm Bikeway Plan defines a series of
physical improvements to develop a low-stress route for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and
ability levels connecting t he downtown with Foothill Boulevard and the neighborhoods to the
north.
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The Anholm Bikeway Plan recommends construction of improvements in three phases, with the
elements that support SRTS connections near Foothill Boulevard at the north end of the corridor
prioritized in Phase 1, including:
•Signalized pedestrian/bicycle crossing at Foothill & Ferrini
•Class I Bike/Pedestrian Path through the LDS Church Property (Foothill to Ramona)
•Ramona Drive Protected Bike Lanes (from Class I Path to Broad Street)
It should be noted that the Class I Path proposed through the LDS Church property was also
identified in the SRTS Plan as the 2nd highest priority improvement project .
Supporting Multimodal Transportation as a Major City Goal, the City’s 2017 -19 Capital
Improvement Plan (CIP) allocated funding for design and construction of the SRTS
Foothill/Ferrini Crossing project and Phase 1 of the Anholm Bikeway .
The final SRTS Plan and Anholm Bikeway Plan are provided for reference as Attachment A and
B, respectfully.
Project Scope of Work
The bid package discussed in this staff report includes plans and specifications for construction
of the bicycle/pedestrian crossing at the Foothill/Ferrini intersection only—referred to herein as
“Anholm Bikeway Phase 1A.” The remaining Anholm Bikeway “Phase 1B” improvements,
which include the Class I Path and Ramona Protected Bike Lanes, are currently under design
with plans to return to Council a request to advertise for construction during the 2nd quarter of
2019. The Anholm Bikeway Phase 1 project components have been separated into a Phase 1A
and Phase 1B because the designs for the Foothill/Ferrini crossing are complete now and the
safety benefits of this crossing can be realized by the community more urgently by advancing
this component of the project to construction first.
The Foothill/Ferrini crossing improvements will include installation of a Pedestrian Hybrid
Beacon (PHB), often referred to as a “HAWK Signal.” PHBs are often used to improve non-
motorized crossings of ma jor streets in locations where conditions do not warrant installation of
a conventional traffic signal. Per the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), on average,
PHBs reduce overall collision rates by 29%, with a reduction to pedestrian collision rates of
69%. This device provides the user experience and comfort of a traditional signalized crossing
for pedestrians and bicyclists crossing from the side street (Ferrini), with less disruption to
vehicle traffic flows on the major street (Foothill). Pedestria ns and bicyclists will have dedicated
signal heads to control crossing phases, while vehicle traffic on the major street is controlled via
flashing beacons mounted over the roadway on conventional traffic signal poles. From the motor
vehicle driver’s persp ective, PHB operations are somewhat different from the operations of
standard traffic signals and this will be the first installation in San Luis Obispo. For this reason,
staff will conduct a public information campaign prior to installation of the PHB sys tem to
educate community members on how to use this device. With several other PHB installations
planned throughout the city in the coming years, this campaign will help reduce the learning
curve for users.
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The construction plans include the following elements in addition to the PHB system installation:
•High-visibility pedestrian crosswalk and dedicated bicycle crossing markings
•ADA curb ramp and path-of-travel upgrades
•New overhead street lighting to improve night time visibility at crossing
•Curb-separated bike lane at the Ferrini intersection approach to provide additional protection
for cyclists at the crossing
•Bicycle left -turn box to facilitate the left -turn from westbound Foothill to the future Class I
Path using PHB crossing signal
•Speed humps, shared lane markings (sharrows), and route signage along Ferrini between
Foothill and Pacheco Elementary to calm traffic and convey a priority bicycle route.
Attachment C includes a project fact sheet with a simplified summary of the project design
element s and an overview of how a PHB system operates. Construction plans and specifications
are provided as Attachment D.
Feasibility of Protected Bike Lanes on Ferrini Road
In conjunction with approval of the SRTS Plan in 2017, the Council asked staff to stud y the
feasibility of incorporating protected bike lanes along Ferrini Road to complete a low-stress
bicycle connection between the new crossing, Pacheco Elementary and the future bicycle
boulevard along Cerro Romauldo. Staff has conducted a detailed review of existing physical
constraints, traffic and parking conditions, and best practices for bicycle facility planning. Based
on the findings of this analysis, staff is not recommending the installation of protected bike lanes
on Ferrini at this time for the following reasons:
•Ferrini Road does not have sufficient width to provide dedicated bike lanes without removal
of on-street parking on both sides of the street (approximately 30-50 spaces would be
eliminated).
•Per parking occupancy surveys conducted for the Anholm Bikeway Plan in 2017, peak street
parking utilization currently exceeds 90% along Ferrini Road and along nearby side streets.
Removal of parking would create a deficit that could not be easily absorbed along other
streets and driveways within reasonable walking distance.
•Current bicycle facility planning best practices, such as guidance published by the National
Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), suggests that the traffic volumes alo ng Ferrini Road (<1,000
veh/day) are within the acceptable thresholds for a low -stress shared street where cyclists and
drivers share travel lanes. However, additional traffic calming would be required to bring
traffic speeds into the ideal range recommended for a low-stress shared street; thus, speed
humps and shared lane markings are proposed along Ferrini in lieu of dedicated bike lanes.
Staff proposes to formally designate Ferrini Road as a Class III Bike Route as part of the
upcoming Active Transport ation Plan development to link the Anholm Bikeway with the future
Cerro Romauldo Bicycle Boulevard, Pacheco Elementary and Cal Poly to the north.
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Anholm Bikeway Plan Renaming
Initially improvements envisioned for the Anholm Neighborhood under the City’s Bicycle
Transportation Plan were bicycling focused. However, the scope of the plan ultimately adopted
was substantially broadened to include pedestrian, landscaping, and aesthetic improvements. The
current title as a Bikeway Plan is not reflective of the scope and scale of improvements adopted
under that plan. Therefore, staff is recommending that the Anholm Bikeway Plan be renamed.
Consistent with the City Climate Action Plan, development of a sustainable project branding
program is currently underway which would apply to sustainable infrastructure and include
project naming conventions, icons, & logos. Consistent with the effort , its recommended that the
new name for the Anholm Bikeway Plan be the “Anholm Neighborhood Greenway”. Although
the Foothill Crossing plans do not include physical branding at this time, once physical branding
conventions and graphics are adopted those can easily be retrofitted to the equipment being
constructed as part of this project. The proposed change only affects the name of the plan, all
other elements remain as previously adopted.
Public Engagement
Prior to adoption of both the Anholm Bikeway Plan and SRTS Plan, numerous public outreach
opportunities were organized to invite community input, including neighborhood outreach
meetings, design charrettes, project websites and online discussion forums, and presentations to
the City Council and Active Transportation Committee. These outreach activities included
targeted noticing to residents and businesses located within proximit y of the proposed projects,
as well as citywide notifications via email, newspaper ads and social media posts.
Prior to taking the Anholm Bikeway Phase 1A plans for approval, targeted notices were sent to
Ferrini Road residents, as well as Pacheco Elementary representatives, to provide an update on
the status of the project the design decision to install traffic calming elements (speed humps)
along Ferrini in lieu of parking removal for a dedicated cycle track. As part of this noticing,
residents were encouraged to contact Transportation Staff or provide comment to the Council for
this agenda item if they wish to share any further questions or comments regarding this project.
CONCURRENCE
Draft construction plans were presented to the City’s Active Transp ortation Committee (ATC)
for review in November 2018. The ATC members commented on design of the bicycle crossing
markings, turn restrictions for motor vehicles on Ferrini during the PHB crossing sequence, and
design of the southern curb ramp to allow convenient ingress/egress for bikes. All of these
comments have been addressed in the final designs.
Project plans were also reviewed by City Fire Department staff to assess potential concerns to
emergency response providers related to the PHB system and/or proposed traffic calming devices
along Ferrini. The Fire Department did not have any concerns associated with these plans, as
long as any new speed humps are constructed per City Engineering Standards.
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ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
With approval of the SRTS Plan on August 15, 2017 (Resolution No. 10828 2017 Series), the City
Council approved amendments to the City’s 2013 Bicycle Transportation Plan (BTP) to include the
transportation improvement projects recommended in the SRTS Plan, including the Foothill/Ferrini
Crossing and Multiuse Path through the LDS Church property. As part of that action, the Council
adopted an Addendum to the 2013 BTP Initial Study/Negative Declaration (ER 71-13), finding that
the amendments to the 2013 BTP did not result in any new impacts not previously disclosed in the
adopted Negative Declaration, or increase the severity of any impact identified in the adopted
Negative Declaration. The design of proposed project is consistent with the design and analysis in
the BTP and therefore, no additional CEQA analysis is required for this project at this time.
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted: Yes Budget Year: 2017-18
Funding Identified: Yes
Fiscal Analysis:
The total construction cost for the Anholm Bikeway Phase 1A—Foothill Crossing project is
estimated at $257,000, including $24,200 in contingencies.
A total of $633,000 from SB1 and Measure G funding was allocated for this project in the 2017-
19 Financial Plan under two CIP project descriptions: SRTS Implementation-Foothill Crossing
(Spec. #91376), and Broad Street Bike Boulevard (now “Anholm Bikeway”) (Spec. #91619).
Since adoption of the FY2017-19 Financial Plan, the City was also awarded a $100,000 SRTS
grant from SLOCOG for construction of the Foothill Crossing and Anholm Bikeway Phase 1
improvements, bringing the project funding total to $733,000. To date, $474,363 has been used
or encumbered from these project accounts for property acquisition, project design, and advance
order of traffic signal equipment that requires a lengthy lead time for procurement—leaving a
balance of $258,637 available for construction.
Remaining project funding sources include the SB 1 Road Repair Fund and SLOCOG Safe
Routes to School grant.
Funding Sources
Total Budget
Available
Current Funding
Request
Remaining
Balance
Annual
Ongoing Cost
General Fund $3,000
State
Federal
Fees
Other:
SB 1 Road Repair Fund $158,637 $157,000 $1,637
SLOCOG Grant $100,000 $100,000
Total $258,637 $257,000 $1,637 $3,000
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ALTERNATIVES
The Council may choose not to authorize advertising for construction at this time. However, this
is not recommended because there is adequate funding for the project, the improvements will
provide a much-desired safe route to school crossing for bicyclists and pedestrians traveling to
the nearby elementary schools, and this project will set up a critical first link for the Anholm
Bikeway to connect Foothill Boulevard with Downtown San Luis Obispo.
Attachments:
a - Council Reading File - Safe Routes to School Plan for Bishop's Peak and Pacheco
Elementary
b - Council Reading File - Anholm Bikeway Plan
c - Foothill/Ferrini Crossing Project Fact Sheet
d - Council Reading File - Plans and Specifications
e - Resolution
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Project Summary
The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Plan for Bishop’s Peak and Pacheco Elementary Schools—
adopted by the San Luis Obispo City Council in August 2017—identified priority improvements
needed to support safe and accessible routes for students and families walking and bicycling to
these elementary schools. The highest-priority project recommended in the SRTS Plan was the
installation of an enhanced bicycle and pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Foothill
Boulevard and Ferrini Road.
Building off the recommendations of the SRTS Plan, in September 2018 the San Luis Obispo City
Council adopted the Final Anholm Bikeway Plan, which affirmed the recommendation for an
enhanced crossing at this intersection, while identifying additional improvements needed to
develop a priority corridor for bicyclists and pedestrians connecting Foothill Boulevard all the way
to Downtown San Luis Obispo.
The first project to be implemented supporting these plans, referred to as “Anholm Bikeway Phase
1A – Foothill Crossing”, includes installation of a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon crossing at the
Foothill/Ferrini intersection, along with high-visibility signage, pavement markings, and traffic
calming along Ferrini Road. The project location is shown in the map below, while additional
project details are described in the following sections.
Anholm Bikeway Phase 1A – Foothill Crossing
Project Fact Sheet
Shared Street with
Traffic Calming
(3 Speed Humps)
Ped/Bike Crossing
(Hybrid Beacon)
Project Map
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What is a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon and How Does it Work?
A Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB), also commonly referred to as a “HAWK” signal, is a traffic
control device used to stop road traffic and allow pedestrians and bicyclists to cross safely. PHBs
are often used to improve non-motorized crossings of major streets in locations where conditions
do not warrant installation of a conventional traffic signal. Per the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA), PHBs reduce overall collision rates by 29% and pedestrian collision rates by 69%. This
device provides the user experience and comfort of a traditional signalized crossing for
pedestrians and bicyclists crossing from the side street (Ferrini), with less disruption to vehicle
traffic flows on the major street (Foothill).
PHB operations are somewhat different different from
standard traffic signals. The figure to the right illustrates the
general operation during a crossing sequence. The
primary difference between a PHB and a standard signal
is from the driver’s perspective on the main street
(Foothill)—the hybrid beacon remains dark until a crossing
activation from the side street (Ferrini). Upon activation,
the beacons begin flashing yellow, then steady yellow,
then solid red. During the solid red phase, drivers must
remain stopped while users cross from the side street.
Prior to returning to dark, the beacons display an
alternating flashing red “wig-wag” that allows drivers to
stop and proceed when clear, as they would with a stop
sign. Pedestrians and bicyclists will have dedicated signal
heads to control crossing phases, providing a similar
experience to using a traditional traffic signal. An
informative video showing the operations of a PHB is
available here: https://youtu.be/JdauhuZaChM
Sequencing of Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon
for Drivers, Pedestrians and Bicyclists
Driver’s View of PHB from Main Street
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Other Project Features
In addition to the PHB system, the Foothill Crossing project includes the following features:
High-Visibility pedestrian crosswalk and bicycle crossing markings
New ADA curb ramps and path-of-travel improvements at crossing
Overhead safety lighting to illuminate the crossing
Crossing actuation push buttons conveniently located for bicycles and pedestrians
Curb-separated bike lane at the Ferrini intersection approach
Bicycle Left-Turn Box to facilitate crossing from westbound Foothill approach
Traffic Calming and Route Guidance along Ferrini – Three speed humps will be installed
along Ferrini Road between Foothill and Felton to reduce traffic speeds to a level
conducive to a low-stress shared street where bicycles and motor vehicle share travel
lanes. High-visibility shared lane markings (“sharrows”) and route signage will also be
installed along Ferrini to convey this route as a priority bicycle connection to Pacheco
Elementary, Cal Poly to the north, and a future Cerro Romauldo Bicycle Boulevard.
A conceptual drawing of the project improvements is provided on the following page.
Next Steps
Construction of the Anholm Bikeway Phase 1A improvements is planned to take place over 2-3
months, begining in spring of 2019. Anholm Bikeway Phase 1B is currently under design and will
include construction of a multi-use path from the Foothill/Ferrini intersection to Ramona Drive, as
well as a two-way protected bikeway (“cycle track”) along Ramona to Broad Street. Construction
of Phase 1B is planned for the second half of 2019.
Anholm Bikeway Phase 2 will include improvements to continue devepment of a priority
pedestrian/bicycle route between Ramona Drive and Downtown San Luis Obispo, including
improved pedestrian crossings, protected bike lanes along Broad and Chorro Streets, safety
lighting and other streetscape enhancements at the Chorro/US 101 undercrossing.
Implementation of these improvements is planned for 2020-21.
For additional information on the Anholm Bikeway Plan or Safe Routes to School Plans, follow
these links:
Anholm Bikeway Plan:
https://oth.opengov.com/production/uploads/portals/189/forum/555/issue/3444/issue_asset/asse
t/9356/_Final_Report_Adopted_20180904.pdf
Safe Routes to School Plan: https://pd-
oth.s3.amazonaws.com/production/uploads/portals/189/forum/555/issue/3736/issue_asset/asse
t/8861/SRTS_Report__FINAL_.pdf
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4 Foothill Crossing Conceptual Design Packet Pg. 193
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R ______
RESOLUTION NO. __________ (2019 SERIES)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS
OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE ANHOLM BIKEWAY PLAN
ADOPTED SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2018 TO BE RENAMED ANHOLM
NEIGHBORHOOD GREENWAY PLAN.
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted the Anholm Bikeway Plan on September 4th, 2018
; and
WHEREAS, the Anholm Bikeway Plan includes a scope broader than Bicycle
infrastructure that includes pedestrian, landscaping, and aesthet ic improvements; and
WHEREAS, the City is embarking on a sustainable branding program employing “Green”
infrastructure naming conventions ; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of San Luis
Obispo the Anholm Bikeway Plan is now titled “Anholm Neighborhood Greenway Plan”.
Upon Motion of ___________, seconded by _____________, and on the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
The foregoing resolution was passed and adopted this 5th day of February 2019.
______________________________
Mayor Heidi Harmon
ATTEST:
______________________________________
Teresa Purrington
City Clerk
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Resolution No. ______________ (2019 Series) Page 2
R ______
APPROVED AS TO FORM
________________________________________
J. Christine Dietrick
City Attorney
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City
of San Luis Obispo, California, this _______day or ______________, _________.
______________________________
Teresa Purrington
City Clerk
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