Creating Better Streets and Better Communities -through Road Diets
February 10, 2007
Dan Gallagher, AICPCharlotte [email protected]
Issues to Discuss
1. Case StudiesEdgewater Drive – Orlando, FL – 2001East Boulevard – Charlotte, NC - 2006
2. Lessons Learned
Edgewater Drive Case Study
• Neighborhood Area Plan• 4-lane to 3-lane conversion with bike
lanes and on-street parking.• 7 traffic signals along 2 mile segment• High school, grocery store, retail,
cafés, office and a Moe’s• 20,500 VPD - High travel speeds• Commuter route traveling through a
neighborhood – FDOT road
Par Ave.
Lakeview St.
Smith St
Edg
ewat
er D
r.
Princeton St.
Study Area
City
FDOT
GroupPlan
College Park Neighborhood Horizon Plan
• Redesign Edgewater Drive to be community enhancing and pedestrian and bicycle friendly.
• Conduct a corridor analysis to look at redesign opportunities.
• Enhance pedestrian crossings.
Called for significant attention to Edgewater Drive.
Recommendations:
College Park Neighborhood Horizon Plan (cont)
• Transfer Edgewater Drive from FDOT to City jurisdiction.
• Make Edgewater Drive more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.
• “Reinvent” Edgewater Drive.
So we did public workshops and lots of education…
Recommendations:
Reinvented Edgewater Drive
Concept
Edgewater Drive Resurfacing Project
• Project scheduled in FDOT 5-year work program.
• FDOT was open to 3-lane option if City takes over jurisdiction
• Cost $589,000
• Changes contingent upon acceptance by CPNA and College Park Merchants Assn.
• We would do before/after studies…
Before After
Edgewater Drive – Orlando, FL
Crash Rate
12.6
8.4
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
Cras
h Ra
te (p
er M
VM)
Before After
1 crash every 1 crash every 2.5 days2.5 days
34% Reduction
(146 per yr)(146 per yr)
1 crash every 1 crash every 4.2 days4.2 days(87 per yr)(87 per yr)
Injury Rate
3.6
1.2
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Inju
ry R
ate
(per
MVM
)
Before After
68% Reduction
1 injury every 1 injury every 9 days9 days
(41 per yr)(41 per yr) 1 injury every 1 injury every 30 days30 days
(12 per yr)(12 per yr)
15.7%
7.5%9.8% 8.9%
29.5%
19.6%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
Perc
ent o
f Veh
icle
s Tr
avel
ing
over
36
MPH
Before AfterBefore BeforeAfter
North End Middle South EndAfter
Speeding Analysis
Edgewater Dr Traffic Volumes
20,50018,100
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
Vehi
cles
per
Day
Before After
Now21,000+
On-Street Parking Utilization
29%
41%
0%5%
10%15%20%
25%30%35%
40%45%
Park
ing
Util
izat
ion
Perc
enta
ge
Before After
Pedestrian Volumes
2,136
2,632
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Num
ber o
f Ped
estr
ians
Before After
23% Increase
Bicycle Volumes
375
486
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Num
ber o
f Bic
ycle
s
Before After
30% Increase
Evaluation Matrix
Avoid Increasing Traffic On Neighborhood Streets YES
Reduce Speeding on Edgewater Dr YES
Increase Bicyclist Volumes YES
Increase Pedestrian Volumes YES
Reduce Crashes YES
Increase On-Street Parking Use Rates YES
Increase Pedestrian Satisfaction (Residents) YES
Increase Parking Satisfaction (Residents) YES
Noise levels go down…
East Boulevard Case Study
• Neighborhood Plan adopted in 2002• 4-lane to 3-lane conversion with bike lanes
– no on-street parking• Regional park, grocery store, retail,
cafés, office, condos and a Moe’s• 21,400 VPD - High travel speeds• Commuter route traveling through a
neighborhood – City road
3 crashes: ped (2) bike (1)
11 crashes:ped (4) bike (7)
East Boulevard Pedscape Plan
What did the Residents Want?• More comfortable for all roadway
users – bikes, pedestrians, transit patrons and motorists
• Enhance pedestrian activity on sidewalks, improve pedestrian crossings
• Be able to cross the street without getting run over
• More sidewalk cafés/outdoor seating
• Tree-lined avenue
What we knew about East Boulevard – as 4 lanes
• 4-lanes of capacity is compromised by large number of left-turns – no left-turn lane
• Not pedestrian-friendly but lots of pedestrians –difficult to cross street
• High travel speeds – wide range of speeds (44 mph)
• 21,400 vpd….lots of slaloming• High level of bike/pedestrian accidents• High level of rear-ends and left-turn collisions
Why did we consider a 3-lane conversion?
• High accident corridor• Accommodate same level of traffic and maintain
“Dilworth friendly” travel speeds – most prudent driver
• Eliminate higher speed, aggressive travel and “slaloming” down the street
• Move vehicles away from the pedestrians on the sidewalks
• Allowed us to implement 5 ped-refuge islands
How did we advance the project?
• We cannot accomplish their vision without changing the corridor – showed them a 3-lane concept
• Conducted detailed traffic simulation (Synchro) that showed 3-lane conversion would not significantly impact vehicular LOS
• Worked with residents/businesses regarding the proposed project and design details
• Neighborhood voted unanimously to support the project in April 2005
BeforeConcept
East Boulevard - Concept
Benefits…
Project Budget & Schedule
• Budget - $800,000• Project had four key construction elements:
• Road Surface Milling - completed• Ped-refuge Island Construction - completed• Road Re-surfacing and Striping - completed• Landscaping – completed
BeforeAfter
Average Daily Traffic
18400
21400
02000400060008000
1000012000140001600018000200002200024000
Before Road Diet After Road Diet
AD
T
14% Decrease
85th Percentile Speed
30
32
34
36
38
40
42
44
Before After
BeforeAfter
Corridor travel times remained the same…
Issues to Discuss
1. Case StudiesEdgewater Drive – Orlando, FL – 2003East Boulevard – Charlotte, NC - 2006
2. Lessons learned about diets
Charlotte Observer, June 2004
Lessons Learned• Project should begin at
neighborhood level…what do they want from their main street?
• 3-laning seems counter-intuitive - need to educate –show who else is on a diet
• Get Council and neighborhood on board
Who else is on the diet?• 4-lane to 3-lane conversions are being
done nation-wide• Striking a balance between people and
cars to create livable neighborhoods• Many communities are reestablishing
their Main Streets, Village Centers and “people places”
ConversionsWhat are some Examples of Successful Road Conversions?
Location Road ADT: Before ADT: AfterSan Leandro, CA East 14th Street 17,700 16,700Duluth, MN 21st Ave. East 17,000 17,000Ramsey County, MN Rice Street 18,700 16,400Toronto, Canada St. George Street 15,000 15,000Kirkland, WA Lake Washington Blvd 23,000 25,900Seattle, WA North 45th Street 19,400 20,300Covington, WA SR 516 29,900 32,800Bellevue, WA Montana Street 18,500 18,500East Lansing, MI Grand River Blvd. 23,000 23,000Santa Monica, CA Main Street 20,000 18,000Helena, MT US 12 18,000 18,000San Francisco, CA Valencia Street 22,200 20,000Oakland, CA High Street 22,000 24,000Orlando, FL Edgewater Drive 20,500 21,000Seattle, WA Madison Street 17,000 18,000Reno, NV South Wells Ave 18,000 17,500University Place, WA 67th Ave 17,000 15,000University Place, WA Cirque Ave 16,900 14,400East Lansing, MI West Grand River Ave 18,000 18,000East Lansing, MI Abbott Road 15,000 21,000
Lessons Learned• A concept drawing is worth
a 1000 words…• Construction period will be
difficult – especially with islands and stamped crosswalks
• Weather the storm during construction – be proactive with media
• Do before/after studies
Recommended Before/After Studies
• Volumes• Speeds• Travel time• Accident rates• Video of peak queues• Bike/ped volumes (if necessary)• Resident/business surveys (if necessary)
Lessons Learned
• Make sure signal timing changes occur at time of project completion
• Expect your refuge islands to be hit
• Conversions are not for the meek, but they are worth it!
From Charlotte Observer(June 2006)
Comments made during construction…
Judge the Project at Completion
Questions you can expect…• If you go from 4-lanes to 2-lanes, where
does ½ the traffic go?• In a time when most communities are
widening roads, why are we narrowing ours?• How will traffic go around stopped buses?• Will this impact emergency response?• Are you doing this just to accommodate
bicyclists?• What if it doesn’t work?
Questions
Dan Gallagher, AICPTransportation Planning ManagerCharlotte Department of Transportation704-336-4984 [email protected]
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