Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

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Annabelle Audra Morgan
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1 Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls STAKEHOLDER COMMITTEE MEETING 2 SUPPORTED BY THE OATH COMMUNITY FUND AT THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR GREATER BUFFALO

2 Develop a Bicycle Master Plan to document the city s comprehensive vision and detailed work plan for increasing the attractiveness of bicycling over time as a key strategy for enhancing overall livability. Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

3 Project Progress and Timeline Project progress to date includes compiling and reviewing existing plans and comparable cities, engaging stakeholders, launching the project website and survey, conceptual connectivity and early renderings. Stakeholder Committee Meetings Review and Assess Existing Plans and Conditions Solicit and Compile Public Input Designate Schematic Network and Classify System Prepare Guidelines for Design, Installation and Maintenance Prepare Design Alternatives NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG ❶ ❷ ❹ ❺ Prepare Schedule and Cost Estimates Present Plan Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

Stakeholder Meeting 2 Agenda Welcome & Intro Greenway and Bicycle Connectivity Update Project Updates Feedback to Date Analysis and Alternatives

4 Stakeholder Meeting 2 Agenda Welcome & Intro Greenway and Bicycle Connectivity Update Project Updates Feedback to Date Analysis and Alternatives Communications & Engagement ReddyBike Public Meeting Preview Closing Reflections, Questions, Next Steps Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

5 BICYCLE AND PERSONAL MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE NIAGARA REGION PROJECTS COMPLETED AND UNDERWAY NIAGARA FALLS BIKE MASTERPLAN PROJECT PRESENTATION - JANUARY 16, 2019

6 NYS Bike Routes

7 WNY Regional Bike Map

8 Bikeable Routes WNY

9 COLLABORATIVE PLANNING BETWEEN LAND OWNERS NYS PARKS NY POWER AUTHORITY NF BRIDGE COMMISSION NYSDOT and NYSTA Project Collaboration

10 Mega Trends in Personal Mobility Parking should be moved off the waterfront to remote locations Extending Niagara Falls experience, but getting visitors off the tour busses, out of their cars and onto bikes, into shuttles and on their feet Niagara River Greenway Shoreline Trail, Empire State Trail and international crossings will bring more cycle traffic to Niagara Falls GREENWAY PRIORITY Integrate waterfront infrastructure to provide connectivity for personal mobility (for locals and visitors) CITY OF NF PRIORITY Connect community to waterfront Trends in Mobility

11 West River Trail NRG Improvements

12 NRG Improvements

13 Wheatfield Trail

14 West River Trail

15 West River Trail

16 West River Trail

17 Riverway South

18 Riverway South

19 Riverway South

20 Scenic Parkway North

21 PARKING LOT 1 MAIN ST. DISCOVERY CENTER AQUARIUM WHIRLPOOL/ UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FINDLAY DR. CANADA CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS Scenic Parkway North

22 Scenic Parkway North

23 Scenic Parkway North

24 Scenic Parkway North

25 Scenic Parkway North

26 Scenic Parkway North

27 Scenic Parkway North

28 Scenic Parkway North

29 Scenic Parkway North

30 North Trails to Lewiston

31 Lewiston Village Trail

32 Connections to Trails

33 Whirlpool Rapids Bridge (Currently in Use) Whirlpool Rapids Railroad Bridge (Not Currently in Use) Lower Deck of Bridge is for Vehicular Traffic Side walk Upper Deck of Bridge is for Train Use Whirlpool Bridge

34 Lower Deck of Bridge is for Vehicular Traffic Upper Deck of Bridge is for Train Use Whirlpool Bridge

35 What Does Great Look Like? In partnership with GO Bike, GBNRTC, NYPA, NYSDOT, ESD, NYSOPRHP, Erie and Niagara counties, Buffalo, The Tonawandas and Niagara Falls, we will have the most bikable 2 city region in North America. Empowering residents and visitors to explore the magnificent Niagara waterfront by bicycle, on foot, and via other forms of personal mobility Greenway Goal

36 Project Feedback The planning process will be successful if it Figures out how connections can be made Ensures varied input Promotes public awareness and education Builds biking constituency Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

37 Project Feedback What should be in the plan Connections Linking Improving the Public Realm Health and Accessibility Accountability & Enforcement Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

38 Project Feedback What should be in the plan Connections Parks [state and local] Schools Other Towns Transit Regional Trails Greenway Water & Blueways International Linking Tourism & Communities Become the nexus of the Niagara Peninsula Improving the Public Realm Creating Gateways Creativity in Design Public Amenities Inviting Places Health and Accessibility Complete Streets Bikes & Peds Safe Routes & Crossings for Students Accountability & Enforcement Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

Project Feedback Other big picture questions we ve heard How do we use cycling infrastructure to drive tourism spending in neighborhoods? How do we use cycling to connect residents to jobs downtown?

39 Project Feedback Other big picture questions we ve heard How do we use cycling infrastructure to drive tourism spending in neighborhoods? How do we use cycling to connect residents to jobs downtown? How do we make sure residents access and feel connected to the new parkway? How do we make Hyde Park a cycling destination in keeping with City in a Park plan? Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

40 Analysis and Alternatives Methodology Pull out recommended capital projects from existing Planning documents and build a network; Examine geographical data; Develop a data driven bicycle network; Compare networks; Discuss network strengths and limitations; Gather public input; Discuss network priorities Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

41 Analysis and Alternatives Recommended Investments Examined all relevant planning documents informing the future of the City of Niagara Falls, Niagara County, and the Buffalo Niagara Region; Pulled out all relevant recommended projects that related to highway removal, street redesign, and trail systems Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

Analysis and Alternatives Examine Geographic Data Examine the City s land use; Investigate crash data; Interpret bicycle and pedestrian count data; Determine the need for intervention

42 Analysis and Alternatives Examine Geographic Data Examine the City s land use; Investigate crash data; Interpret bicycle and pedestrian count data; Determine the need for intervention based off of high bicycle counts and crash data; Connect schools, communities, employment centers, and larger transit services; Build network Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

43 Analysis and Alternatives Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

44 Analysis and Alternatives Data Driven Network Crashes occurred overwhelmingly in residential neighborhoods and along commercial corridors expressing the need for speed and design interventions; High volumes of bicycle traffic occur on larger arterial roads with higher volumes of vehicle traffic; Network should address roads with a history of conflict; Network should address where riders already are Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

45 Analysis and Alternatives Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

Analysis and Alternatives Limitations GBNRTC crash data does not account for 2017-2018 FARS crash data is limited to 2015-2017 Bicycle and Pedestrian counts reflect Downtown core and Niagara Falls

46 Analysis and Alternatives Limitations GBNRTC crash data does not account for FARS crash data is limited to Bicycle and Pedestrian counts reflect Downtown core and Niagara Falls BLVD, counts do not capture majority of residential neighborhoods Roads under State jurisdiction cover large portions of the combined bicycle network, making meaningful linear connections and major interventions difficult to implement without State cooperation Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

47 Analysis and Alternatives Visualizing the Network Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

Analysis and Alternatives Bicycle / Ped Count: Pine & Hyde Park (2013) 4/80 Walnut & Hyde Park (2011) 0/21 Ferry & Hyde Park (2013) 21/21 Crashes: Crash with a Pedestrian

48 Analysis and Alternatives Bicycle / Ped Count: Pine & Hyde Park (2013) 4/80 Walnut & Hyde Park (2011) 0/21 Ferry & Hyde Park (2013) 21/21 Crashes: Crash with a Pedestrian 3/22/2016 Near Sherwood Ave Crash with a Cyclist 9/27/2014 Intersection of Pine Ave Fatal Crash 11/26/2015 Drunk Driver on Pine Ave Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

City in a Park: City of Niagara Falls 2013 Citywide Parks Master Pla City of Niagara Falls; New York State

49 Analysis and Alternatives <- Bergmann Associates; Joy Kuebler Landscape Architect; Heritage Strategies, LLC; New York State Department of State; City of Niagara Falls City in a Park: City of Niagara Falls 2013 Citywide Parks Master Pla City of Niagara Falls; New York State Department of State Niagara Waterfront Opportunity Area: Final Brownfield Opportunity Area Nomination Report. -> Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

50 Analysis and Alternatives Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

51 Analysis and Alternatives Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

to provide on-street parking for residential and trail access Using existing sidewalk provide a pedestrian

52 Analysis and Alternatives Removal of center turn lane to include landscaping with cut outs for left-hand turns; Remove lane of traffic to build a twoway protected cycle track; Narrow traffic lanes and incorporate shoulder to provide on-street parking for residential and trail access Using existing sidewalk provide a pedestrian trail along gill creek extending connection from Hyde Park to Gill Creek Park Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

53 Analysis and Alternatives Public Input Source:University at Buffalo Regional Institute, The State University of New York At Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning One Region Forward: A New Way to Plan for Buffalo Niagara. Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

54 Analysis and Alternatives Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

55 Partner Project Update Project Timeline Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

56 Communications Update Survey update Canvassing & tabling Neighborhood based meetings Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

57 Public Meeting Preview Bring Public Up to Date on Project History Refine Plan Vision/ Objectives Gather Additional Survey Input Community Mapping Exercise Move Toward Prioritization and Organizing Principles Creating a Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls

58 Bicycle Friendly Niagara Falls THANK YOU!! Anthony Armstrong: Thea Hassan: Cory Holzerland: SUPPORTED BY THE OATH COMMUNITY FUND AT THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR GREATER BUFFALO

Hennepin County Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning

Hennepin County Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning 1 Value of bicycle and sidewalk systems Safety Livability Mobility Health Personal Finances Economic Sustainability Clean Air Recreation Parking and congestion