KEVIN RESSLER FOR MAYOR

Transcription

1 KEVIN RESSLER FOR MAYOR CITY OF LANCASTER ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION VISION DRAFT April 28, 2017 OVERVIEW 1. Background and Description The need for an equitable active transportation system is a growing need for City of Lancaster residents. Concerns over affordable transportation options, the lack of safety for current cyclists, the quality of urban air, public health, and diminishing parking options in our neighborhoods have catalyzed the creation of this City of Lancaster Active Transportation Vision. This vision extends beyond the existing Lancaster County Active Transportation Plan, focusing particularly on serving City of Lancaster residents. Further community insight will be necessary for this vision to be complete. The purpose of this document is to provide; (1) a vision for enhancing the City of Lancaster s active transportation system via engineering, education, encouragement, evaluation/planning, and enforcement and (2) an overview of the current state of active transportation in the City of Lancaster. 2. Project Scope The scope of an enhanced active transportation plan will include the following 5 E s (adopted from the League of American Bicyclists), with overall focus on equitable implementation, so that all neighborhoods can thrive; (1) Equitable Engineering: Conduct walkability and safe routes (walking and biking) to school audits An urban walking trail system, connecting all neighborhoods to the downtown district and all quadrants to each other. Urban trail will feature historic (cultural and natural) and artistic landmarks. A City of Lancaster biking wayfinding system that connects all quadrants to the downtown and to each other and to key landmarks (bus station, train station, educational centers, etc.) Designated protected bike lanes and sharrows Bike racks and pump/repair stations throughout city Bike-share program allowing for mobility of all, connecting to existing public transit systems (2) Educational Outreach- for bikers, pedestrians, and motorists: Safe Routes to Schools Program (SRTS): link Utilizing trained skills from local League Cycling Instructors Hosting Community Workshops w/focused outreach to underserved communities and highly participatory neighborhoods/blocks Street Signage- denoting urban walking trail w/ historic/artistic/cultural landmarks beyond the downtown district and bike pathways Update City of Lancaster Website to include informational videos ( Dutch reach, etc.), signage, etc. Develop cycling/walking map 1 1 P age

2 (3) Encouragement: Working collaboratively to create a biking and pedestrian friendly culture in the City of Lancaster Design and publish a local on-line and paper bike map (including bike repair stations and parking, public transit hubs, water fountains, historic landmarks, etc.) Create incentives for local businesses to accommodate their cycling employees (bicycle parking, showers, etc.) Improve Red Rose transit stations with community input (4) Evaluation and Planning: Active and Diverse Participation (all wards represented) in a City of Lancaster Bicycling Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Collaborative development in a phased City of Lancaster Bike Master Plan (5) Enforcement: Public safety officers will help ensure that all residents are safely abiding to city and state transportation regulations Police officers will accompany group bike rides as part of building culture and awareness 3. High-Level Requirements Priorities under this envisioned plan must include the following: Equitability of infrastructure, so that all interested residents have accessibility to the services, including a participatory budgeting process Safe bike/walk connectivity to all major public transit hubs, educational centers, and to neighborhoods of the city Low-minimal upfront and management costs (focus on funding by grants, green bonds, also see Funding ) Collaborative local partnerships to advance inclusion and community engagement 4. Assessments of City of Lancaster s Active Transit League of American Bicyclists: 2015 Bronze Rating on Report Card: link 2015 Recommendations: link Lancaster Bikes! Coalition for a Bicycle Friendly Lancaster: Bike Crashes Map, : link WalkScore: Neighborhood Walkability Scores: link 5. Active Plans/Resolutions/Grant Projects Lancaster County Active Transportation Plan: Phase II Plan: link Map: link 2 2 P age

3 Currently not meeting the Lancaster ATP bike plan mileage targets, city focus and mayoral support is essential to progress Complete Streets Resolution: Adopted in Council May 2014, link Requires all new street construction to include safe zones for all active transportation National policy package is lacking innovative and equitable approaches to today s multimodal challenges Mulberry Street: Figure 1: Mulberry Street Bike Lane Project Incorporates designated bike lane and sharrows, a good start that needs to be expanded in all city s quadrants Residents reported concerns of (a) the lack of educational awareness of this project, (b) drivers sitting in the bike lane, requiring unsafe swerving, and (c) overall lack of support from current mayoral administration to remedy these concerns 6. Inactive Biking Infrastructure Plans (1) Chestnut Street Bikeway: City of Lancaster Webpage: link City of Lancaster PDF: link LNP Article: link Figure 2: W Chestnut St. Bikeway Pilot Project 3 3 P age

4 Figure 3: W Chestnut St. Bikeway Pilot Project (2) Prince Street Grant To include sharrows and stripped bike lines (inexpensive to implement) Grant is unused 7. Glows/Grows of Current Active Transportation in City of Lancaster BIKING Glows (examples of progress) Grows (room for innovation) (1) Engineering: - Bike lanes and/or sharrows exist on a few streets in Northwest quadrant (Mulberry and W. Liberty) - Bike racks exist at a few local businesses and train station - Proposed bike-share program with Zagster.com with 6 local sponsors for stations and Quick-Bike Program in LCPC plan, however just for gov t employees (2) Education: - City of Lancaster webpage informs public about the W. Chestnut Pilot Project (not yet implemented) - Lancaster Alliance held meeting for neighbors - SRTC Program is being planned for a few pilot schools, in conjunction with Common Wheel (3) Encouragement: - Local non-profit initiatives such as Common Wheel and Slow Ride help support local cyclists (1) Engineering: - Biking infrastructure only exists in NW neighborhoods (with a block just South of King on Mulberry St.)- focus needs to be on equitable investment and connectivity to bus stations and educational entities - Bike racks are non-existent in many locations throughout the city, causing cyclists to struggle to park their vehicles safely (ex: bus stations, restaurants, stores, etc.) - Bike lanes are not protected (dooring is a danger) - Bike-share program was not proposed for public input, will all residents be able to participate? Are stations located in all neighborhoods? Can this be linked with other modes of public transit for efficiency? (2) Education: - City of Lancaster webpage is lacking in thorough description of meaning of signs for both cyclists and motorists (Mulberry St. project is not on page) - League Cycling Instructors are underutilized for educational purposes 4 4 P age

5 (4) Evaluation and Planning: - Bronze rated community/business according to the League of American Bicyclists (5) Enforcement: - Officers on foot and horse occasionally - Lancaster City Alliance Red-shirt bike ambassadors - Motorists are uninformed about vehicular cyclists - Increased education on overall benefits of biking - Need for community outreach/workshops (3) Encouragement: - Creating an inviting biking culture that is safe for all riders - Collaborating with local bike advocacy groups to support the needs of refugees and underserved neighborhoods - Local on-line and paper bike map/guide (4) Evaluation and Planning: - City BPAC with all wards represented - Creation of Bicycling Master Plan, based on community participatory process - Increasing City Hall Sustainability staffing (5) Enforcement: - Officers trained with state and local ordinances - Accompanying community slow rides WALKING Glows (examples of progress) (1) Handicap accessibility on sidewalks at a growing number of intersections and Yield To bollards in a few crosswalks (2) Visual appeal is located in some neighborhoods where historic landmarks are featured (3) Walk score of 81, according to (which includes high ranking neighborhoods such as Chestnut Hill (92), Business District (98), Musser Park (95), and Mussertown (91)) Grows (room for innovation) (1) Many sidewalks lack the safety for wheelchair bound citizens and strollers (buckled, cracked, etc.) (2) A distinct urban trail map that guides throughout all neighborhoods of the city (see Figure below for visual) (3) Supporting lower scoring neighborhoods such as Prospect Heights (60), Conestoga Heights (59), College Park (76), and Stevens (79) 5 5 P age

6 Visual Examples of Listed Grows : Figure 4: Benefits of Biking, link Figure 5: Minneapolis BPAC - ALL Wards Represented, link Figure 6: Asheville NC Urban Trail Map, link FUNDING Excerpt from League of American Cyclists, Recommendation Report to Lancaster, PA: COSTS: Building a new roadway for motor vehicles can cost millions of dollars to construct, and many of the pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure facilities are extremely low-cost in comparison. Use this database to review up-to-date estimates of infrastructure costs of pedestrian and bicycle treatments from states and cities across the country. FEDERAL FUNDING: Since 1992 bicycle and pedestrian projects have been eligible for federal transportation funding. To learn more about what federal funds are available for bicycle projects, use Advocacy Advance s interactive Find it, Fund it tool to search for eligible funding programs by bike/ped project type or review the same information as a PDF. 6 6 P age

7 STATE FUNDING: Biking and walking dollars aren't only available from the federal government. States can also have their own revenue sources that can be used to fund active transportation. Use this report and an online tool to explore your state s funding sources for bicycle and pedestrian improvements. LOCAL FUNDING: Local governments can also create their own revenue streams to improve conditions for bicycling and walking. Three common approaches include: special bond issues, dedications of a portion of local sales taxes or a voterapproved sales tax increase, and use of the annual capital improvement budgets of Public Works and/or Parks agencies. Bicycle facility improvements can also be tagged on to larger projects to create economies of scale that results in reduced costs and reduced impacts to traffic, businesses, and residents. For example, if there is an existing road project, it is usually cheaper to add bike lanes and sidewalks to the project than to construct them separately. To learn more about public funding of bicycle infrastructure improvements, visit Resource: link Lancaster County Planning Commission: Funding Programs for Smart Growth Transportation & Transportation Alternatives: link EXISTING CITY OF LANCASTER ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES Name Lancaster County Planning Commission Lighten Up Lancaster Common Wheel Lancaster Bikes! Slow Ride Citizens for a Bicycle Friendly Lancaster City League of American Bicyclists Website Phase II Plan: Map: Transportation.aspx P age

8 CITY MODELS Website Pittsburgh, PA (bronze rated) Asheville, NC (bronze rated) Milwaukee, WI (bronze rated) Minneapolis, MN (gold rated) Portland, OR (platinum rated) Local Bike Map: Urban Trail System: Public Works Biking Page: (copy and paste link) Public Works Biking Page: City of Portland Transit Page: Culture Magazine Top Biking Cities of 2016: League of American Bicyclists Nations Top Scoring Bicycling Communities: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: League of American Cyclists: CNT: League of American Cyclists and Sierra Club, The New Majority is Pedaling Towards Equity: City Lab, How Income-Income Commuters View Cycling: These Guys, Advocating for Better Cycling: National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO): Yes! Magazine, Why Bicycle Justice Isn t a White Guy in Spandex: Bicycling Renaissance in North America?: P age