South Portland Public Input Meeting Summary Notes and Public Comments

Transcription

1 Prtland Suth Prtland Smart Crridr Plan Bradway Neighbrhd Meeting Intrductin Prtland Suth Prtland Smart Crridr Plan Suth Prtland Public Input Meeting Summary Ntes and Public Cmments Nvember 2, 2017, Suth Prtland Public Library Charles Tex Haeuser, City f Suth Prtland Planning Directr Welcme and intrductin t Smart Crridr Plan prcess This is the third public input meeting n this tpic This is a jint study between Prtland and Suth Prtland frm Mrrill s Crner t Bug Light Park Tnight we plan t lk at sme actual prpsals and gather yur feedback Thanks fr cming, everyne Presentatin by Ned Cdd, WSP USA Cnsultant Team Prject Manager This study is being dne jintly by Prtland, Suth Prtland, and PACTS We are trying t build ff f previus planning effrts We are lking at three majr segments f the crridr: Mrrill s Crner t Wdfrd s Crner Wdfrd s Crner thrugh Deering Oaks Park Casc Bay Bridge t the end f Bradway This is a multi-mdal study that takes int accunt land use issues and future develpment Gals f the study Encurage high quality develpment Imprve safety in all mdes Imprve vehicle access and reduce cngestin Imprve multi-mdal access We are getting t the end f the study and want t share with yu sme preliminary recmmendatins We are trying t increase safety and reduce crashes We are als lking t imprve transit We are als trying t imprve pedestrian access and safety We are als lking t imprve bicycle access We want t make the crridr a cmplete street safe and functinal fr all users, including drivers as well as pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, the yung and the ld, disabled T address safety issues, the fllwing are sme prven safety cuntermeasures we are cnsidering Pedestrian crssings Median refuges and flashing beacns Rad diets Ptentially reducing lanes where they are nt be needed Rundabuts We are cnsidering at a cuple lcatins Leading pedestrian intervals Give pedestrians a head start when crssing with parallel traffic Nvember 2, 2017 page 1

2 Prtland Suth Prtland Smart Crridr Plan Bradway Neighbrhd Meeting Bradway Crridr Traffic Issues and Ptential Imprvements Current traffic cnditins Heavy traffic cngestin in the Mill Creek segment f the crridr Traffic vlumes are high, and several intersectins perate with high levels f cngestin and delay Cngestin is much lwer east f Mill Creek the traffic lessens but the rad narrws Traffic safety High crash rates in Mill Creek Much lwer incidence f reprted crashes east f Mill Creek Develpment and traffic demand Reviewed develpment prpsals, Suth Prtland Cmprehensive Plan, cnsulted with City staff There is ptential fr develpment in Mill Creek, Mussey Neighbrhd Center, Bradway/Sawyer, and n Caculidis Prperty (this is the largest ptential develpment) Develped traffic prjectins expected as a result f these ptential develpments, Intersectin level f service culd wrsen at Mill Creek and at Bradway/Sawyer Street Ptential Traffic Imprvements Bradway/Cttage Rad We reviewed prpsal t signalize the right turn eastbund n Bradway at Cttage Rad Wuld have a minr effect n cngestin, but cngestin fr this mvement wuld still be minimal Signalizing the right turn culd be implementing withut significant negative effects Bradway/Sawyer Street Traffic signal warrant analysis Maine Department f Transprtatin (MEDOT) has jurisdictin ver installatin f new traffic signals MEDOT fllws federal guidelines fr traffic signals warrants In general, MEDOT requires that at least tw f nine signal warrants be met in rder t install a new traffic signal Because we knew this wuld be an issue, we cllected 12 hurs f data at this lcatin in rder t cnduct a full traffic signal warrant analysis We fund that nne f the 9 warrants at this intersectin are met We have passed this infrmatin and analysis alng t the City f Suth Prtland and MEDOT Rundabut analysis A single-lane mdern rundabut here wuld functin fairly well at this lcatin Nvember 2, 2017 page 2

3 Prtland Suth Prtland Smart Crridr Plan Bradway Neighbrhd Meeting Bth nrthbund and suthbund level f service alng Bradway wuld significantly imprve Advantages f a rundabut at this lcatin Imprves traffic peratins by slwing traffic dwn, creating mre gaps fr entering traffic All traffic essential takes a right turn t enter the rundabut, nly needs t yield t traffic in the circle Imprves pedestrian access by slwing traffic, enabling pedestrians t crss half ne lane at a time Imprves bicycle access by narrwing radway apprach, prviding mre space fr bike lanes Disadvantages f a rundabut at this lcatin Prperty impacts space requirements fr rundabut wuld have impacts n nrthwest and sutheast crners f intersectin Thugh traffic slws dwn, it is nt required t stp upn entry can be intimidating fr pedestrians and bicyclists (thugh much better fr a single lane rundabut than a duble lane rundabut) Breakwater and Pickett This intersectin currently perates fairly well as an all-way stp cntrl intersectin Experiences brief perids f mderate cngestin at SMCC class peaks, but cngestin quickly dissipates There are crsswalks missing and sidewalks are in pr cnditins these shuld be imprved A single-lane mdern rundabut here wuld functin well, but it may nt be necessary since existing all-way stp cntrl als wrks adequately Transit Issues and Ptential Imprvements This part f Suth Prtland is currently served by Bus 21, which is a cunter-clckwise lp It s abut 30 minutes between buses during peak perids, 45 minutes ff-peak It can be delayed when the Casc Bay Bridge drawbridge is raised fr shipping There are n bus shelters alng Bradway and few ther amenities There is ptential fr increasing funding fr transit due t the Transit TIF that Suth Prtland has There is the idea f a ferry frm the Caculidis prperty t Prtland Ptential transit imprvements fr the 21 Bus Transit signal pririty Extends the green light as the bus appraches Only needed at cngested lcatins Queue jump Ptential fr shrt dedicated lane t enable bus t jump ahead f car queue Exclusive leading signal phase fr the bus Hwever, we didn t see any gd pprtunities fr either f these measures alng the Bradway crridr in Suth Prtland Nvember 2, 2017 page 3

4 Prtland Suth Prtland Smart Crridr Plan Bradway Neighbrhd Meeting Pedestrian Issues and Ptential Imprvements We lked at the gaps in pedestrian crssings alng Bradway and the quality f the crssings In general, as yu g farther east n Bradway the crssings get farther and farther apart Between Walnut Street and Mussey Street, there is gap f 1,125 feet withut a crssing At Bradway and Mussey Street there is a crsswalk missing There is a crssing at Harriet Street but n signal Between Pine and Spring there is 1,550 feet between crsswalks with any refuge There is n crsswalk in frnt f the Bys and Girls Club Between Preble Street and Breakwater Drive, there is 1,150 feet withut a crssing Ptential pedestrian imprvements Add RRFB prtected crsswalks acrss Bradway at Sawyer Street and at Stanfrd Street t prvide a crssing fr the Bys and Girls Club Add the missing crsswalk at the Mussey Street/Bradway intersectin Bicycle Issues and Ptential Imprvements Bike lanes n Casc Bay Bridge, but clse t high-speed traffic, cnflicts with intersectins and ramps N bike lanes in Mill Creek, heavy cngestin and queuing Ptential fr cnnectin n lwer-vlume streets thrugh Knightville t Casc Bay Bridge pedestrian/bicycle ramp Gap in bike lanes between Sawyer Street and Spring Street Cntinuus Suth Prtland Greenbelt Path ges parallel t Bradway It s narrw, just 8 wide Ptential imprvements Widen the Greenbelt Path fairly substantial and expensive prject Cnnect the Greenbelt Path with Bradway acrss narrw gap just east f Mill Creek, near Walnut Street and Clemns Street Shared lane/sharrw markings alng Cttage Rad frm Bradway and Greenbelt Path thrugh Knightville t Knight Park and pedestrian/bicycle ramp t Casc Bay Bridge separated walkway Public Cmments and Questins Crsswalks acrss Bradway At the Bys and Girls Club, we crss Bradway every day with 35 kids at Spring Street Wuld be great t have a lighted signal t aid in crssing Bradway It wuld be best t have a crssing right in frnt f the club Wuld be best if there were safe crssings at bth Stanfrd Street and Spring Street We need smething really aggressive t alert cars Drivers are vicius, r maybe distracted SMCC students There is a culture that cars cme first We need a public awareness campaign t imprve traffic safety and prtect pedestrians The amunt f yung and ld peple crssing the streets is being ignred It seems like all we care abut is cars Nvember 2, 2017 page 4

5 Prtland Suth Prtland Smart Crridr Plan Bradway Neighbrhd Meeting Favr cncurrent pedestrian signal phases (crss alng with parallel traffic) smetimes feel guilty fr pushing the walk buttn where there is an exclusive phase that stps all traffic Fr many walk buttns, there is nt enugh time fr an elderly persn t crss Better t make crsswalk imprvements at the Bys and Girls Club than Sawyer Street, Spring Street, and Preble Street Fur RRFB s in a rw seems a bit excessive Nt sure we need n Stanfrd Street Wuld be best t have them at Sawyer Street, Spring Street, and Preble Street All fr mre RRFBs they are pretty cheap and very effective A lt f students are travelling n Bradway, texting, and ging ver the speed limits Pedestrian safety is a huge issue n Bradway T help blind and visually impaired Flush refuges are nt much use Visually impaired peple can t see them Invisible t cars prvide n refuge RRFBs wuld be mre useful if they had tnes fr blind and visually impaired, at least s a persn culd knw that there is a buttn t be pushed Respnse, Tex Haeuser RRFBs d nt have audible signals Ptential alternative t RRFB wuld be a High-Intensity Activated crsswalk (HAWK) signal, which has prvides visual and audible signals fr pedestrian crssing Sawyer Street is nt a gd place fr a crsswalk because there are t many left and right turns Culd we slw traffic at times befre and after schl and/r establish a schl zne? We need t d smething abut the Pine Street crsswalk t much tanker truck traffic Respnse, Tex Haeuser Thank yu fr cming with ideas like this crssing Bradway is the number 1 prblem f this whle crridr Perhaps we culd elevate crsswalks a bit s they are slightly elevated r perhaps paint them yellw instead f white There are traffic accidents all alng Bradway, nt just at the intersectins Hw abut a High Intensity Crsswalk Beacn? This prvides a red light fr crssing and a tne Perhaps we shuld narrw the street in rder t slw peple dwn The MEDOT accident statistics are car riented, nt pedestrian riented They are explicit t mving mtr vehicles Clarified that the criteria fr a reprtable crash is any bdily injury r damage t prperty The Spring Street crsswalk is in the wrng place let s mve that ne t the frnt dr f the Bys and Girls Club Hw abut elevate the bike lane s the rad is narrwed and the bike lane is preserved Hw abut a barrel r pyln in the middle f the rad t slw traffic Bump-uts in Sac are really effective they prvide security fr pedestrians Sawyer and Bradway Lve the idea f a rundabut Nvember 2, 2017 page 5

6 Prtland Suth Prtland Smart Crridr Plan Bradway Neighbrhd Meeting Lve the idea f bike lanes Cncern abut a bike lane heading int the rundabut The safest way t crss Bradway is a stp light A rundabut is a very weak secnd chice t a stplight MEDOT shuld use its discretin t allw installatin f a signal The mst imprtant reasn fr having a light at Bradway is t imprve pedestrian crssing safety Because the rundabut prvides a steady flw f traffic it wuld reduce pprtunities fr peple n side streets t enter Bradway Cncern abut reducing Bradway t ne lane near the rundabut because smene taking a left turn will cause traffic back up Hw abut a Stanfrd Street left turn lane? Rundabuts wrk well fr drivers in nn-urban areas, yet as an instructr f blind and impaired peple I m cncerned that blind and visually impaired peple will nt be able t navigate them safely If a rundabut is installed, be very thughtful abut the placement f all elements Rundabuts are bad fr drivers and pedestrians Even if the warrants are nt met, engineering judgment shuld prevail and a traffic signal shuld be allwed at Sawyer and Bradway Rather than install a rundabut, best t d nthing at Sawyer fr nw and wait until a traffic signal IS warranted A number f peple seem t agree with this perspective A signal at Sawyer and make it mre usable, wuld take pressure ff Cttage and Bradway Cncern abut a bus stp at this intersectin it wuld blck traffic Bicycles Wuld rather that bicycles ride in the travel lane than ff t the side Many bicyclists ride n the sidewalks and that s nt gd Many f thse riding bikes n the sidewalks are kids We have the Greenbelt Path that shuld prperly develped fr bicyclists and pedestrians Widen the pavement Tw walking lanes and tw walking lanes Prper signage Be cnsistent fllw the Eurpean way f ding bike lanes Cnnect crss streets t the greenbelt There is a lt f supprt (perhaps unanimus) fr imprving the green belt Other cmments Rather than a ferry that wuld require parking n each side f the harbr, better t have a mre frequent bus Hw abut an Uber service t meet the bus stps? That already exists Eliminating the right turn lane t Cttage Rad fr peple ging t Cape Elizabeth is a bad idea Make full use f RRFBs befre tearing up rads Nvember 2, 2017 page 6

7 Prtland Suth Prtland Smart Crridr Plan Bradway Neighbrhd Meeting Clarified that this is a study and will help us apply t PACTs fr funding fr actual prjects Clarified that a new develpment that generates sme srt f pedestrian activity culd be asked t cntribute t imprvement f the greenbelt It seems like there is cnsensus in this grup that pedestrian safety is the highest pririty Many f the things discussed here are nt terribly cstly imprvements and s perhaps culd be dne relatively quickly Perhaps the green belt culd be extended thrugh Ferry Village and thrugh the Caculidis prperty Thanks t everyne fr cming tnight! Nvember 2, 2017 page 7