Title
Receive an Update on Neighborhood Greenways Implementation and Slow Streets Barricade Removal (Discussion)
Body
To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Transportation Commission
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Neighborhood Greenways are bicycle- and pedestrian-priority streets designed to allow bicyclists and motorists to safely share the road on low-volume, low-speed, local streets, and to make crossing larger streets easier for people biking and walking. The City’s Active Transportation Plan included this new facility type to allow for the creation of a connected, low-stress biking network (see map in Exhibit 1), that can be safely and comfortably be used by people of all ages and abilities.
Staff developed a Neighborhood Greenway implementation strategy that calls for the Slow Street segments of Pacific Ave, San Jose Ave/Morton St and Versailles Ave to be converted to Neighborhood Greenways in 2024-2025. Current Council direction is that the Slow Streets barricades should be removed once these Greenways are implemented, or, for Santa Clara Ave, which will not become a Greenway, once the Central Avenue project is completed in early 2026.
This report provides an overview of the Neighborhood Greenway planning and lays out three options for the timing and manner of removing the barricades, to respond to community concerns and staff resource issues. To help inform both efforts, staff recently conducted a community survey, which received over 1,850 responses, and is summarized below and in Exhibit 3. This item is presented for discussion and will also be provided to the City Council at their September 17 meeting.
BACKGROUND
NEIGHBORHOOD GREENWAYS
Alameda’s Active Transportation Plan <https://www.activealameda.org/Adopted-Plan> (ATP), adopted in 2022, included a new facility type called “Neighborhood Greenways.” They are streets designed to give priority to people walking and bicycling, and to allow bicyclists and motorists to safely share the road on low-volume, low-speed, local streets. Used in cities across the country, these comfortable, low-stress bikeways additionally improve walking safety and calm traffic. Often called “bicycle boulevards,” they are a recognized facility type by the National Association of Transportation Officials (NACTO) <https://nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/bicycle-boulevards/>.
Treatments on Greenways are much more extensive than on bicycle routes, which only have painted shared lane markings and signage. They are also distinct from Slow Streets and do not include barricades. The key Neighborhood Greenway goals, as defined in the ATP, are:
• Achieve and Maintain Low Vehicle Volumes and Speeds. Neighborhood Greenway streets are only considered low stress when the traffic volumes and speeds are low enough that people biking feel comfortable sharing the roadway space with cars. Reducing traffic speeds and volumes increases safety for all roadway users and improves neighborhood livability.
• Make Street Crossings Safer and More Comfortable. Neighborhood Greenways also include treatments to improve crossings, particularly at busy intersections, to make it easier and safer for people bicycling and walking to cross busy streets.
Why Neighborhood Greenways?
One central goal of the 2022 ATP is to develop a connected, low-stress bikeway network that allows people of all ages and abilities to connect to schools, jobs, transit, shopping and recreation. Neighborhood Greenways, along with separated bike lanes and off-street paths, will together create this network, which is essential for meeting Alameda’s climate, safety and transportation goals.
Low-stress bikeways are key to increasing the number of people biking. In a 2019 statistically-significant survey conducted by experts in the field, nearly half (46%) of Alameda residents were defined as “Interested but Concerned” about biking, meaning they don’t feel very comfortable riding in standard bike lanes, but they are either interested in starting to bike or biking more, or they indicated they are most comfortable using low-stress bikeways.
These low-stress facilities need to be connected to each other and evenly spaced in both north-south and east-west directions. Alameda is moving towards having low-stress bikeways circling the edges of the island and has east-west bikeways already built or under construction on the more northern and southern sides of the island. The gaps are in center of the island, both for north-south and east-west connections. Neighborhood Greenways will complete the low-stress network in these locations where streets are narrower and there is no room for new off-street trails or separated bike lanes.
Which streets are Neighborhood Greenways?
While Alameda does not have any Neighborhood Greenways today, the ATP includes nine Neighborhood Greenway streets, totaling 10 miles to be implemented by 2030, called the “2030 Low-Stress Backbone Network” (see map in Exhibit 1). These include three of the existing four Slow Streets.
SLOW STREETS
Alameda first implemented "soft" closures of select Alameda streets to through traffic in 2020. The program aimed to facilitate physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. By limiting automobile traffic on these streets, the City created more places for the community to safely walk, run, bike, scooter and roll, in alignment with its Vision Zero, Active Transportation and Climate Action efforts to provide safer and more sustainable ways for everyone to get around.
In 2021, staff conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the Slow Streets program, with public engagement, to gather input on the impact of the Slow Streets program and opinions on if and how to continue the program. At its December 2021 meeting, the City Council voted to continue the program until recommendations for the Slow Streets in the Active Transportation Plan (ATP) were made and implemented. This approach was re-affirmed at the Council's December 2022 meeting when the ATP was adopted, which included the following:
• Pacific Avenue, San Jose Avenue, and Versailles Avenue, all current Slow Streets, will become Neighborhood Greenways. These three streets were originally slated to be converted by the end of this year (2024), but that implementation schedule was delayed after other transportation priorities arose. The Greenways on these streets will now be completed one year later, by the end of 2025, as proposed in the implementation strategy described in the next section.
• Santa Clara Avenue, the fourth existing Slow Street is not proposed to be a Neighborhood Greenway, but the Slow Street will remain in place until the Central Ave Safety Improvement Project is completed, to provide an alternative low-stress bikeway during the Central Ave construction from late-2024 through early 2026. Once the separated bike lanes open on Central Ave, the barricades on Santa Clara Ave will be removed.
In 2024, the City Council asked staff to re-evaluate the timing for the removal of the Slow Streets barricades, given some public opposition to the extended time they have been in place, and their ongoing maintenance needs and costs.
DISCUSSION
This section provides (1) an overview of the implementation strategy that staff are pursuing for Neighborhood Greenways, which was launched in July; and (2) options for removing the Slow Streets barricades, which Council previously directed should remain in place until Neighborhood Greenways are implemented.
NEIGHBORHOOD GREENWAYS
Implementation Strategy
Staff developed a three-phase strategy to implement the Neighborhood Greenways in the ATP. The first phase, which staff have already begun, is structured to meet the Council-approved 2024 Transportation work program to:
• Begin construction to convert at least one Slow Street to a Neighborhood Greenway in 2024.
• Complete quick-build conversion of the three Slow Streets to Greenways by 2025.
Phase 1 (2024-2025). Given the priority to remove the Slow Streets barricades, staff will first convert the Slow Street segments of Pacific Ave, San Jose Ave/Morton St and Versailles Ave to Neighborhood Greenways. This covers:
• Pacific Ave: Ninth to Oak
• Versailles Ave: Fernside to Calhoun
• San Jose Ave/Morton St: San Antonio/Morton to Oak
Staff selected Pacific Ave as the first Slow Street to be converted to a Neighborhood Greenway. This is the longest of the three Slow Streets, and in order to move quickly, staff proposes to transition only a segment of the Pacific Avenue Slow Street, with a mix of quick-build and permanent materials, and to start the construction phase by the end of this year. The remainder of the Pacific Ave Slow Street, plus the other two Slow Streets, are planned to be converted in 2025.
Phase 1A (underway):
• Implementation Strategy. Staff developed the implementation strategy described here, which has been presented to the public on the project web page (www.alamedaca.gov/NeighborhoodGreenways <http://www.alamedaca.gov/NeighborhoodGreenways>) and will be presented to the Transportation Commission on August 28 and Council on September 17.
• Design Treatment Toolkit. Staff are developing a toolkit of treatments to slow traffic, reduce vehicle volumes, improve the safety and comfort of larger street crossings, and create an identity for the Greenways. These include both quick-build and more permanent treatments. Initial possible treatments, included in Exhibit 2, were presented to the community for feedback via the survey (described below). Select treatments will be demonstrated and tested on the first Neighborhood Greenway to be implemented (Pacific Ave) and can then be modified, as needed, to respond to community and staff concerns. Staff are working with Fire and Police Department emergency response staff to make sure that all treatments can safely be used in the city.
• Community Education and Engagement. Last month staff released a community survey to educate the community about Neighborhood Greenways, and to solicit feedback on potential design treatments and whether to prioritize quick-build versus permanent treatments. The survey, which was active from July 31 to August 20, received over 1,850 responses, which are summarized in Exhibit 3. In September, an interactive web-based map will be created for the community to convey location-specific needs along the Neighborhood Greenways. On September 28, staff will hold a mobile workshop along Pacific Avenue to present initial concepts for Pacific Avenue. Both efforts will be advertised and promoted extensively.
Phase 1B (beginning late Fall 2024):
• Design, Bid and Construct first segment of Pacific Avenue. After hearing from the community via the survey, map and mobile workshop, staff will finalize a design concept and create plans for construction of the first segment of Pacific Ave (extents are still to be determined). Staff anticipates this will be a small construction contract (under $200,000), which does not require Council approval. There are sufficient funds in the Active Transportation Plan Implementation Capital Improvement Project (CIP) for this work. Staff aims to award the contract by the end of 2024. As feasible, the work will begin before the end of the year.
Phase 1C (beginning 2025):
• Design and implement remaining Pacific Ave Slow Street plus complete San Jose Ave/Morton St and Versailles Ave Slow Street segments. By early 2025, staff will begin developing the plans for the remainer of the Pacific Ave Slow Street, plus the San Jose Ave/Morton St and Versailles Ave Slow Street segments. This will include more community engagement on design concepts and will incorporate any lessons learned in Phase 1B. Staff will bring larger construction contracts to Council to award. Staff anticipates requesting that Council allocate additional funding once the designs and cost estimates are developed. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
During Phase 1, staff will also work on the following efforts:
• Collect data on the existing volumes and speeds along the nine Neighborhood Greenway streets and nearby parallel streets, to understand the current conditions and measure the impact of the design treatments in reaching the speed and volume goals, and possible diversion to nearby streets.
• Identify planning-level cost estimates for implementing all nine Neighborhood Greenways.
• Identify and seek grant funding to support implementing larger infrastructure needs along the Greenways, mainly focused on the crossings of major streets, which are higher-cost items.
Phase 2 (2026-2030). In this phase, staff will work to implement the remaining six Neighborhood Greenways included in the 2030 Low-Stress Backbone Network (Exhibit 1). A more detailed implementation approach will be developed in 2025.
Phase 3 (Post-2030). This phase will implement the remaining Neighborhood Greenways in the Active Transportation Plan, which are mostly shorter, connecting segments. It will be developed more fully when the Active Transportation Plan is updated.
Staff acknowledge that this overall implementation strategy is different from what is outlined in the ATP’s 2030 Infrastructure Plan. That plan envisioned converting the three Slow Streets of Pacific, Versailles and San Jose/Morton to Neighborhood Greenways by the end of 2024, and the remaining six streets by the end of 2025. This new strategy revises these dates and balances a desire to move quickly with a recognition of what is currently realistic.
Types of Materials
Neighborhood Greenways can be installed with quick-build materials, permanent materials, or a combination of both. Quick-build projects can be constructed on a faster timeline using materials such as paint, flex posts, modular rubber curbs, plastic speed cushions and signs. They allow for testing different treatments and making adjustments, and can later be replaced with permanent materials when funding is secured. Projects using permanent materials, which usually involve concrete, drainage, and electrical work, take longer to implement and cost more.
Staff recommend using a combination of quick-build and permanent materials in Phase 1. Because funding is limited, the quick-build approach allows more to be built than if only permanent materials are used. The community survey requested feedback on community preferences, which are summarized in Exhibit 3.
On the last page of Exhibit 2 are examples of several treatments using quick-build materials and using permanent materials. There are, of course, many more possible design iterations; the final designs used in Alameda will be informed by engineering expertise and community input.
SLOW STREETS BARRICADE REMOVAL
As noted in the background section, Council direction in both 2021 and 2022 called for continuing the Slow Streets program until the Active Transportation Plan recommendations for Neighborhood Greenways were implemented. In response to Council’s request to re-consider these actions, staff developed three possible options for the barricades, as described further below.
There are currently 60 Slow Street barricades along four Slow Streets, each of which includes one flex post bolted to the ground at the street centerline:
|
Slow Street |
# of Barricades |
|
Pacific Ave |
23 |
|
San Jose Ave/Morton St |
15 |
|
Versailles Ave |
13 |
|
Santa Clara Ave |
9 |
While no data has been collected this year, Transportation Planning staff believe that the barricades are likely at least somewhat still reducing the amount of auto traffic on each Slow Street, allowing for a more comfortable and safer biking experience along them. As well, over the past four years, staff have regularly reviewed collision data and have not found an increase in reported collisions at the barricade locations.
The Public Works Department would like to reduce their maintenance time and effort spent maintaining the barricades and flex posts. Currently, once per week they verify that the devices are in the correct position, clean any graffiti, ensure the sand bags are intact, and replace any necessary components. These devices, even with the sand bags, can still be moved by residents and business owners, and can be blown over in strong winds.
Over the past few years, many community members have complained about these “pandemic-era” devices still being on the street. Some have said that they are regularly ignored, and that they create hazardous conditions at the intersections. Others have expressed an interest in having the barricades remain in place, to allow for traffic-calmed streets and a more comfortable and safer street for biking.
In order to hear from a wider spectrum of the community, staff included questions about the Slow Streets barricades in the recent community survey, including opinions on when they should be removed for each street, and whether some individual barricades were particularly useful or problematic. The responses are summarized in Exhibit 3.
Staff developed the following three options for barricade removal for discussion:
Option 1: Keep barricades in place, per existing Council direction. Barricades would be removed along the three Slow Streets as they are converted to Neighborhood Greenways in 2024 and 2025. Barricades would remain on Santa Clara Ave until early 2026, when the Central Ave project construction, which will start later this year, is complete.
Pros:
• The barricades would continue to create lower speed and volume traffic on the Slow Streets until they either transition to Neighborhood Greenways, or, in the case of Santa Clara Ave, there is a low-stress facility on a nearby parallel street.
Cons:
• Continued Public Works maintenance resources
• An additional winter with barricades being blown over.
• Continued community complaints about the safety, aesthetics and inconvenience of the barricades.
Option 2: Remove all barricades immediately. All 60 barricades would be removed from Slow Streets as soon as late September.
Pros:
• Eliminates Public Works maintenance efforts dedicated to Slow Streets.
• Avoids an additional winter with barricades being blown over.
• Eliminates community complaints about the safety, aesthetics and inconvenience of the barricades.
Cons:
• Traffic volumes and/or speeds would likely increase on these streets until the Neighborhood Greenways are implemented.
• Drivers may become used to traveling freely on these streets, which may make the transition to Neighborhood Greenways more challenging.
• There would not be a nearby, low-stress biking route on Santa Clara Ave while the Central Ave project is under construction. Three schools are located on Central Avenue: Paden Elementary, Encinal High School and Encinal Junior Jets. As well, traffic may increase substantially on Santa Clara as drivers divert off Central Ave while construction is underway.
Option 3: Hybrid: Remove select barricades immediately and replace remaining ones with temporary flex posts and Neighborhood Greenway educational signage. In this option, about half of the 60 barricades would be removed immediately. The remaining barricades, located at the start and end points of the Slow Streets and at major crossings, would be replaced with temporary flex posts, as used in San Francisco’s Slow Streets program (see Exhibit 4). For Alameda, the sign would include information about the transition from Slow Streets to Neighborhood Greenways. The sign could state “Neighborhood Greenway in Progress” and include a QR code to the project webpage, where the community could learn more and provide input. These flex posts and signs would be in place only temporarily, until the Neighborhood Greenways are constructed by the end of 2025.
Pros:
• With some barricades still in place, vehicle speeds and volumes may remain slightly lower until they transition to Neighborhood Greenways. In the case of Santa Clara Ave, there would continue to be a lower-stress facility near Central Ave, while it is under construction.
• The flex posts would likely require less Public Works maintenance time, as they would not be moved or knocked over by the wind. There would also be half the number of intersections to maintain as there are now.
• The new signage would educate the community about the coming Neighborhood Greenways, and how they can participate.
• The flex posts could be offset from the centerline so there is slightly more room for two cars to negotiate through the intersection.
• The opening between the two flex post would allow people biking to bike straight through, which they cannot do with the current barricades.
Cons:
• Vehicles speeds and volumes may increase slightly from today, with fewer barricades.
• Staff time to design the new flex posts and signage would take some planning effort and could delay Neighborhood Greenway implementation by up to one month.
• The cost to purchase and install the new flex posts and signage is estimated to be between $25,000 to $30,000, and would come from existing Neighborhood Greenway capital funds.
• Some continued Public Works staff time for maintenance of the flex posts/signage.
• Some people may mistakenly think that the flex posts represent the final Neighborhood Greenway design.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The Phase 1 costs to plan and design the Neighborhood Greenways are $225,000 to $300,000 and are included in Transportation Planning’s operational budget. Currently approximately $675,000 is available for Neighborhood Greenway construction in the ATP CIP (#C63000). This is unlikely to be sufficient to complete Phase 1 and staff anticipates requesting that Council allocate additional funding, once the designs and cost estimates are developed.
If Option 3 for the barricade changes is selected, the cost to replace existing Slow Streets barricades with new flex-posts with sign paddles would range from $25,000 to $30,000, depending on how many barricades are replaced. These costs would come from CIP #C63000.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The City’s Strategic Plan <https://www.alamedaca.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/alameda-pio/exhibit-1-alameda-strategic-plan-2023-2026.pdf> (2023) includes project #TIE9 to “Convert Slow Streets to Neighborhood Greenways as directed in the Active Transportation Plan” and #TIE10 to “Plan, Design and Construct a backbone low-stress bicycle network, pedestrian safety, and traffic calming projects.”
The Alameda Active Transportation Plan <https://www.activealameda.org/Adopted-Plan> (2022) includes nine Neighborhood Greenways, totaling almost 10 miles, to be implemented by 2030, per the 2030 Infrastructure Plan (Table 10), which are essential to creating a connected, low-stress bikeway network.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this project is categorically exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c) Existing Facilities (Minor alterations to existing facilities including bicycle facilities) and Section 15304(h) (Minor Alterations to Land and the creation of bicycle lanes on existing public rights of way). There are no cumulative impacts or unusual circumstances that apply to this project.
CLIMATE IMPACT
Implementing the Neighborhood Greenways, a critical component necessary for creating a connected, low-stress bicycling and walking network, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Alameda. Currently vehicle trips generate approximately 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions in Alameda. This is a reflection of the fact that 70% of all trips in Alameda are taken by automobile, despite the fact that over 60% of all trips are only 3 miles or less in length.
RECOMMENDATION
Receive an update on Neighborhood Greenways implementation and Slow Streets barricade removal.
Respectfully submitted,
Rochelle Wheeler, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Exhibits:
1. Map of ATP 2030 Low Stress Backbone Network
2. Examples of Neighborhood Greenway design treatment options
3. Community Survey Results (07/31/24 - 08/20/24)
4. Temporary Slow Streets barricade replacement alternative