Joshua Saak, P.E., PTOE Traffic Design Engineer Ada County Highway District May 23, 2013 Creating Great Streets Through Road Diets and Conversions The Charlotte Experience
Topics to Discuss Charlotte s movement to Complete Streets Charlotte Road Diet - Case Studies
27 road diets - completed 20 more being studied 1 1 East Boulevard - Complex 2 2 Selwyn Ave. - Simple
East Boulevard Complex! Phase II 2010 18,800 Phase III 2011 19,300 Phase I 2006 20,100 Office Retail centers Multi-family Major Hospital Park/greenway Bus Route
More comfortable for all roadway users bikes, pedestrians, transit users and motorists Enhance pedestrian activity on sidewalks Facilitate neighborhood connectivity Sidewalk cafés/outdoor seating What did the Residents Want?
How did we advance the project? Not able to accomplish the neighborhood s vision without changing the corridor Conducted detailed traffic simulation (Synchro) Worked with residents/businesses through PIMs Created advocates for the project
40 feet wide Phase 1 - Before
Phase 1 After Before Concept Benefits
15 feet East Boulevard Phase 1 - After
Charlotte Observer, June 2004
From Charlotte Observer (June 2006) Comments made during construction
Judge the Project at Completion
70 feet wide Phase 2 - Before
East Boulevard
East Phase I Volumes 2000 East Blvd Phase I - Before vs. After 1500 All Traffic Volume 1000 Westbound All Before WB Before All Before EB Before WB Before All After EB Before WB After EB After 500 Eastbound 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Hour
East Phase II Volumes 1800 1600 East Blvd Phase II - Before vs. After All Traffic 1400 1200 Volume 1000 800 600 Westbound All Before EB Before All Before WB Before EB Before All After II WB Before EB After II WB After II 400 Eastbound 200 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Hour
Phase II Speed Results Eastbound 85th Percentile 52 50 48 46 48 48 46 47 Speed 44 42 40 38 36 42 43 42 35 EB Before EB After 34 32 30 Peak AM Off-Peak AM Off-Peak PM Peak PM 52 50 48 50 Westbound 85th Percentile 51 49 48 46 Phase 1 3-4 mph drop Phase 2 bigger drop Speed 44 42 40 38 41 42 43 42 WB Before WB After 36 34 Note: Speeds recorded and calculated using Nu-Metrics HiStar. 32 30 Peak AM Off-Peak AM Off-Peak PM Peak PM
East Blvd. Phase I Crashes Overall crashes decreased from 2.64 to 1.67 crashes/month Related Crash Type Expected To Rear End Increase Angle Types Decrease Sideswipe Decrease Head-on Decrease Parked Decrease Unrelated??? Results % Crashes/Month - 22 % - 0.1-68 % - 0.7-58 % - 0.1-100 % - 0.03 + 26 % + 0.01-22 % - 0.1 Crash Type Expected To Before After Bike??? 1 12 Pedestrian??? 1 2 Before data: After data: 36 months 57 months
East Blvd. Phase II Crashes Overall crashes decreased from 1.97 to 1.86 crashes/month Related Crash Type Expected To Rear End Increase Angle Types Decrease Sideswipe Decrease Head-on Decrease Parked Decrease Unrelated??? Results % Crashes/Month + 132 % + 0.6-27 % - 0.2-43 % - 0.1-100 % -0.03-71 % - 0.01-74 % - 0.3 Crash Type Expected To Before After Bike??? 0 0 Pedestrian??? 2 0 Before data: After data: 36 months 21 months
Selwyn Avenue Simple! Single Family Multi-family University & Public Schools Retail centers Park/greenway 20,300 AAWDT Road to be resurfaced 4 lanes or 3 lanes?
Conversion Typical Section Before Concept 40 feet wide
Selwyn Avenue After
Selwyn Avenue Road Diet
Selwyn Volumes 2500 2000 Selwyn Avenue Before vs. After Conversion Volumes Volume 1500 1000 All Traffic Change in Peak Hour OB = -9.32% Change in 3-hour OB = +0.32% Outbound All Before Inbound Before All Before Outbound Before Inbound Before All After Outbound Before Inbound After Outbound After 500 Inbound 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 24 Hour
Selwyn Speed Results 50 Southbound 85th Percentile 48 46 47 46 45 45 Speed 44 42 40 38 43 42 43 38 SB Before SB After 36 34 32 30 Peak AM Off-Peak AM Off-Peak PM Peak PM 50 48 46 47 Northbound 85th Percentile 48 47 47 Speed 44 42 40 38 41 43 43 42 NB Before NB After 36 34 Note: Speeds recorded and calculated using Nu-Metrics HiStar. 32 30 Peak AM Off-Peak AM Off-Peak PM Peak PM
Selwyn Crashes Overall crashes decreased from 1.97 to 1.67 crashes/month Related Crash Type Expected To Rear End Increase Angle Types Decrease Sideswipe Decrease Head-on Decrease Parked Decrease Unrelated??? Results % Crashes/Month + 90 % + 0.5-24 % - 0.2-90 % - 0.4 Zero Before and After - 100 % - 0.03-76 % - 0.2 Crash Type Expected To Before After Bike??? 0 0 Pedestrian??? 0 0 Before data: After data: 36 months 21 months
Lessons Learned Project should begin at neighborhood level what do they want from their street? Seems counterintuitive - need to educate show examples Get Council/Commission and neighborhood on board Build advocates for the project
Visuals are worth a 1000 words Construction period will be difficult especially with islands and stamped crosswalks Weather the storm during construction be proactive with media Do before/after studies Lessons Learned
Questions?