CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA

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Roderick Cecil Wilson
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CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA Date: February 8, 2011 To: Planning Commission From: Jim Tolbert, AICP Re: Proposed Sidewalk Priorities Background: In 1997 the Planning

1 CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA Date: February 8, 2011 To: Planning Commission From: Jim Tolbert, AICP Re: Proposed Sidewalk Priorities Background: In 1997 the Planning Commission and City Council approved a Sidewalk Priority list from which to construct new sidewalks. The starting point for this list was a compilation of numerous locations collected over time from unsolicited citizen requests. Over the past 10 years, approximately one third of the 1997 list has been constructed and support for the outdated remainder is limited. Throughout last year, staff met with various stakeholder groups, the Planning Commission, and City Council to review a new list of sidewalk priorities. This list has been generated with the intent to provide safe accommodations and promote the healthy habit of walking to school for our local youth. As opposed to the previous list which essentially just ranked those sidewalks requested through no process, staff is proposing a proactive approach. We suggest a set of priority criteria be developed and these criteria should point to the sidewalks that are most needed. The priority criteria developed and adjusted after public input are as follows: Commercial and Residential Connections Connected Streets Functional Roadway Classification Low Income Areas Overlap of School Areas Park Access School Proximity Sidewalk exist on one side of the road Transit Stop Access This process led to the list of twenty-five proposed projects that are shown in the table below. These are proposed to be the first set of sidewalks built using the new process. RE: New Sidewalk Priorities Page 1 of 9

2 STREET SIDE OF ROAD START END LENGTH SCHOOL DIST SIDEWALK ON OTHER SIDE? FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION 1st St SE South St Garrett St 300 No L St. Charles 250 EB Off Ramp South Ave Locust Ave 500 Burnley-Moran No PA 7th Street West 8th Street Page Street 300 No L 9 1/2 Street East E.Jefferson St. High Street 135 No L Allen Dr North Willard Dr Moseley Dr 500 Jackson-VIA No L Belleview Avenue SW #1304 River Rd 550 Burnley-Moran No L Blenheim Avenue North Meridian St Castalia St 500 Clark No L Briarcliff Ave North Rockcreek Rd Buford No L Briarcliff Ave South Rockcreek Rd Buford No L Cherry Broad Avenue East #1524 Avenue 650 Johnson/Buford No L Cabell Avenue NW Burnley Ave # Venable No L Chancellor Street SW #167 Rugby Road 400 Venable No L at telephone East High Street East co 150 Yes PA Forest Ridge Road East Briarcliff Ave Forest Hill 300 Franklin Street West Market Street (Forest Hills Park) No L Carlton Avenue 365 No L Harris Rd North 121 Harris Rd Moseley Dr 825 Jackson-VIA Yes C Kenwood Ln North Concord Dr Galloway Dr 100 CHS No C Meadowbrook Heights NW #1609 # Walker/CHS No C Meridian Street East Montrose Ave Monticello Ave 800 Clark No L Meridian Street West Montrose Ave Monticello Ave 650 Clark No L Montrose Avenue North Rialto St Meridian St 450 Clark No L RE: New Sidewalk Priorities Page 2 of 9

3 Montrose Avenue South Monticello Ave Monticello Rd 450 Clark No L Moore Street East Hazel Street Grace Street 350 Burnley-Moran No L Shamrock Road East Thomas Dr Broad Ave 300 Johnson Yes C Tarleton Drive SW Greenbrier Dr Banbury St 900 Greenbrier/CHS No L Discussion: During last year s work session review and discussion, the following questions were posed: How can low income areas be addressed? Following the work session, the map of sidewalk priorities was compared to maps that designate the low to moderate income areas of the City as defined by HUD. It was determined that twelve of the twenty-five priorities will serve those in low to moderate income eligible areas as well as within the school walking circles. The following locations fall within the City s eligible CDBG areas as shown on the following map: 7 th Street from 8 th Street o Page Street 9 ½ Street from E. Jefferson to High Street Blenheim Avenue from Meridian Street to Castalia Street Briarcliff Avenue from Rockcreek Road to #1412 Cabell Avenue from Burnley Avenue to #823 Chancellor Street from Rugby Road to #167 Forest Ridge Road from Briarcliff Avenue to Forest Hill Franklin Street from Market Street to Carlton Avenue Meridian Street from Montrose Avenue to Monticello Avenue Montrose Avenue from Rialto Street to Meridian Street Montrose Avenue from Monticello Avenue to Monticello Road Moore Street from Hazel Street to Grace Street RE: New Sidewalk Priorities Page 3 of 9

4 CDBG Eligible Neighborhoods Sidewalks completed in recent years using CDBG funds include those in the Ridge Street, Rose Hill, and the 10 th & Page neighborhoods (these are shown on the following map). RE: New Sidewalk Priorities Page 4 of 9

Sidewalk Built in Past 10 Years in CDBG Neighborhoods Have we considered sidewalk links between residential and commercial areas? Yes, links are being provided.

5 Sidewalk Built in Past 10 Years in CDBG Neighborhoods Have we considered sidewalk links between residential and commercial areas? Yes, links are being provided. Proposed sidewalks in the Belmont area link to a network that leads to downtown; Tarleton Drive sidewalk in Greenbrier links RE: New Sidewalk Priorities Page 5 of 9

walkers to Rio Road; sidewalks in the Fry s Spring area link pedestrians to the University; Cabell Avenue and Chancellor Street sidewalks provide linkage to the Corner, Belleview Avenue connects to

6 walkers to Rio Road; sidewalks in the Fry s Spring area link pedestrians to the University; Cabell Avenue and Chancellor Street sidewalks provide linkage to the Corner, Belleview Avenue connects to River Road, 9 ½ Street connects to downtown. The overall linkage from residential areas to commercial and employment areas is good. The attached map shows the extent of these sidewalks. Existing Sidewalk in Areas of Employment & Commercial Areas RE: New Sidewalk Priorities Page 6 of 9

7 Are we leveraging all available funds? Safe Route to school grants, developer contributions, transportation capital funding, and general funds are all used to construct sidewalks. Is there any way to remedy how to include additional citizen requests in a systematic way? One purpose in creating a new list is to limit it to the amount that can be built within a 5 year period (in lieu of the 1997 list of 99 projects) so that citizens can reasonably expect their next opportunity for adding new projects. Interested persons could submit a request at any time during the 5-year timeframe, the submittal to be kept in a file, and all then evaluated once the next review cycle approaches. Since this process started we have received a number of requests from the public. These are shown in the table below as well as on the map of proposed sidewalks. Using the criteria proposed, seven of the thirteen public submissions would rank in the top 25 of the proposed sidewalks. Although some making the requests are quite passionate, unless we want to revert back to the old system, we suggest the remaining locations wait their turn for potential inclusion during the next priority cycle. RE: New Sidewalk Priorities Page 7 of 9

8 Proposed Sidewalk Priorities RE: New Sidewalk Priorities Page 8 of 9

9 Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the proposed sidewalk priority criteria. Attachment: PowerPoint RE: New Sidewalk Priorities Page 9 of 9

Pedestrian Improvements Prepared by Neighborhood Development Services November 2012

Pedestrian Improvements Prepared by Neighborhood Development Services November 2012 Pedestrian Improvements 2004-2013 Prepared by Neighborhood Development Services November 2012 Pedestrian Facilities On-going Pedestrian Safety Initiatives (2004 present) New sidewalk construction Safe