Image: Mary Kalhor Photography

Open For Change! How do get your Open Streets Juuuuust Right

Mike Lydon, CNU-A @MikeLydon | @streetplans | @Open_Streets

5 Common Types

Open Streets

Car-Free Days

Weekend Walks

Tactical Demonstration Projects

Play Streets

______________________________

Putting it All Together

Whats Next: Policy Be Intentional

We Want to Open Our Streets. But, How? Where? Why?

Open Streets

Car-Free Days

Weekend Walks

Play Streets

Demonstration Project

L

S

M

Purpose, Scale, + Context Matter:

Open Streets temporarily close streets to motor vehicles so that people may use them for walking, cycling, skating, or any other physical and social activity.

Open Streets

Car-Free Days

Weekend Walks

Play Streets

Demonstration Project

L

S

M

Primary Purpose - Physical Activity - Behavior Shift

Context Neighborhood | City | Region

Length 1 15 miles

Key Elements: - Activity Hubs/ Community Programming - Frequency is more important than length

Car Free Days temporarily close streets to motor vehicles, largely as a means for reducing air and noise pollution.

Primary Purpose - Reduce Pollution - Climate Change Education - Behavior Shift

Context City | District

Length Varies Greatly

Key Elements: - Metrics for evaluating environmental benefits - Public Education - Communication - Logistics

Open Streets

Car-Free Days

Weekend Walks

Play Streets

Demonstration Project

L

S

M

Weekend Walks are multi-block neighborhood events on commercial streets temporarily closed to motor vehicles.

Open Streets

Car-Free Days

Weekend Walks

Play Streets

Demonstration Project

L

S

M

Primary Purpose - Support Local Businesses - Placemaking - Neighborhood Pride

Context Neighborhood

Length 5 10 blocks

Key Elements: - Programming / Installations - Business Involvement

Demonstration Projects repurpose street space to test public space, transportation, or other neighborhood placemaking possibilities.

Open Streets

Car-Free Days

Weekend Walks

Play Streets

Demonstration Project

L

S

M

Primary Purpose - Test Street Redesign Concepts - Educate/Inform City + Citizens

Context Neighborhood | Block

Length 1 5 blocks

Key Elements: - Neighborhood Involvement - Data Collection

Play Streets are car-free spaces on quieter residential blocks that provide children with a safe place to engage in physical activity and play.

Open Streets

Car-Free Days

Weekend Walks

Play Streets

Demonstration Project

L

S

M

Primary Purpose - Physical / Social Activity for Kids and families

Context Block

Length 1 2 blocks

Key Elements: - Neighborhood Involvement - School / Parks

Putting it All Together: Vision, Program, + Policy

Case Study: Burlington, Vermont

Maple St.

Flynn Ave.

N. Prosp

ect St.S. Pro

spect St.

Spruce St.

Howard St.

Locust St.

Bank St.

Elmw

oo

d A

ve.

Park St.

Inte

rval

e A

ve.

Archibald St.

Wood

lawn R

d.

N. C

hamp

lain St.

Loomis St.

Queen City Park Rd.

Poirie

r Pl.

Georg

e St.

Buell St.

College St.

S. Cham

plain St.

S. W

illar

d

St.

Lakeside Ave.

Ferguson Ave.

Farr

ell S

t.

Adams St.

Cherry Ln.

Pine St.

N.

Win

oo

ski A

ve.

N. U

nio

n St

.

Pearl St.Co

lchest

er Ave.

East Ave.

Mansfield

Ave.

Riverside Ave.

Pomeroy St.

Cham

plai

n Pk

wy.

Chase

St.

Uninversity Place

Battery St.

Rte. 7 / Shelburne Rd

.

Main St.

NorthSt.

Manhattan Dr

.

St. Paul St.Home Ave.

Pine St.

S. Union St.

Church St.

North Ave.

Ethan Allen Pkw

y.

Starr F

arm Rd

.

Plattsburg

h Ave.

Killar

ney D

r.

Stanif

ord Rd

.

Route 127

Gosse

Cou

rt Farrington Pkwy.

Stanbury Rd.

North Ave.

Lyman Ave.

Wells St.

Austin Dr.

Gazo Ave.

Sunset Dr.

Venus Ave.

N. View Dr.

Fairh

olt

Hardy A

ve.

West

Rd.

Cotta

ge G

rove

Birch

Cou

rt

Moore D

r.

Sh

ore

Rd.

Surf Rd. Villa

ge G

reen

Institu

te Rd

.

Dep

ot St.

Peru St.

Murray St.

Cherry St.

Pine St.

Kilburn St.

Car

olin

e St

.

S. W

illar

d St

.

Ledge Rd.

Sears Ln.Harrison Ave.

Brig

gs

St.

Proctor Ave.

Lind

en T

err.

Clymer St.

DeForest H

ts.

Mea

dow

Rd

.

Pearl St.

Main St.

Gro

ve S

t.

James Ave.

Heinb

erg R

d.

Wild

wood

Rd.

Lake

wood

Pkwy

.

Sarat

oga

Ave.

North Ave.

Route 127

Lakeview Terr.

Front St.

Intervale Rd.

Wal

nut

St.

Ward S

t.

Gre

en S

t.H

yde

St.

Prospect P

kwy.

.

King St.

Brooks Ave.

Univ. Heig

hts

Colchester

Leddy Park

EthanAllenPark

StarrFarm

Dog Park

LakeviewCemetery

NorthBeach Park

LoneRock Point

BatteryPark

Roosevelt Park

WaterfrontPark

University of Vermont

CentennialWoods

Natural Area

ChamplainCollege

OakedgePark

Red RocksPark

BurlingtonCountry Club

IntervaleCenter

Existing Bikeways

City Boundary

Park / Open Space

Shared Use Path

Bicycle Lane

Shared Use Lane Markings

1/4 mile0 1/2 mile 1 mile 1.5 miles 2 milesS AN F RANC ISCOS AN F RANC ISCO

Drove Alone

Carpooled

Used Transit

Walked

Biked

Worked at home

2013

19.4%

5.2%

9.5%

5.6%5.7%

53.6%

Existing Cycling Network

Maple St.

Flynn Ave.

N. Prosp

ect St.S. Pro

spect St.

Spruce St.

Howard St.

Locust St.

Bank St.

Elmw

oo

d A

ve.

Park St.

Inte

rval

e A

ve.

Archibald St.

Wood

lawn R

d.

N. C

hamp

lain St.

Loomis St.

Queen City Park Rd.

Poirie

r Pl.

Georg

e St.

Buell St.

College St.

S. Cham

plain St.

S. W

illar

d

St.

Lakeside Ave.

Ferguson Ave.

Farr

ell S

t.

Adams St.

Cherry Ln.

Pine St.

N.

Win

oo

ski A

ve.

N. U

nio

n St

.

Pearl St.Co

lchest

er Ave.

East Ave.

Mansfield

Ave.

Riverside Ave.

Pomeroy St.

Cham

plai

n Pk

wy.

Chase

St.

Uninversity Place

Battery St.

Rte. 7 / Shelburne Rd

.

Main St.

NorthSt.

Manhattan Dr

.

St. Paul St.Home Ave.

Pine St.

S. Union St.

Church St.

North Ave.

Ethan Allen Pkw

y.

Starr F

arm Rd

.

Plattsburg

h Ave.

Killar

ney D

r.

Stanif

ord Rd

.

Route 127

Gosse

Cou

rt Farrington Pkwy.

Stanbury Rd.

North Ave.

Lyman Ave.

Wells St.

Austin Dr.

Gazo Ave.

Sunset Dr.

Venus Ave.

N. View Dr.

Fairh

olt

Hardy A

ve.

West

Rd.

Cotta

ge G

rove

Birch

Cou

rt

Moore D

r.

Sh

ore

Rd.

Surf Rd. Villa

ge G

reen

Institu

te Rd

.

Dep

ot St.

Peru St.

Murray St.

Cherry St.

Pine St.

Kilburn St.

Car

olin

e St

.

S. W

illar

d St

.

Ledge Rd.

Sears Ln.Harrison Ave.

Brig

gs

St.

Proctor Ave.

Lind

en T

err.

Clymer St.

DeForest H

ts.

Mea

dow

Rd

.

Pearl St.

Main St.

Gro

ve S

t.

James Ave.

Heinb

erg R

d.

Wild

wood

Rd.

Lake

wood

Pkwy

.

Sarat

oga

Ave.

North Ave.

Route 127

Lakeview Terr.

Front St.

Intervale Rd.

Wal

nut

St.

Ward S

t.

Gre

en S

t.H

yde

St.

Prospect P

kwy.

.

King St.

Brooks Ave.

Univ. Heig

hts

Colchester

Leddy Park

EthanAllenPark

StarrFarm

Dog Park

LakeviewCemetery

NorthBeach Park

LoneRock Point

BatteryPark

Roosevelt Park

WaterfrontPark

University of Vermont

CentennialWoods

Natural Area

ChamplainCollege

OakedgePark

Red RocksPark

BurlingtonCountry Club

IntervaleCenter

Proposed Bikeway Network (20-Year Time Frame)

City Boundary

Shared Use Path

Neighborhood Greenway

Protected Bike Lane

Buffered/Conventional Bicycle Lane

Advisory Bicycle Lane

Shared Use Lane Markings

Potential Path Easement

Park

University/Campus Area

1/4 mile0 1/2 mile 1 mile 1.5 miles 2 milesS AN F RANC ISCOS AN F RANC ISCO

2026 Mode Share Goal

22%

7%

12%

37%

12%10%

Drove Alone

Carpooled

Used Transit

Walked

Biked

Worked at home

Vision: Proposed Cycling Network

How Do We Operationalize The Vision?

For One, Lets Learn from History

Pine Street Demo Project Map LegendArt Hop Event activities and equipment

Temporary curb extensions made with paint and delineators

Moveable Delineators

Plants

Benches, Seats

Staffed outreach Parklet with tables and activities

Kilb

urn

St.

Pine St.

Pg. 1 of 2

Event Set-up

Concept Plan

Pine and Kilburn CurbExtension Pilot

NOT FOR

CONSTRUCTION

Installation: Friday 9/11 from 9:00am - 12:00pm

Tear-down: Sunday 9/13 from 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Refer to traffic control plan for additional details

Battery St.

North St.

Manhattan Dr

.

Church St.

Elmw

ood A

ve.

Inte

rval

e Av

e.

Archibald Street

North Ave.

N. C

hamp

lain Street

Loomis St.

Drew

St.

Strong

St.

Pitkin St.

Wal

nut S

t.

Willow St.

NorthSt.

Booth St.

N. W

inoo

ski A

venu

e

N. W

inooski Ave.

N. U

nion St.

Pearl St.

Grant St.Old North End DemonstrationOpen Streets BTV Route: 10am - 3pm on Sunday 9/13. For more information, visit: http://openstreetsbtv.com/

Demonstration Project Route (Saturday 9/12 and Sunday 9/13)Parking-protected bike lane

Neighborhood greenway with bikeway markings

Upgraded, planter-protected bike lane

Site 2: Old North End with Open Streets BTV!

Site 1: South End @ Art Hop!

Intentionally Leverage Programs, Like Open Streets!

Site 1 - Before

Site 2 - After

Art Hop 10,000 attendees

Protected Bike Lanes + Intersection Redesign

Image: Julie Campoli

Open Streets! Engaging 2,000+ People

Image: Julie Campoli

Engaging Key Municipal Stakeholders

Top Priority Streets

Priority Streets by Respondent NeighborhoodNote that while the overall priority between streets is shown above, there are some sensible differences in priorityper the neighborhood of the respondent. For example, people in the Old North End prefered Battery Street at ahigher rate than the rest of the city. Likewise for people outside Burlington and Shelburne St, people in the SouthEnd and Winooski/Union, and people in the New North End with North Ave.

Current and Future Biking FrequencyHow often do you bike with kids or other vulnerable bicyclists, with the streets as they are today (Current) and ifall selected priority streets had protected bike lanes (Future)

Note that among people with valid current and future responses, the number that said they would bike less, thesame amount, or more if selected priority streets had protected bike lanes is as follows:

Less Frequent 7Same 209More Frequent156

The Demand is Real

Source: Local Motion

Image: Julie Campoli

WH

Y?

Cha

pter

2

Pub

lic In

put,

Publ

ic Ac

tion

41

WHAT WE LEARNEDThe demonstration projects represented an unprecedented collaboration between Burlingtons government agencies, advocates, local businesses, and residents, and they helped our team gather input for the plan. They also allowed a broad base of people not normally involved with the technical planning process to experience new and unfamiliar street design types. If this were the only outcome, then the projects could be considered a success!

Yet, beyond raising awareness and gathering input, our team learned what didnt work. Some aspects of the designs tested were imperfect. For example, the number of parking spaces moved off the curb on N. Winooski Ave. limited visibility for motorists turning into driveways located along the west side the street. Such conflict points between people driving and cycling could be ameliorated by changing the design approach, which underscores the value of testing design in the first place.

That said, the conversations we had with people during the demonstrations helped us deepen our understanding of what people like about protected bikeways, and what their interests and concerns are for more permanent infrastructure. Of course, there are many ways to design protected bike lanes besides the parking and planter-protected types shown in the demonstrations. Public input during the demonstration underscored that adding protected facilities remains a high priority for people in Burlington.

In addition to sparking important community conversations, the demonstrations allowed our team to gather some hard data. The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) collected vehicle speed and volume data on North Winooski Ave. and North Union St. from Friday, September 11 through Wednesday, September 23. The data allowed us to see how vehicle traffic was affected with and without the demonstration projects. Here is what we learned:*

Volumes of vehicles did not change significantly; in fact volumes on both Union and Winooski were slightly higher during the pilot than on the following weekend, possibly due to re-routing of traffic during the Open Streets BTV event.

Vehicle speeds were significantly lower during the demonstrations, as shown in the graphs to the right.

Thus, the two demonstrations showed that each of the primary corridors has additional capacity for motoring, and that redesigning the street with protected bikeways could lead to a much higher percentage of drivers observing the speed limit!

*Speed data (right) was collected in partnership with CCRPC. Data is limited to between the hours of 10:00 a.m. on Saturday through 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Demonstration project data was collected during these hours September 12 to 13; Normal Conditions data was collected during these same hours on September 19-20.

THE DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS RESULTED IN A MUCH HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF DRIVERS OBSERVING THE SPEED LIMIT.*

During the Demonstrations, Local Motion surveyed over 330 people to determine their top priorities for the location of protected bike lanes. As youll see in Chapter 2, this plan recommends protected bike lanes at all of the Top 5 priority locations:

Main St.Pearl St./Colchester Ave.Winooski Ave./Union St.North Ave.Battery St.

IDENTIFYING PRIORITY LOCATIONS FOR PROTECTED BIKES LANES

SPEEDING ON N. WINOOSKI AVE.

NORMAL CONDITIONS

~ 1 in 4 vehicles (28%) did not observe the speed limit

WITH THE DEMO IN PLACE

Speeding dropped to 6% of vehicles counted

SPEEDING ON N. UNION ST.

NORMAL CONDITIONS

~ 1 in 4 vehicles (23%) did not observe the speed limit

WITH THE DEMO IN PLACE

Speeding dropped to 6% of vehicles counted

What We Learned

5 8

35

61

578 812 8

North Winooski Avenue

5 7

35

61

598 811 8

Phase 1

5 7

35

61

588 812 8

Phase 2

What the City Learned: Put it All Together

Whats Next? The Evolution of Livable Streets

Thank You!

Mike Lydon, CNU-A streetplans.org

@MikeLydon | @streetplans | @Open_Streets

S AN F RANC ISCO