Creating Better Streets and Better Communities -through Road Diets

February 10, 2007

Dan Gallagher, AICPCharlotte DOTdgallagher@ci.charlotte.nc.us

Issues to Discuss

1. Case StudiesEdgewater Drive – Orlando, FL – 2001East Boulevard – Charlotte, NC - 2006

2. Lessons Learned

Edgewater Drive Case Study

• Neighborhood Area Plan• 4-lane to 3-lane conversion with bike

lanes and on-street parking.• 7 traffic signals along 2 mile segment• High school, grocery store, retail,

cafés, office and a Moe’s• 20,500 VPD - High travel speeds• Commuter route traveling through a

neighborhood – FDOT road

Par Ave.

Lakeview St.

Smith St

Edg

ewat

er D

r.

Princeton St.

Study Area

City

FDOT

GroupPlan

College Park Neighborhood Horizon Plan

• Redesign Edgewater Drive to be community enhancing and pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

• Conduct a corridor analysis to look at redesign opportunities.

• Enhance pedestrian crossings.

Called for significant attention to Edgewater Drive.

Recommendations:

College Park Neighborhood Horizon Plan (cont)

• Transfer Edgewater Drive from FDOT to City jurisdiction.

• Make Edgewater Drive more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

• “Reinvent” Edgewater Drive.

So we did public workshops and lots of education…

Recommendations:

Reinvented Edgewater Drive

Concept

Edgewater Drive Resurfacing Project

• Project scheduled in FDOT 5-year work program.

• FDOT was open to 3-lane option if City takes over jurisdiction

• Cost $589,000

• Changes contingent upon acceptance by CPNA and College Park Merchants Assn.

• We would do before/after studies…

Before After

Edgewater Drive – Orlando, FL

Crash Rate

12.6

8.4

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

Cras

h Ra

te (p

er M

VM)

Before After

1 crash every 1 crash every 2.5 days2.5 days

34% Reduction

(146 per yr)(146 per yr)

1 crash every 1 crash every 4.2 days4.2 days(87 per yr)(87 per yr)

Injury Rate

3.6

1.2

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

Inju

ry R

ate

(per

MVM

)

Before After

68% Reduction

1 injury every 1 injury every 9 days9 days

(41 per yr)(41 per yr) 1 injury every 1 injury every 30 days30 days

(12 per yr)(12 per yr)

15.7%

7.5%9.8% 8.9%

29.5%

19.6%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

Perc

ent o

f Veh

icle

s Tr

avel

ing

over

36

MPH

Before AfterBefore BeforeAfter

North End Middle South EndAfter

Speeding Analysis

Edgewater Dr Traffic Volumes

20,50018,100

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Vehi

cles

per

Day

Before After

Now21,000+

On-Street Parking Utilization

29%

41%

0%5%

10%15%20%

25%30%35%

40%45%

Park

ing

Util

izat

ion

Perc

enta

ge

Before After

Pedestrian Volumes

2,136

2,632

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Num

ber o

f Ped

estr

ians

Before After

23% Increase

Bicycle Volumes

375

486

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Num

ber o

f Bic

ycle

s

Before After

30% Increase

Evaluation Matrix

Avoid Increasing Traffic On Neighborhood Streets YES

Reduce Speeding on Edgewater Dr YES

Increase Bicyclist Volumes YES

Increase Pedestrian Volumes YES

Reduce Crashes YES

Increase On-Street Parking Use Rates YES

Increase Pedestrian Satisfaction (Residents) YES

Increase Parking Satisfaction (Residents) YES

Noise levels go down…

East Boulevard Case Study

• Neighborhood Plan adopted in 2002• 4-lane to 3-lane conversion with bike lanes

– no on-street parking• Regional park, grocery store, retail,

cafés, office, condos and a Moe’s• 21,400 VPD - High travel speeds• Commuter route traveling through a

neighborhood – City road

3 crashes: ped (2) bike (1)

11 crashes:ped (4) bike (7)

East Boulevard Pedscape Plan

What did the Residents Want?• More comfortable for all roadway

users – bikes, pedestrians, transit patrons and motorists

• Enhance pedestrian activity on sidewalks, improve pedestrian crossings

• Be able to cross the street without getting run over

• More sidewalk cafés/outdoor seating

• Tree-lined avenue

What we knew about East Boulevard – as 4 lanes

• 4-lanes of capacity is compromised by large number of left-turns – no left-turn lane

• Not pedestrian-friendly but lots of pedestrians –difficult to cross street

• High travel speeds – wide range of speeds (44 mph)

• 21,400 vpd….lots of slaloming• High level of bike/pedestrian accidents• High level of rear-ends and left-turn collisions

Why did we consider a 3-lane conversion?

• High accident corridor• Accommodate same level of traffic and maintain

“Dilworth friendly” travel speeds – most prudent driver

• Eliminate higher speed, aggressive travel and “slaloming” down the street

• Move vehicles away from the pedestrians on the sidewalks

• Allowed us to implement 5 ped-refuge islands

How did we advance the project?

• We cannot accomplish their vision without changing the corridor – showed them a 3-lane concept

• Conducted detailed traffic simulation (Synchro) that showed 3-lane conversion would not significantly impact vehicular LOS

• Worked with residents/businesses regarding the proposed project and design details

• Neighborhood voted unanimously to support the project in April 2005

BeforeConcept

East Boulevard - Concept

Benefits…

Project Budget & Schedule

• Budget - $800,000• Project had four key construction elements:

• Road Surface Milling - completed• Ped-refuge Island Construction - completed• Road Re-surfacing and Striping - completed• Landscaping – completed

BeforeAfter

Average Daily Traffic

18400

21400

02000400060008000

1000012000140001600018000200002200024000

Before Road Diet After Road Diet

AD

T

14% Decrease

85th Percentile Speed

30

32

34

36

38

40

42

44

Before After

BeforeAfter

Corridor travel times remained the same…

Issues to Discuss

1. Case StudiesEdgewater Drive – Orlando, FL – 2003East Boulevard – Charlotte, NC - 2006

2. Lessons learned about diets

Charlotte Observer, June 2004

Lessons Learned• Project should begin at

neighborhood level…what do they want from their main street?

• 3-laning seems counter-intuitive - need to educate –show who else is on a diet

• Get Council and neighborhood on board

Who else is on the diet?• 4-lane to 3-lane conversions are being

done nation-wide• Striking a balance between people and

cars to create livable neighborhoods• Many communities are reestablishing

their Main Streets, Village Centers and “people places”

ConversionsWhat are some Examples of Successful Road Conversions?

Location Road ADT: Before ADT: AfterSan Leandro, CA East 14th Street 17,700 16,700Duluth, MN 21st Ave. East 17,000 17,000Ramsey County, MN Rice Street 18,700 16,400Toronto, Canada St. George Street 15,000 15,000Kirkland, WA Lake Washington Blvd 23,000 25,900Seattle, WA North 45th Street 19,400 20,300Covington, WA SR 516 29,900 32,800Bellevue, WA Montana Street 18,500 18,500East Lansing, MI Grand River Blvd. 23,000 23,000Santa Monica, CA Main Street 20,000 18,000Helena, MT US 12 18,000 18,000San Francisco, CA Valencia Street 22,200 20,000Oakland, CA High Street 22,000 24,000Orlando, FL Edgewater Drive 20,500 21,000Seattle, WA Madison Street 17,000 18,000Reno, NV South Wells Ave 18,000 17,500University Place, WA 67th Ave 17,000 15,000University Place, WA Cirque Ave 16,900 14,400East Lansing, MI West Grand River Ave 18,000 18,000East Lansing, MI Abbott Road 15,000 21,000

Lessons Learned• A concept drawing is 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

Recommended Before/After Studies

• Volumes• Speeds• Travel time• Accident rates• Video of peak queues• Bike/ped volumes (if necessary)• Resident/business surveys (if necessary)

Lessons Learned

• Make sure signal timing changes occur at time of project completion

• Expect your refuge islands to be hit

• Conversions are not for the meek, but they are worth it!

From Charlotte Observer(June 2006)

Comments made during construction…

Judge the Project at Completion

Questions you can expect…• If you go from 4-lanes to 2-lanes, where

does ½ the traffic go?• In a time when most communities are

widening roads, why are we narrowing ours?• How will traffic go around stopped buses?• Will this impact emergency response?• Are you doing this just to accommodate

bicyclists?• What if it doesn’t work?

Questions

Dan Gallagher, AICPTransportation Planning ManagerCharlotte Department of Transportation704-336-4984 dgallagher@ci.charlotte.nc.us