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Meeting Announcement: Complete Streets and Routine Accommodation
November 29, 2007
3:30 PM City Council Chambers
Hosted by: Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, Chair
Public Service & Transportation Committee
Columbus City Engineer Randall J. Bowman and his staff will present to council members and staff the status of the Transportation Division’s Complete Streets Policy.
Complete Streets policies encourage transportation planners and traffic engineers to consistently design streets with all users in mind. Features of a complete street may include sidewalks and pedestrian lighting, bike lanes, improved transit stops, marked crosswalks with safety features, street trees, refuge medians, audible pedestrian signals and sidewalk bulb-outs to shorten walking distance and encourage safe non-car travel.
Complete Streets improve safety for all users. Designing streets with pedestrians and bicycles in mind reduces risk. A Federal Highway Administration safety review found that adding complete street features may reduce pedestrian risk by nearly 30%.
Complete Streets encourage biking and walking. Many health organizations, including the Columbus Health Department, believe that we can help reduce obesity and related health problems by implementing policies that allow physical activity in public spaces.
Complete Streets help ease transportation challenges. About one third of Americans don’t drive cars, and as our population ages, this number will increase. More than one quarter of all car trips are one mile or less, and complete streets provide travel choices, giving people the option to avoid traffic congestion, increasing the overall capacity of our transportation network.
Complete Streets make fiscal sense. Integrating sidewalks, bike lanes, transit amenities and safe crossings into project design from the beginning spares taxpayers expensive retrofits later.
Please join Council member Maryellen O’Shaughnessy to learn more about Complete Streets from our transportation division leaders.
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Columbus City Council Adopts Complete Streets Resolution
By: Walker
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if you can’t make it, it will be on the public access channel.
if you do go, there is supposed to be free parking (not sure of the details). Oh the irony. 8) Anyways, it’s more informational and not a “public comment” type of meeting.
I heard there may be a “public comment” meeting at a later date, depending on interest. This meeting could be held in the evening to help increase attendance.
WHEREAS, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities are able to safely move along and across a Complete Street; and
WHEREAS, Columbus traffic engineers and transportation division officials are currently studying Complete Streets principles to ensure that whenever possible, the entire right of way of every Columbus roadway is designed and operated to enable safe access for all users; and
WHEREAS, a good Complete Streets policy contains the following elements:
· Specifies that “all users” includes pedestrians, bicyclists, motorized two-wheel vehicles, transit vehicles and users and motorists of all ages and abilities
· Recognizes the need for flexibility: that all streets are different and user needs will be balanced
· Is adoptable by all agencies to cover all roads
· Applies to both new and retrofit projects, including design, planning, maintenance, and operations, for the entire right of way
· Makes any exceptions specific and sets a clear procedure that requires high-level approval of exceptions
· Directs the use of the latest and best design standards, including traffic calming where appropriate and environmentally friendly elements
· Directs that Complete Streets solutions fit in with the context of the community
· Establishes performance standards with measurable outcomes; and
WHEREAS, an effective Complete Streets policy should prompt agencies to:
· Restructure their procedures to accommodate all users on every project
· Re-write their design manuals to encompass the safety of all users
· Re-train planners and engineers in balancing the needs of diverse users
· Create new data collection procedures to track how well the streets are serving all users; and
WHEREAS, both the Columbus Comprehensive Plan and the recently adopted Bicentennial Bikeways Plan recommend that Columbus adopt Complete Streets principles; now, therefore
Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Columbus:
That this Council supports the implementation of Complete Streets policies in Columbus, and urges the Public Service Department and the Transportation Division to include these policies in all street construction, reconstruction and repair projects.
I wonder what kind of timeline they have for this. I’d love for the bike lanes to be put in asap.
My impression is that there is not a time-line, but that this would apply to all new projects. So the needs of all users should be considered every time a street is resurfaced, reconstructed, widened, etc… It will therefore be slowly implemented over time for eternity.
And I thought I was pessimistic. :? But seriously, I don’t get some cyclists’ enthusiasm for bike lanes. You’re pretty much always going to have to leave the bike lane more often than not and can you imagine Columbus drivers’ reactions to you leaving your lane and taking up space in theirs when you need to? Especially on one of the existing bike lanes where trafic is going 50 MPH. Let’s just Gay up more streets so that we have a network of safe streets for bikes without gutter/car door/bonus car parking lanes and rub it in Portland’s face. If you cower at the thought of riding on Gay St Downtown then you’re not going to feel safe even on a residential street. As far as the (sprawling) suburbs and sprawling parts of the city, bike lanes make more sense there, but in a well-made urban environment they are totally superfluous.
Not to under-appreciate the above, but I am more interested in the economic growth aspects of Complete Streets. My working hypothesis is that these type of street designs ought to be more economically productive than streets (like 3rd or 4th, for example) which are high-speed conduits through instead of to. In the little time I have put into investigating this, I haven’t found anything to either confirm or deny.
A.
If you mean the “eternity” part, that’s not meant to be pessimistic. I think it’s better than a one-time project. For example, I wouldn’t want the city to build the Bikeways Plan and then quit thinking about bikes. I want them to consider bikes, peds, transit, and even cars on all future projects…forever. And I believe that’s what we’re getting.
Not to under-appreciate the above, but I am more interested in the economic growth aspects of Complete Streets. My working hypothesis is that these type of street designs ought to be more economically productive than streets (like 3rd or 4th, for example) which are high-speed conduits through instead of to. In the little time I have put into investigating this, I haven’t found anything to either confirm or deny.
A.
Though Gay Street is not a complete street (at least from what I understand of a complete street) the amount of development and interest in that space is a great start to showing what redesigning can do. I don’t see Zen Cha opening on 3rd.
Though Gay Street is not a complete street (at least from what I understand of a complete street) the amount of development and interest in that space is a great start to showing what redesigning can do. I don’t see Zen Cha opening on 3rd.
Which user’s needs are not being met on Gay Street? It seems like it’s complete. It can be used safely by cars, bikes, pedestrians and there is sufficient capacity for the demand. There are no transit routes on Gay.
I’m not really into bike lanes either. They separate bicycles from traffic to the point where we are less visible, and less visibility in traffic is a BAD BAD thing. My friend who lives in Portland got hit riding in a bike lane and broke her collarbone last month because a driver turned right without looking into the bike lane first.
Even if they put them in, I’m not going to use them. Scary.
Though Gay Street is not a complete street (at least from what I understand of a complete street) the amount of development and interest in that space is a great start to showing what redesigning can do. I don’t see Zen Cha opening on 3rd.
Which user’s needs are not being met on Gay Street? It seems like it’s complete. It can be used safely by cars, bikes, pedestrians and there is sufficient capacity for the demand. There are no transit routes on Gay.
Transit would be the biggest piece missing, though Complete Streets is flexible. As far as safety, there is one intersection that should be 4-ways. Parked cars obstruct one’s view at the stop and can create some interesting situations.
I’m just pointing out that Gay Street was done without a clear definition of what a complete street in Columbus should entail. It’s wonderful, though, and is doing quite a bit to show what redesigning our infrastructure can do.
Though Gay Street is not a complete street (at least from what I understand of a complete street) the amount of development and interest in that space is a great start to showing what redesigning can do. I don’t see Zen Cha opening on 3rd.
Which user’s needs are not being met on Gay Street? It seems like it’s complete. It can be used safely by cars, bikes, pedestrians and there is sufficient capacity for the demand. There are no transit routes on Gay.
Transit would be the biggest piece missing, though Complete Streets is flexible. As far as safety, there is one intersection that should be 4-ways. Parked cars obstruct one’s view at the stop and can create some interesting situations.
I’m just pointing out that Gay Street was done without a clear definition of what a complete street in Columbus should entail. It’s wonderful, though, and is doing quite a bit to show what redesigning our infrastructure can do.
You don’t have to have transit to have a “complete street.” You have to accommodate transit if there is a route on the street. An 11 foot wide mixed-traffic lane and a bus shelter may count as accommodation. Since Gay Street doesn’t have a route, it doesn’t need any special provisions for transit. The level of “accommodation” can change by context and need. It just has to be considered in the design process.
Even if they put them in, I’m not going to use them. Scary.
+10 Word
John, that is why I said “though complete streets is flexible”. :D
Gay street is the best example we have, but there a few intersections that could use some rethinking to make it safer.
ETA
Thought about this some more. What about stencils on the road ways to help bikes trip lights? Are the sensors adjusted for 2 wheel vehicles? New signals and bike boxes, helping clear cyclists through traffic? Any combination of these would make Gay St. truly complete.
+1
Gay street is the best example we have, but there a few intersections that could use some rethinking to make it safer.
ETA
Thought about this some more. What about stencils on the road ways to help bikes trip lights? Are the sensors adjusted for 2 wheel vehicles? New signals and bike boxes, helping clear cyclists through traffic? Any combination of these would make Gay St. truly complete.
Good questions. Most signals in downtown areas are pre-timed, meaning they do not need to be “tripped” (actuated in engineer-speak) by a vehicle or a pedestrian push-button. They just change on a fixed time interval (which can vary by time of day). The signal essentially assumes that a vehicle or pedestrian will be waiting to use the side-street. I don’t remember if there are loop detectors in the pavement downtown, and don’t know if loops or video detection were installed when Gay Street was re-built, but generally if there’s no ped push-buttons, there’s probably no vehicle actuation either.
Is Gay Street really so congested that you need bike boxes or can you pretty much just pull up to the front of the queue alongside the cars without problems?
I’ll have to check that next time. What I am talking about are bike boxes that allow a separate signal, ahead of cars, to clear bikes through the intersection-especially on left turns-considering that gay is intersected by Front, High, Third and Fourth.
Not perfect, but an idea. Also shows the concept of stenciling.
Bike boxes, for the uninitiated. Combine this with a cycle specific light at high traffic area and it would be wonderful.
I am pretty sure the major routes are all timed. Not sure about secondary roads like Gay, though.
I hope you cyclists take this the right way, but you guys need to stop being so critical of forward progress. There are a wide range of skill levels who cycle, or wish to do so. Bike lanes are one way to bring the focus of transportation to a more multi-modal solution. Fighting progress towards multi-modal transportation by claiming that adding bicycle infrastructure will endanger cyclists is just silly.
Get over it. Take the free hand out. Embrace it.
It’s 1,000,000 times better than anything that has been done for cyclists in this city’s long history.
Good videos, as is usually the case with StreetFilms. I took a picture of that bike signal in the first video when I was in Portland in 2004.
It’s the terminus of a trail, so there’s a lot of cyclists. Like the guy in the video (Rex) said, “We have literally thousands of cyclists that use this facility every day.” A bike signal would make sense at a special location where there were a ton of cyclists coming off of a trail onto the regular street network, probably not at just every ordinary intersection. I do agree that the detectors, where they exist, need to be capable of detecting bikes.
The second video is exactly what I thought you meant by bike box, but I don’t know what you mean by “uninitiated.” Bike boxes seem like they would be a useful tool where there are a lot of bikes that need some extra space to wait at the light and a long line of cars to bypass. I doubt there is a lot of bike traffic or car traffic on Gay to necessitate a bike box, but I don’t live there, so I don’t know. If the line of cars isn’t too long I suggest just getting in line behind the cars and waiting your turn.
By uninitiated, I simply meant those who have never heard of bike boxes. They have only recently made an appearance on this side of the pond but have shown a lot of promise in cities overseas (even the ones here using them) at increasing visibility and reducing incidents involving cars and bikes. They also can help transition cyclists into better positions at lights for making left turns and such.
I love streetfilms. When I feel depressed when our city takes a step back, it really cheers me up to watch the films.
As to the bike boxes, they would be better suited at the heavier intersections like Gay and High. I don’t mind waiting behind car, though one argument in favor of bike boxes is moving cyclists away from the tail pipes of idling vehicles.
Brew, I don’t think anyone here is fighting forward progress when it comes to a better multi-modal system. Pretty strong evidence, that has been shown in numerous threads, exists to call into question how well bike lines work and if they actually do provide safety for all levels of riders.
Can I apply this same argument to another piece of a multi-modal Columbus, the Streetcar? Should we just accept whatever is given to us in the form of a streetcar simply because it is “forward progress”? Should we not question the end goal and if it meets the needs of our city? I have hard time accepting the view that we should just sit by and accept something with out a worthy discussion because it appears, on the whole, to be good. Honestly I would rather see the city spend money making complete streets a reality, especially through downtown, before we see bike lanes. Traffic calming is the only way to make bike lanes work the way they are designed. A change in our downtown culture that emphasises all road users and not just the car, as is current policy and attitude.