Agenda - Public Works Committee - 09/15/2009

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. PEDSAFE : recommended guidelines/priorities for sidewalks and walkways Page 5 of 12 ._:.,:"""..:'~,~-.c.",~"-;;., safety and enhance the economic viability of these areas. 8. Other Pedestrian Generators- Hospitals, community centers, libraries, sports arenas, and other public places are natural pedestrian generators where sidewalks should be given priority, 9. Missing links-Installing sidewalks to connect pedestrian areas to each other creates continuous walking systems. 10. Neighborhood Prloritles~ Local residents may have a sense of where the most desirable walking routes exist. Neighborhood groups or homeowners associations can provide a prioritized list of locations where they see a need for sidewalks. Agencies should be cautious about using this criterion, as It Is not desirable to let neighborhood pressure override addressing a key safety concern. However, it may be useful to monitor requests from pedestrians with disabilities. B. Methodology The two recommended methodologies for selecting locations for improvements are: (1) the overlapping priorities method, and (2) the points method. Establishing priorities should consume only a small percentage of a program budget-the level of effort put Into prioritization should be proportionate to the size of the capital budget. There Is no single right way to select which criteria to use when developing priorities. The criteria and methodology should balance safety measures, such as vehicle speeds and pede~trian crash data; pedestrian usage measures, such as proximity to schools or commercial areas; continuity between origins aria destinations; and accessibility for pedestrians with disabilities. 1. Overlapping Priorities Method- The easiest and cheapest way to identify overlapping priorities is.through graphical representation; the Intent is to identify locations that meet multIple criteria. This methodology is especially useful In cases where there is not a lot of staff time and funding for detailed analysis. It can be accomplished using a GIS system or It can be done by hand. The best way to describe this methodology Is by example. Assume that priorities are going to be developed based on transit routes, proximity to schools, people with disabilities, and neighborhood commercial areas. Start with a map of your Jurisdiction, Using a color pen, identify those arterials that have high transit use; clraw a half~mlle circle around every elementary school and around locations that attract people with disabilities; and color In the neighborhood commercial areas. This visual approach will make areas of overlapping priorities become Immediately clear. The streets without sidewalks within the overlapping areas are the highest priority for retrofitting sidewalks. 2. Points Method- A weighted points system can be used where staff time and funding are available for more detailed htto://www. walkinginfo. org/pedsafe/moreinfo sidewalks. cfm Seattle example Seattle recently completed an Inventory of all sidewalks in the city using a three-step process: 1. An Intern was hired to review aerial photographs to determine whether a sidewalk existed. This Information was then recorded as a new layer on the existing GIS street database. 2. The Intern field-checked all locations where there was some uncertainty regarding the presence of a sidewalk (about 10 percent of the aerial photographs were not clear). 3. Each of 13 neighborhood groups that cover the city were given a draft copy of the Inventory and were asked to check for errors. The total effort took the equivalent of one full-time person working for 6 months in a city of 530,000 population, 218.3 km2 (84.3 m12) of land use and 2.659 roadway kilometers (1,652 roadway miles) [1,934 residential street kilometers (1,202 residential street miles) and 724 arterial kilometers (450 arterial miles)]. Once the Inventory was completed, the Information was combined on a map with three other types of Information: 1. School Walking Zones: A colored circle Identified a half-mile area around each school. 2. Pedestrian Generators: A second color was used to identifY a half-mile area around key pedestrian generators, such as hospitals, libraries, and community centers. 3. Nelghborhoo'd Commercial Areas: A third color was used to IdentifY the dozen neighborhood commercial areas In Seattle (about one for each of the major neighborhood areas). Once the map was printed, It was very easy to see where the three colors overlapped, two colors overlapped, etc. The final step was to have the computer calculate the sidewalk deficiencies In the overlapping areas. They found, for example, that there were less than 3 km (2 ml) 8/19/2009