2/17/2015 1 Rural Roads Mobility Meeting Thank you for joining this conversation about pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian mobility in Elk Grove’s Rural Residential Area. Pleasant Grove High School January 29, 2015 Rural Roads Mobility Outreach TOOLKIT WELCOME Meeting Plan for Tonight • Presentation (6:00 – 7:00 PM) – Welcome & Introductions (Abby Woods) – Background (Pam Johns) – Outreach Plan (Abby Woods) – Review of Relevant Documents (Pam Johns) – Project Specific Details (Abby Woods, Jeff Werner) – Surfacing Materials (Rick Carter) – Next Steps (Abby Woods) • Volunteer Sign-Up & Surfacing Preference Activity (7:00 – 8:00 PM) Purpose of Today’s Meeting • Share project updates and preview data that will support our conversation going forward • Explain the next phase of public outreach and provide an opportunity for questions • Recruit volunteers to participate • Get input on surfacing materials for the rural area What is a Mobility Improvement? • Any changes to or additions to existing pathways or roadways that make it safer and easier for: – Pedestrians: people transporting themselves by foot or wheelchair (e.g. wide shoulder). – Cyclists: people transporting themselves by bicycle (e.g. painted stripe) – Equestrians: people transporting themselves by horse (e.g. connected trails)
Transcript
2/17/2015
1
Rural Roads Mobility Meeting
Thank you for joining this
conversation about pedestrian,
bicycle, and equestrian mobility in
Elk Grove’s Rural Residential Area.
Pleasant Grove High School
January 29, 2015
Rural Roads Mobility Outreach
TOOLKIT
WELCOME
Meeting Plan for Tonight
• Presentation (6:00 – 7:00 PM)
– Welcome & Introductions (Abby Woods)
– Background (Pam Johns)
– Outreach Plan (Abby Woods)
– Review of Relevant Documents (Pam Johns)
– Project Specific Details (Abby Woods, Jeff Werner)
• Any changes to or additions to existing pathways or roadways that make it safer and easier for:
– Pedestrians: people transporting themselves by foot or wheelchair (e.g. wide shoulder).
– Cyclists: people transporting themselves by bicycle (e.g. painted stripe)
– Equestrians: people transporting themselves by horse (e.g. connected trails)
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Example of Need for Better Mobility
• Road leading to Pleasant Grove Elementary is
unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists – very few
students walk or bike.
• Children unable to participate in annual “Walk
to School Day” because it is unsafe to
encourage walking to school.
• Should we do something about this?
BACKGROUND
Rural Residential Area Establishment of Rural Standards
• 2001: City’s first General Plan recognized
unique character of rural area; no standards
• 2006: Process started to establish unique
standards for rural roadways
– Community workshops, visual preference surveys
– Traffic studies, visual simulations
• 2007: City adopted new Rural Road
Policy and Standards
Mail Survey
• Sent to all rural households in July 2014
• Gauge the level of support for mobility
improvements in the Rural Area
• 10% of recipients responded (160 of 1,600)
Community Forum
• August 12, 2014
• 70 people attended
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Survey + Forum Results
• 67% of survey respondents were supportive of pedestrian and bicycle improvements.
• Strong desire to maintain the rural look and feel.
• Off-street pedestrian and bicycle accommodations preferred.
• Concern about roadside safety.
• Feedback at the forum as to whether to continue with the outreach process was 50/50.
City Council Direction
• September 24, 2014: City Council directed
staff to conduct a second phase of outreach.
• Direction to continue the mobility
improvement outreach effort at the
neighborhood level and to address the
specifics of location and feasible solutions.
OUTREACH PLAN
Outreach Plan
• Plan reflects significant input from rural area community groups (GSREHA and SCA)
• Neighborhood-level engagement will:
– Be led by community groups in collaboration with City staff
– Rely on volunteers to collect community input
– Street teams will focus on specific road segments
– Produce recommendations that are specific to each road segment
Neighborhood Engagement
• Divide along Bradshaw Road into two halves of the Rural Area– West of Bradshaw (including Bradshaw) led by
GSREHA
– East of Bradshaw (excluding Grant Line) led by SCA
• Volunteers will use toolkits provided by the City to lead discussions and collect community feedback
• Monthly check-ins with City staff through September 2015
Reporting Back
• City staff will aggregate and summarize the
data, share it with the community, and
present to City Council.
• Possible second community meeting,
depending on results.
• Feedback will be used to develop pilot
projects for mobility improvements (if any are
desired).
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Outreach Plan Timeline
REVIEW OF RELEVANT
DOCUMENTS
General Plan
VISION FOR ELK GROVE—The
Elk Grove of the future is a
community in which the rural
portions of the community are
valued and retained as an
important part of the city.
These rural areas are
envisioned as continuing to
provide a scenic backdrop,
where cattle and horses can be
raised, and where reminders of
the area’s past and its natural
history are available to all
residents.
• Establishes the boundary
for the rural area.
• Recognizes the importance
of maintaining the rural
character of the rural area.
• Establishes “Guiding Goal
5: Preservation of the
Rural Character of Elk
Grove.”
Bicycle, Pedestrian and Trails
Master Plan
• Updated in 2014
• Improvements in Rural Area shall
be consistent with the Rural
Road Policy and Standards.
– Off street Improvements (.e.g.
Class 1 trails) determined by the
Bicycle, Pedestrian and Trails
Master Plan
– On street Improvements (e.g.
bicycle lanes) determined by the
Rural Roads Policy & Standards
Key Terms
• Class I Bikeway: Often referred to as bike paths or multi-use trails, these facilities are completely separated rights-of-way for the exclusive use of bicycles, pedestrians, and in some cases, equestrians and other non-motorized travel such as roller skating, skateboarding, and so forth.
• Sidewalk: A walkway separated from the roadway with a curb, designed for preferential or exclusive use by pedestrians.
• Walkway: A pedestrian street, path, sidewalk, or paved shoulder built for use by pedestrians, including persons in wheelchairs.
• See handout for more key terms
Existing and Proposed Class 1 Bikeways
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Rural Road Policy
• Established a value based
approach for incremental road
improvements
– Improvements respond to
actual traffic impacts
– Periodic evaluations
– Improvement criteria includes
traffic counts, safety criteria,
and tolerance for delay
– Public workshop
Rural Road Standards
• Established unique road improvement design standards for rural area
• Includes standards for street and intersection design, lighting, signage, screening, and noise attenuation
Rural Road Standards:
Street Design
• All roads will have minimal lane width with open
drainage and native landscape
• Roads will not include curb, gutter or sidewalk
• Where informal paths are necessary or desired,
surface shall be decomposed granite or similar
surface
• Bike routes and bike lanes will have limited
locations
Existing Rural Roadways
PROJECT SPECIFIC DETAILS
Road Segments
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Existing and Proposed Off- Street Trails Area Amenities
Property Lines & Easements Capital Improvement Projects
Major Development Projects Trees
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MOBILITY & SURFACING MATERIALS
Alternative Surfaces in the Rural Area
• Rural Roads Policies and Standards establish that Alternative Hardscape Surfacing can be used in the rural area, but do not specify which alternative surfacing to use.
• Alternative Hardscape Surfaces includes materials with specialized properties such as increased porosity, specialized binders, and or colored aggregates
Opportunity to let your preference be known!
Surfacing Objectives
• Safe
• Durable
• Stable
• Easy to maintain
• Accessible and safe for people with disabilities
– Must comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards
• Appropriate for intended modes (pedestrian, bicycle, equestrian)
Traditional Materials
Surfacing
MaterialDescription
Portland Cement
Concrete
Composed of coarse aggregate
(crushed stone and gravel), fine
aggregate such as sand, portland
cement and water.
Hot Mix Asphalt
A combination of stone, sand, or
gravel bound together by asphalt
cement, a product of crude oil.
Surfacing Options
• Identified five alternative hardscape materials
for consideration
• Each surface has been rated according to:
– Construction & Maintenance Impacts
– Permeability
– ADA Compliant & Slip Resistant Surface
– Context Sensitive
– Construction Cost
– Maintenance
Alternative Surfacing Materials
Surfacing Material Description
Porous Concrete
Porous concrete pavement has a
15-25% void structure, allowing
3-8 gallons of water per minute
to pass through each square
foot.
Porous Asphalt
Standard hot-mix asphalt with
reduced sand or fines allows
water to drain through it.
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Alternative Surfacing Materials
Natural-Pave
Natural-Pave resin pavement binder is
mixed with aggregate material to
produce a durable and flexible surface,
similar to asphalt, but without petroleum
products.
Gravel-Pave
A system that uses a plastic grid to
contain compacted sharp edged
aggregate in place. It is a porous material
allowing drainage.
Stabilized
Decomposed
Granite
Decomposed granite or DG is crushed
granite particles, often a byproduct of
granite quarries. A binding agent is
required to reduce the loose material on
top.
Funding Improvements• State and Federal grants fund most
improvements
• City sources fund some improvements
– Roadway Fee
– Measure A sales taxes
– Gas Tax fund
• Mobility improvements would not increase in property taxes or similar property fees
• New development pays costs for their frontage; added mobility improvements would increase those costs
NEXT STEPS
Volunteer for a Street Segment!
Volunteer Responsibilities
• Organize and lead meetings for your assigned
street segment
• Use toolkit to record community input
• Canvass your neighborhood to gather
additional details on property owner
preferences and significant trees
• Report back on community input as requested
Feedback Collection Toolkit
• Toolkits will be distributed to each volunteer street
segment leader at a facilitated training session in
late February 2015.
Toolkits will include:• Project information, timeline,
contact info
• Street segment data and
maps
• Set of questions to answer
• Example outreach activities
• Recording and reporting tools
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Questions to Answer• Who might benefit from improved pedestrian, bicycle or equestrian
infrastructure?
• How could your street segment contribute to bicycle, equestrian and
pedestrian access to community destinations?
• Within your street segment, what would mobility improvements look
like?
• Within your street segment, which property owners would potentially
be affected? Of those property owners, who is supportive of a
potential mobility improvement? Who is not?
• Are there any trees or other property features (e.g., fences, utilities,
etc…) to consider?
• Based on property owner feedback, do you have new
recommendations for where mobility improvements would be
appropriate?
• How should the City prioritize the mobility improvement
projects you support?
Sign Up to Volunteer
• Review large-scale map of road segments
• Ask outstanding questions
• Sign up to be a volunteer for a road segment!
• City staff will collaborate with GSREHA and
SCA leadership to finalize volunteer
assignments.
Surfacing Materials Activity
• Review the surfacing material options
• Ask outstanding questions
• Vote for your preference!
• The results of the surfacing activity are only meant to better understand community preferences – as a direction for additional research.
