Charrette: Main and King Streets JS

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Northampton Main/King Charrette

Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates

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Overbuilt streets cause speeding

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Planning for pedestrian safety: Principles

Leaf, W. and Preusser, D. Literature Review on Vehicle Travel Speeds and Pedestrian Injuries

Among Selected Racial/Ethnic Groups, NHTSA (USA), 1999.

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Wide Streets Are Less Safe

Street widths and injury accident rate, graphic by Peter Swift

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Seattle Conversions (4 to 3 Lane)

Roadway Date ADT ADT Collision

Location Change Before After Reduction

Greenwood Ave N

N 80th St to N 50th

N 45th Street

Wallingford Area

8th Ave NW

Ballard Area

Martin Luther King Jr W

North of I 90

Dexter Ave N

Queen Ann Area

24th Ave NW

NW 85th to NW 65thOct-95 9727 9754

14 to 10

28%

Jun-91 13606 1494919 to 16

59%

Jan-94 12336 1316115 to 6

60%

Jan-94 10549 1185818 to 7

61%

Dec-72 19421 2027445 to 23

49%

Apr-95 11872 1242724 to 10

58%

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Taking a Road Diet

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Seattle Conversions (4 to 3 Lane)

Roadway Date ADT ADT Collision

Location Change Before After Reduction

Greenwood Ave N

N 80th St to N 50th

N 45th Street

Wallingford Area

8th Ave NW

Ballard Area

Martin Luther King Jr W

North of I 90

Dexter Ave N

Queen Ann Area

24th Ave NW

NW 85th to NW 65thOct-95 9727 9754

14 to 10

28%

Jun-91 13606 1494919 to 16

59%

Jan-94 12336 1316115 to 6

60%

Jan-94 10549 1185818 to 7

61%

Dec-72 19421 2027445 to 23

49%

Apr-95 11872 1242724 to 10

58%

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Greenwood Avenue: 12,000 cars per day

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Dexter Ave: 15,000 cars per day

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45th Street in Wallingford: 20,000 cars per day

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To a driver:

To an economist:

LOS F

LOS A

LOS A

LOS F

Measuring Success

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Cars on a street

Why Plan for other Modes?

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People in Cars

Why Plan for Other Modes?

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People on a bus

So You Can Drive

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People on bikes

So You Can Drive

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Measuring Success

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School

Shop

PlayWork

PP

P

P

PP

T TT T

TTT

TTT

T

T

Conventional Development

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Mixed-Use District

School

Work

Play

Shop

P

TT

Results:

<½ the parking

<½ the land area

¼ the arterial trips

1/6th the arterial turning movements

<¼ the vehicle miles travelled

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How land-use affects travel demand

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How land-use affects travel demand

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One Square Mile

One Square Mile, Contemporary development pattern, Irvine, CA

(Jacobs, Allan, Great Streets, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA)

One Square Mile, Traditional development pattern, Portland OR

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One Square Mile

One Square Mile, Northampton today

(Jacobs, Allan, Great Streets, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA)

One Square Mile, Traditional development pattern, Portland OR

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Poor Parking Availability Produces Traffic Congestion

Every parking space is a magnet for

cars. Why provide more parking than

you have traffic capacity to access that

parking?

Poorly managed parking results in

motorists circling for a parking space,

from 8 to 74% of traffic in many

downtowns.

Eliminating just 10% of vehicles from

any congested location makes traffic

free flowing.

Sources: “Cruising for Parking,” Don Shoup, 2006.

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$20,000$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000$20,000$20,000

$20,000$20,000$20,000

$20,000

$20,000$20,000$20,000$20,000$20,000$20,000$20,000 $20,000$20,000$20,000

$20,000$20,000$20,000$20,000

$20,000

Parking Wastes Money

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What Land Value Are We Losing?

Parking Space10’ x 20’ = 200 ft2Bedroom 9’ x 11’ = 99 ft2

Office Cubicle8’ x 9’ = 72 ft2

Restaurant Table5’ x 5’ = 25 ft2

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Boulder CO: TOD Without the Rails

Source: Will Toor & Spenser Havlick

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Boulder’s strategies

No nonresidential parking requirements

Public garages – 84% funded by parking fees

Employee benefits: free universal transit pass (Eco-Pass); Guaranteed Ride Home; ride-matching services; bicycle parking, etc.

Eco-Pass: reduces commuter parking demand by 850 spaces

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Multi-Use Path System

Source: Will Toor & Spenser Havlick

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A New Bike Culture

Source: Will Toor & Spenser Havlick

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Boulder: Results

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Drive Alone

Carpool

Bus

Walked & Biked

Multi-Mode & Other

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How to Apply These Ideas Here?

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Medford, MA

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Barrier to Utilization of

Eastern Spaces

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PEDESTRIAN LEVEL-OF-SERVICE

AVERAGE

Pedestrian

Delay

A

B

C

D

E

F

Seconds Likelihood of Noncompliance

<10 Low

10-20

21-30 Moderate

31-40

41-60 High

>60 Very High

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PEDESTRIAN LEVEL-OF-SERVICE

MAXIMUM

Pedestrian

Delay

A

B

C

D

E

F

Seconds Likelihood of Noncompliance

<10 Low

10-20

21-30 Moderate

31-40

41-60 High

>60 Very High

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SQUARE REDESIGN

Transform

to a

Four Leg

Intersection?

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PROPOSED DESIGN

NEW DELAY5-MINUTE WALKING AREA

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Why not Consider…

Economic Development

• Job creation

• Real estate value increase

• Retail sales

Quality of Life

• Access to jobs

• Access to shopping

• Residential property value

impact

Social Justice

• Do benefits accrue

equitably?

• Are investments spread

equitably?

Ecological Sustainability

• VMT per capita (=CO2,

NOx, runoff, etc.)

• Land use/transportation

connection

Measure what matters

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Location Matters: Transportation is a Significant Household Expense

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Where can a 3-person household earning 80% of area

median income live in the Twin Cities?

Considering Housing Costs Housing + Transportation Costs

The Housing & Transportation Costs Trade-Off

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Housing Costs in Metro Washington, DC

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Housing & Transportation Costs in Metro Washington, DC

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space….

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MAIN STREET CORRIDOR

Northampton Design Charrette

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KING STREET CORRIDOR

Northampton Design Charrette

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