Complete Streets

[Double A]

If you aren't reading this, you should be.


Share the road
Louisville is considering the Complete Streets policy so vehicles, bicycles, wheelchairs and strollers can ...

By Marcus Green
magreen@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

Hoping to correct a decades-old "urban planning mistake," city officials are moving to require that anyone building new streets or altering existing ones set aside space for bicyclists, wheelchairs and strollers.

"You have to think about that at the time of construction, so that folks who are going to live ... close by have alternative means of getting where they want to go," said Charles Cash, director of Louisville Metro Planning & Design.



As part of the proposed Complete Streets policy to be introduced to a Louisville Metro Planning Commission panel today, new streets would have to have dedicated lanes or paths for bicyclists and sidewalks and curbs accessible to wheelchairs.

And when existing roads are repaved, they would have to include bike paths and sidewalks where possible.

Across the country, 22 cities have adopted "Complete Streets" design guidelines recognized by the Thunderhead Alliance, a national nonprofit organization made up of local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy groups.

Precious Johnson, who lives with her husband and two children in the Timberbend subdivision near Cooper Chapel Road in southeast Jefferson County, says the idea makes sense.

While lots of children ride bicycles near Cooper Chapel, Johnson said, the narrow road is too dangerous to accommodate cars and bike riders.

"They need to do something," she said, adding that she applauds plans to add sidewalks and bike lanes as part of a widening project from near Preston Highway to Smyrna Parkway.

Complete Streets is a 163-page manual of design guidelines drafted by a group representing public transit, people with disabilities and neighborhood activists among other groups.

The policy could be attached to the community's existing land development code, or it may require Metro Council approval, Cash said. The planning commission's planning committee will be briefed on it today, with a full presentation scheduled for April 12.

Mayor Jerry Abramson said the policy is necessary.

"For decades, we in Louisville -- and cities around the nation -- have built roads only for vehicles," Abramson said in a statement. "That was an urban planning mistake. The Complete Streets policy will help rectify that."

Complete Streets was among a series of goals set during a bicycle summit two years ago, with the aim of making the city more bike-friendly. Another goal is making River Road a top cycling corridor.

To that end, the city recently announced that $1 million in federal money will be used to start planning a 7-mile bikeway along River Road, from near Zorn Avenue to U.S. 42.

"Bike paths and bike lanes are good because they inform drivers that, yes, bicyclists are legitimate transportation users just like car drivers," said David Morse, a cycling advocate.

Complete Street policies already in place along the West Coast have been effective, said Morse, who lived in Los Angeles and the San Francisco bay area from 1995 to 2002.

"There's a bicycle commuter culture there, and there's so many people bicycling," he said.

While cycling is an emphasis of the Louisville policy, it also requires features that will make it easier for people with disabilities to access roads and sidewalks.

In many cases, said Tommy Clark, Metro government's disabilities coordinator, sidewalks are barriers to people who use wheelchairs.

"That's basically a useless sidewalk," Clark said. "With this manual it makes it a usable sidewalk for people with disabilities -- people in a wheelchair -- or a family that's pushing a baby stroller."

Officials aren't estimating how much it will cost to apply the policy's guidelines.

"In the bigger picture, it is a relatively minor addition in terms of the cost. It is also minor in terms of the addition of the right-of-way," which would be 5 percent to 15 percent wider, said Mohammad Nouri, the city's assistant transportation services director.

For existing streets, Nouri and Cash say, elements of Complete Streets would be done on a case-by-case basis. They acknowledge that it may be difficult to improve some streets but point to examples such as recent bike lanes added to Third Street downtown.

The policy was developed with broad input, but officials say there will be several public hearings before any action is taken to approve it.

"There will be plenty of time for public input," Cash said.

Reporter Marcus Green can be reached at (502) 582-4675.

[YoungTulsan]

The streets we have would be great if it werent for 2 cars per house parking on the street.

I visited the street I grew up on, and the first thing that hit me was how many cars were parked on the street now vs. 15 years ago.  Everyone has their own car so there is like 4+ cars per house in some neighborhoods.   So you take a wide enough road, park cars all over both sides of it, and there is nothing left for both pedestrians and one passing vehicle to coexist upon.

I don't know what the solution is.

[NellieBly]

Complete streets? How about just some streets without potholes or sand. How about putting some reflective lane stripes on our streets so we can drive safely at night and in the rain? How about fixing the traffic lights so the left turn signals work properly.

This would never work in Tulsa because it would mean actually doing some work on the streets.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by YoungTulsan

The streets we have would be great if it werent for 2 cars per house parking on the street.

I visited the street I grew up on, and the first thing that hit me was how many cars were parked on the street now vs. 15 years ago.  

At least in your neighborhood, they are parking on the pavement.  In my neighborhood, they love to turn their front yards into parking lots, and no amount of repeated complaining to city code enforcement seems to help.  Some people just have no class.

[cannon_fodder]

THANK YOU STEVE!

I've been meaning to post about that for sometime.  I have lived in some *very* "blue collar" neighborhoods up North and rarely if ever did I see people park in the lawn.  Sure, if there was a party or they were near some event going on it would happen.  But choosing to park in the lawn is something new to me.

I live near 28th and Harvard, a nice neighborhood.  And several families just park in the lawn as a matter of course.  Other's do if they have company - hey, someone in my driveway lets mark in the lawn.  What gives?  There is plenty of street parking and no one seems to use their garage.

Help, Im confused.

and per the topic, I bike nearly everywhere I go within a couples miles of me and can usually find a bike friendly route.  Not the best of circumstances, but not bad in midtown.

[inteller]

parking anytime in the yard is a code violation.  if the city would enforce its codes they wouldn't have operating budget shortages.

oh, and they wont go away.  We hoped that too but we finally gaveup and moved to a neighborhood with a homeowners association with very strict rules.

[Ed W]

The problem with Thunderhead Alliance's Complete the Streets is that their bicycling idea is little more than "all bikelanes - all the time".  No other policy or idea can be considered.  Honestly, the organization is as ideologically hide-bound as any Stalinist regime.

In a perverse way, we're lucky to be behind the curve here in Oklahoma.  We can look around and see what really works and what doesn't.  Bikelanes have severe limitations and are suitable for very narrowly defined applications.  There are other, better ways to move people down the road on a bicycle, but you probably won't hear about any of them from TA.  

I strongly object to the fear mongering that TA and other so-called advocates engage in when they're looking for funding.  Riding a bicycle on the street is a relatively safe activity, yet too many people believe otherwise.  There was a time when everyone knew the Earth was flat.  Just because they believed it didn't make it true.

We have another Road1 class coming up in July.  Come ride with us!

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by Steve

quote:Originally posted by inteller

parking anytime in the yard is a code violation.  if the city would enforce its codes they wouldn't have operating budget shortages.

oh, and they wont go away.  We hoped that too but we finally gaveup and moved to a neighborhood with a homeowners association with very strict rules.

Very true.  Get more code inspectors out there that can slap violators with fines or threat of jail time, that should fill city coffers.

My neighborhood is very unique for Tulsa, being a subdivision of totally 1950's modern architecture homes designed by one architect (Donald Honn) and built by one Tulsa homebuilder (Howard C. Grubb).  That is why I bought my house 20 years ago, because I love the architecture and ambience, not to be found anywhere else in Tulsa.  I refuse to succumb to the trashy habits of my neighbors, and will continue to try to raise their taste to the level of my own, through example.  That is the best I can do.

i thought Lortondale formed a HOA to keep the riff raff out.

[OurTulsa]

Complete Streets is just part of a necessary mind shift in how we utilize streets.  
As said in the article we have to recognize that streets are not just utilities for moving cars and trucks, they are right of ways acommodating public access.  Public streets are places of common utility, they should be used for moving vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians but also accommodating public gathering...on the edges and in designated centers.

This city has desperately got to re-prioritize our public investments and make better streets.  Better streets does not necessarily mean bigger/wider/more driving lanes.  For me the opposite is actually more desirable.  Intstead of widening 91st to the Arkansas border and every N/S arterial to at least the river terminus lets reprioritize and redirect our capital improvements toward making existing ROW's better: better sidewalk accessibility, bike lanes, landscaping mitigating runoff and the heat island affect.  And when I say better streets I don't have token efforts like Peoria Av. between 21st/31st in mind.  That sidewalk is so rediculously designed its worse than laughable.
Imagine if Peoria between 15th/41st were reduced to three driving lanes (one middle left turn lane) to accommodate better sidewalks and bike lanes.  For than matter do the same on stretches of 21st/31st/41st/61st/Utica/Lewis...A narrower driving surface and wider walking considerations would do alot to improve the adjoining neighborhoods.  I can see Cherry St. as a much more accessible and pleasant experience with that configuration.  I would imagine that a better Peoria Av. between 15th/Brookside would bring out the folks from the adjoining neighborhoods.  A narrower street would reconnect the neighborhoods as opposed to segregate them with arterials.

I'm not even sure that we would need to widen the ROW in most cases.  At this point we don't have developers building arterial streets; maybe a few collectors that could adhere to the Complete Streets principles so most of the improvements would have to be public improvements.

Another example I remember talking about recently was the anticipated widening of the intersection of Utica and 15th.  I remember arguing that the widening would make the intersection less conducive to the urban environment we are somewhat promoting in Cherry St.  You increase the time that it takes for a pedestrian to cross Utica Av. leaving them exposed to motoring traffic for a longer period which is not desireable.  Yes, the improvement would ease car traffic at that intersection for a few hours in a given day but it would indefinitely detrimentally impact the pedestrian experience there and I think also have a negative visual impact on the intersection.  I don't care how much pretty brick you put at a wide vehicular intersection (41st/Peoria), a wide intersection is dangerous for everyone and uglier to boot.  Am I the only one that thinks the 'improvements' at 41st/Peoria made the intersection nastier; lipstick on a fatter pig.

Oh well, I've lost my train of thought...better streets don't always equal bigger more efficient (cars) streets.  What kind of city do we want to live in?

[YoungTulsan]

Great points OurTulsa.  Gets me thinking about what it would be like.

Traffic in pretty much all of midtown aside from the backups that occur around the highways, is pretty light.  3 lane roads with more walking and biking space would work in just about all of midtown.  I can see it actually working to make the neighborhoods feel more connected.

Of course some streets really need to move car traffic.  Yale's new humungous I-44 intersection looks like it is moving traffic effectively.  If you upgraded Riverside's traffic moving ability, then the rest of midtown would work great on a 3 lane design.  I think there needs to be a way to cross I-44 at Deleware (Columbia or College?) and Pittsburg to get rid of the nightmare at I-44 and Harvard, but other than that, get everyone to use Yale and Riverside and convert the rest of the area of town to 3 lane roads.  Sounds cool to me

I hope the Harvard, Lewis, Peoria, and Riverside interchanges with I-44 all get turnarounds like the one at Yale.  That right there would get rid of 50% of the highway gridlock of people just wanting to turn the hell around.

[MichaelBates]

This is truly a life and death matter. The North Carolina Tar Heels mascot was killed a few days ago -- hit by a car while walking back from a convenience store to his hotel, the Fort Lee, N. J., Hilton. He had to walk on the shoulder because there was no sidewalk, and he was hit by a sober driver who probably didn't expect a pedestrian to be there. Here's the Google satellite image with the hotel at the center. You can zoom in and see that there is no accommodation for any mode of transportation other than a car.

[AVERAGE JOE]

quote:Originally posted by OurTulsa

Imagine if Peoria between 15th/41st were reduced to three driving lanes (one middle left turn lane) to accommodate better sidewalks and bike lanes. A narrower driving surface and wider walking considerations would do alot to improve the adjoining neighborhoods.  I can see Cherry St. as a much more accessible and pleasant experience with that configuration.

I've felt that way about Cherry Street for a long time. It could widen to 3 lanes at certain points but narrow to 2 lanes for most of its length to accommodate on-street parking (in niches with corner bumpouts). Only widen it to three lanes at collector intersections like St. Louis. Cherry Street is already a two-lane street with parallel parking all hours of the day except rush hour. Might as well make it a 24 hour thing.

[Double A]

quote:Originally posted by AVERAGE JOE

quote:Originally posted by OurTulsa

Imagine if Peoria between 15th/41st were reduced to three driving lanes (one middle left turn lane) to accommodate better sidewalks and bike lanes. A narrower driving surface and wider walking considerations would do alot to improve the adjoining neighborhoods.  I can see Cherry St. as a much more accessible and pleasant experience with that configuration.

I've felt that way about Cherry Street for a long time. It could widen to 3 lanes at certain points but narrow to 2 lanes for most of its length to accommodate on-street parking (in niches with corner bumpouts). Only widen it to three lanes at collector intersections like St. Louis. Cherry Street is already a two-lane street with parallel parking all hours of the day except rush hour. Might as well make it a 24 hour thing.

A three lane 15th street would be a complete disaster during the fair or events at the fairgrounds.

[OurTulsa]

quote:Originally posted by Double A

quote:Originally posted by AVERAGE JOE

quote:Originally posted by OurTulsa

Imagine if Peoria between 15th/41st were reduced to three driving lanes (one middle left turn lane) to accommodate better sidewalks and bike lanes. A narrower driving surface and wider walking considerations would do alot to improve the adjoining neighborhoods.  I can see Cherry St. as a much more accessible and pleasant experience with that configuration.

I've felt that way about Cherry Street for a long time. It could widen to 3 lanes at certain points but narrow to 2 lanes for most of its length to accommodate on-street parking (in niches with corner bumpouts). Only widen it to three lanes at collector intersections like St. Louis. Cherry Street is already a two-lane street with parallel parking all hours of the day except rush hour. Might as well make it a 24 hour thing.

A three lane 15th street would be a complete disaster during the fair or events at the fairgrounds.

I don't think anyone would propose a three laner on that stretch of 15th St. but up to Harvard may not be unreasonable.  It could certainly change that landscape and compliment the exsisting store fronts and an urban style of infill.  Again, if a street is designed right it calms traffic and creates pleasant public spaces for people.

[YoungTulsan]

What we're talking about would never happen in Tulsa.  Neat idea tho.  Midtown would be the perfect place to experiment the idea.  Part of the reason for this is that midtown already has a decent traffic flow compared to the rest of the city.  Due to the half mile through streets mostly (15th, Utica, Delaware) makes midtown more pleasant already than South Tulsa.