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CC:BPAC- Presentation and Preliminary Comments on Bikeway Projects Recommended in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan
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Meeting Date: September 16, 2019
Contact Person/Dept: Heba El-Guindy/Public Works Department
Phone Number: (310) 253-5628
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: [X]
Council Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date:
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (09/10/19);
Department Approval: Charles D. Herbertson, PW Director/City Engineer (09/03/19)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council and the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) receive a presentation regarding the ongoing development of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan; and (2) provide preliminary comments on the draft bikeway projects contained in the Plan.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
In July of 2017, the City of Culver City entered into an agreement with Alta Planning & Design, Inc. for the purpose of developing a Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan. This Plan is currently near completion and is expected to be brought for review and approval by the BPAC then City Council in January/February of 2020. One of the main updates presently underway is for the collision data and associated analysis, which was previously performed for years 2005 through 2014 and is being replaced with up-to-date data. Following the ongoing update, the Plan will be circulated internally for review and comments by the different departments including the Transportation Department, as well as the Police and Fire Departments. All comments received will be documented and reflected in the Plan as feasible.
In advance of this final review, staff wishes to obtain feedback of the City Council and BPAC on the draft list of Bikeway Projects (Attachment 1) and associated Map that shows the different bikeway links within the grid and recommended classes/types (Attachment 2). This advance feedback is being sought since some of the bikeway projects, particularly Class II and Class IV facilities, could potentially generate the need for prohibiting parking, redesigning of center medians, reducing roadway capacity, establishing physical bike protection at intersections, and/or other changes. The potential changes and associated impacts will be evaluated in details when the individual projects are pursued for implementation. Additional community consultation will also be an integral part of the future projects’ implementation.
The recommended network contains Class III bike routes and boulevards that will be identified through signage and pavement markings on local residential streets with pavement width of 40 feet or less. These bike routes are designated on streets with low volumes of traffic to serve the less experienced cyclists such as children in their routes to and from schools and parks. Once approved, Class III projects can be implemented in the near-term and will involve relatively low costs.
Key east-west and north-south bike routes will be designated in the form of Class II (bike lanes and buffered bike lanes) and Class IV (protected and physically separated bike lanes) on major collectors and arterial corridors. These higher classes of bike facilities are intended to serve longer trip lengths of different trip types connecting between origins and destinations within and outside of Culver City. The subject corridors such as Centinela Avenue, Culver Boulevard, Jefferson Boulevard, Overland Avenue, Playa Street, McLaughlin Avenue, Sawtelle Boulevard, Sepulveda Boulevard, Washington Boulevard and Washington Place serve high traffic volumes with relatively high speeds. Consequently, when designating bike lanes on such corridors, it is important to ensure good safety conditions. Painted buffers will be provided, where pavement width permits, to further enhance safety conditions. Physical devices will also be provided within the buffers (for Class IV bike lanes) along long road segments with limited/no access driveways and other intersections. In such cases, auto parking and bus stop platforms will have to be moved to the outside of the Class IV bike lanes.
It should be noted that a few projects are already under development such as the two-way cycle track on Elenda Street, and the Expo Downtown Connector that could potentially include a Class I segment through the downtown plaza area.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is currently no financial impact. The individual projects will be brought for Council consideration and approval in the future at which time staff will provide cost estimates of any detailed operational and environmental review that may be needed, design and construction costs, as well as any ongoing operational costs. It is anticipated that most projects will require extensive community consultation during the project development stage.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2019-09-16 _ATT - Summary List of Projects
2. 2019-09-16 _ATT - Projects Map
MOTION
That the City Council and BPAC:
Receive a presentation and provide preliminary comments on the draft recommendations of bikeway projects to be included in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan.