City of Memphis. To: John E. Cameron, PE City Engineer. From: Kyle Wagenschutz. Cc: Manny Belen, Randall Tatum. Date: November 5, 2015

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1 City of Memphis Tennessee A C Wharton, Jr. Mayor Jack Sammons Chief Administrative Officer Division of Engineering John E. Cameron, P.E. City Engineer Memo To: John E. Cameron, PE City Engineer From: Kyle Wagenschutz Cc: Manny Belen, Randall Tatum Date: November 5, 2015 Re: STP Bicycle Program (PIN ) Meeting #2 A federal transportation grant was awarded to the City of Memphis from the Surface Transportation Program (STP) for the construction of bicycle lanes along thirty different road segments within the city limits. The scope of this project only includes the installation of striping, pavement markings, signage, and other construction elements necessary to the installation of the bicycle lanes, but does not include resurfacing or concrete construction of any kind. A round of public meetings was held in Oct/Nov 2015 to discuss the specific designs being proposed. This memorandum summarizes one of those meetings. A public meeting was held on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 to discuss the potential for the installation of bicycle lanes along the following corridors: Graham St: SF Greenline to Goodlett (protected bicycle lane, on-street parking removed from both sides of road) Goodlett St: Graham to Walnut Grove (bicycle lane, no additional on-street parking restrictions) Shady Grove Road: White Station to Yates (bicycle lanes, on-street parking removed from both sides of road) Waring Rd: Summer to Walnut Grove (protected bike lanes, on-street parking removed from both sides of road) Trinity Rd: Raleigh-LaGrange to Germantown (bicycle lane, no additional on-street parking restrictions) Specifically, this meeting was held to gauge the level of use and necessity of currently available on-street parking on segments as noted above. The proposal presented at the meeting contained draft drawings indicating where the new facilities would be placed as well as where any new applicable parking restrictions would occur. Eighteen (18) persons attended the meeting in addition to Kyle Wagenschutz representing the City of Memphis. In addition to publically advertised legal notices placed in the Commercial Appeal, Tri-State Defender, and Daily News on September 24, 2015, a total of 269 direct mailings were sent to property owners and tenants at their publically registered addresses. Graham St: SF Greenline to Goodlett (32 meeting notifications mailed) Goodlett St: Graham to Walnut Grove (49 meeting notifications mailed) Shady Grove Road: White Station to Yates (45 meeting notifications mailed) Waring Rd: Summer to Walnut Grove (105 meeting notifications mailed) Trinity Rd: Raleigh-LaGrange to Germantown (38 meeting notifications mailed) In addition to those present at the public meeting, information was provided to allow public comments via telephone, mail, facsimile, or online survey. Desriptions of additional feedback are provided with in each meeting summary below. All supporting documentation can be found at S:\Engineering\TRAFFIC\USERS\Kyle\TDOT Grants\ STP-Bicycle Program\4. Design\Public Meetings\101415_White Station Library

2 Graham Street: SF Greenline to Goodlett No person in attendance at the public meeting provided input on the proposed striping revisions for Graham Street. Additionally, there were no s or telephone comments received for this corridor. One (1) online survey was completed that indicated favor for the addition of a bicycle lane, but this individual was a not an adjacent property owner or resident. Goodlett Street: Graham to Walnut Grove No person in attendance at the public meeting provided input on the proposed striping revisions for Goodlett Street. Additionally, there were no s or telephone comments received for this corridor. Two (2) online surveys were completed that indicated favor for the addition of a protected bicycle lane, but only one of those individuals was an adjacent property owner or resident. Shady Grove Road: White Station to Yates Nine (9) individuals in attendance at the public meeting provided input on the proposed striping revisions for Shady Grove Road. Additionally, there were twelve (12) s and four (4) online surveys were completed that provided feedback on the proposed bicycle lane. Accounting for individuals that submitted comment via multiple formats, twenty-one (21) unique individuals provided comment on this project. Of those unique individuals, only two provided favorable feedback on the proposed bicycle lane design. Of the criticism received, there were two dominant points of contention with the proposed design: 1. The resulting restriction of on-street parking would inconvenience adjacent property owners and would not be a welcome trade-off for the addition of bicycle lanes, and; 2. Excessive speeds of motor vehicles along this stretch of Shady Grove pose a current threat to safety on the corridor and should be dealt with through regulatory measures. Shady Grove Road has been a designated bicycle route by the City of Memphis since It is currently used on a routine basis by persons riding bicycles as an east/west corridor connecting the Wolf River Greenway and Shelby Farms Park on the west to residential areas located further east. Many of the local cycling clubs have used Shady Grove Road as part of their regularly scheduled bicycle rides since its designation as a bicycle route. Designated bicycle lanes were installed on a portion of Shady Grove Road from Yates east to Humphreys Blvd in 2008 in coordination with the redesign of the parallel corridor along Walnut Grove Road. Based on the feedback received from residents, it is my opinion that we do not proceed with the installation of bicycle lanes. Instead, it is recommended that three points of action be taken to address local concerns about safety, vehicular speed, and bicycle awareness. 1. Warning signs should be erected indicating the status of this roadway as a bicycle routes, alerting drivers that persons riding bicycles may be present while driving on this road. Typical installation would include W11-1 (bicycle) and W16-1P (Share the Road) signs at the beginning of each end of this corridor and at periodic locations along the route. These signs will not interfere with any on-street parking regulations, allowing residents access to on-street parking as it is allowed today while also providing additional visibility to the presence and awareness that persons may be operating bicycles along the corridor. 2. The posted speed limit between S. Oak Grove Rd and Yates Rd along Shady Grove should be lowered to 30mph from its current 35mph. The predominant posted speed limit along this stretch is indicated at 30mph, but this short stretch approaching Yates Rd increases the speed to 35mph. Feedback from residents indicated a high level of acceleration of vehicles through this stretch that carries over into the portions of the roadway intended for slower moving traffic, specifically as the corridor approaches Shady Grove Elementary School. 3. To further facilitate slowing of vehicular speeds, recommendation is made to install parking shoulders, delineating through use of pavement markings the separation of space on the roadway designated for parking of on-street vehicles and the portion of the roadway designated for the movement and operation of motor vehicles. This configuration would place a solid white line approximately 8 feet from the curb, effectively narrowing the motor vehicle travel lane from 20ft to 12ft. In the event that on-street parking is not being used, this line will provide additional traffic calming benefits as shown through other applications in Memphis. An example image of this application from Mountain Terrace Street is provided below. This street is the same curb to curb width as Shady Grove Road.

3 Mountain Terrace Street: Example of Parking Shoulder installation Recommendation: Remove bicycle lane proposal from consideration, and install roadway enhancements that will facilitate the slowing of motor vehicle speeds and increase awareness of current bicycling activity. Roadway enhancements include erecting bicycle warning signage, installing parking shoulders, and the reduction of posted speed limit from sections currently posted at 35mph to 30mph. Waring Road: Summer to Walnut Grove Five (5) individuals in attendance at the public meeting provided input on the proposed striping revisions for Waring Road. Additionally, there were six (6) s and twenty-eight (28) online surveys completed that provided feedback on the proposed protected bicycle lane. Accounting for individuals that submitted comment via multiple formats, thirty-four (34) unique individuals provided comment on this project. Of those unique individuals, fourteen (14) indicated they were not in favor of the installing bicycle lanes on Waring, while twenty (20) provided favorable feedback on the proposed bicycle lane design. Of the criticism received, there were two dominant points of contention with the proposed design: 1. The resulting restriction of on-street parking would inconvenience adjacent property owners and would not be a welcome trade-off for the addition of bicycle lanes, and; 2. Excessive speeds of motor vehicles along this stretch of Waring pose a current threat to safety on the corridor and should be dealt with through regulatory measures. Waring Road has been included in the city s bicycle plan since It is currently used by persons riding bicycles as an on-street access point to the Shelby Farms Greenline. Designated bicycle lanes have already been installed along Waring Road north of Summer Avenue and this planned extension would provide a longer continuous route to residential areas south of Summer until the roadway terminates on the south at Walnut Grove Road. While those in attendance at the public meeting expressed strong sentiments against installation of the protected bicycle lanes for the before mentioned reasons, the total feedback received through all formats indicates more split opinion on the final roadway design, with only a slight edge to those in favor of proceeding with the proposed protected bicycle lanes. Those in favor of the protected bicycle lanes did offer a number of points where compromise could be made in order to facilitate the inclusion of some dedicated bicycle facility while also addressing the concerns of other local residents. Those points of compromise are summarized below: 1. Protected bicycle lanes should be installed along Waring Road as proposed except that the white tubular markers be replaced with something more aesthetically pleasing. Admittedly, this is less of a compromise and more a design suggestion, but there were enough comments to this sentiment that it warranted mentioning. It is likely that this scenario could be accomplished using a variety of materials ranging from armadillos, planters, to modular curbing. Project budget may dictate what options are not financially feasible, but consensus could be formed around a material that provides the physical separation between persons riding bicycles and moving automobiles through additional public input. 2. The posted speed limit should be lowered to 30mph from its current 35mph. Given the residential nature of adjacent land uses, the high volume of trail users at the Shelby Farms Greenline, and a roadway width that encourages excessive vehicular speeds, the roadway may benefit from a reduction in the posted speed limit. Feedback from residents, both in favor of and against the proposed bicycle lanes, produced this comment. 3. Buffered bicycle lanes should be installed as planned, but regulatory signs would allow on-street parking in the bicycle lanes during certain times of day and days of the week. This type of installation is typically accomplished in residential areas by allowing on-street parking during periods of time that bicycle activity is unlikely to occur, typically 7pm-7am weekdays, and all day on Saturday and Sunday. This strategy would be consistent with an application already present in Memphis along N. McLean Blvd. This scenario would not be preferred if on-street parking

4 usage was at or above 25% for the corridor, but our field observations are not indicating usage anywhere near that figure. An example image of this application from N. McLean Blvd is provided below. Because of the wider curb to curb width, the Waring Road application allows enough space for the bicycle lane to be buffered, using pavement striping, from the automobile travel lane. N. McLean Blvd: Example of Time Restriced Parking (Restrictions in place 7am-7pm Mon-Fri) 4. Design should include the installation of parking shoulders, delineating through use of pavement markings the separation of space on the roadway designated for parking of on-street vehicles and the portion of the roadway designated for the movement and operation of motor vehicles. This configuration would place a solid white line approximately 8 feet from the curb, effectively narrowing the motor vehicle travel lane from 20ft to 12ft. In the event that on-street parking is not being used, this line will provide additional traffic calming benefits as shown through other applications in Memphis. Warning signs should be erected indicating the status of this roadway as a bicycle routes, alerting drivers those persons riding bicycles may be present while driving on this road. Typical installation would include W11-1 (bicycle) and W16-1P (Share the Road) signs at the beginning of each end of this corridor and at periodic locations along the route. These signs will not interfere with any onstreet parking regulations, allowing residents access to on-street parking as it is allowed today while also providing additional visibility to the presence and awareness that persons may be operating bicycles along the corridor. An example image of this application from Mountain Terrace Street is provided below. Mountain Terrace Street: Example of Parking Shoulder installation Based on the feedback received from residents, it is my opinion that we should host another community meeting in December to gather feedback on the suggested compromises and design details, postponing final decision until after feedback from that meeting can be reviewed. Recommendation: Host a follow-up meeting in December 2015 to weigh the merits of suggested compromises and design details. Final decision should be postponed until after this second meeting is concluded and feedback can be reviewed.

5 Trinity Road: Raleigh-LaGrange to Germantown No person in attendance at the public meeting provided input on the proposed striping revisions for Trinity Road. Additionally, there were no s or telephone comments received for this corridor. One (1) online survey was completed that indicated favor for the addition of a bicycle lane, but that individual was not an adjacent property owner or resident.