2016 I-30 CROSSINGARKANSAS BOULEVARD ARKANSAS BOULEVARD

KEY IDEAS OF PLAN B:

→ Transportation shall support all parts of the cities and improve the quality of life downtown. There is no need to shorten commuting time at rush hour by a few minutes at the risk of the health of our vibrant inner cities. → Emphasize the interstate loop system around Little Rock and North Little Rock for use by commuters and traffi c passing thru town. → Change I-440 to I-30, in effect relocating the I-30 thru traffi c → Moderate I-30 traffi c speeds and connect to the downtown street grid by converting I-30 between I-630 and I-40 to an on-grade boulevard. → Provide state of the art signage and mobile information for commuters during rush hour → Emphasize the use of all forms of transportation including walking, mass transit, cycling and ride sharing→ Improve connections at intersections between interstates, a signifi cant cause of congestion.

AHTD SOLUTION: The main problem with the approach by the AHTD - the problems were never publicly stated before solutions were proposed. An initial problem statement needs to be agreed upon. The following were stated at AHTD presentations:• There is traffi c congestion in the I-30 Corridor, especially at rush hour.• Most of the traffi c, according to the AHTD, is local.• VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) will increase at 1% a year.• The exits and ramps in the downtown area are inadequate for freeway speeds.• There are safety concerns because of the congestion.• The I-30 Bridge needs to be replaced due to age and inadequate pier spacing, a safety concern for river navigation• AHTD (and the Chamber of Commerce) would like it to be easier and quicker for com- muters to get to and from the bedroom communities.The AHTD solution is to increase the lanes in the I-30 Corridor to 10 lanes and re-work the inter-changes to move traffi c and increase safety. They would also replace the river bridge to solve the pier problem.The problems with this approach are:• The effect of the 10 lanes will be the induced traffi c load on other section of the metropoli-tan system requiring more widening and construction.• Downtown development will be degraded due to a bigger barrier between neighborhoods, wide tunnels under the freeway, and increased vehicular loading in a heavy pedestrian zone.

PLAN B SOLUTION:

Plan B would look at ways to accomplish a solution to the problems without the need for a 10 lane I-30 Corridor. There is no single answer but there is a combination of intelligent solutions that would be more affective, less costly, and ultimately more benefi cial for downtown, com-muters, and our community in general (see “KEY IDEAS” above).

Because of the expected decline in VMT (contrary to AHTD statements), there would be a point in the future when the I-30 Corridor in downtown could be converted to a wide boule-vard on-grade with the surrounding city, with traffi c lights every third city block. The boulevard would be on-grade and would allow for bike and greenway trails, bus lanes and exception-al opportunities for commercial and residential development with new corner and frontage property.

This approach of de-emphasizing freeways in the city center is what cities are turning to throughout the country. More and more people are attracted to the quality of life offered by more urban, more walkable, less car driven neighborhoods. It is very apparent that young people are attracted to this lifestyle by the infl ux of younger individuals and families to down-town. Our society is much more traveled and savvy than before. People see examples of quality city and transportation planning in other parts of the country and want to see it here.

Plan B will make it easier for commuters as well, by taking advantage of existing infrastructure and adding key links for traffi c options, shortening commuting times, and increasing safety by diverting this traffi c to the newer and safer I-440. It will also, if sequenced correctly, make it much easier to build the new I-30 bridge by reducing the traffi c that uses it.

The vision is that 30 years down the road Little Rock will have a fi rst class downtown that is eas-ily accessible throughout the region, pedestrian and bike friendly, environmentally sustainable and can compete with other cities across the country for businesses and visitors. The ultimate goal of a boulevard where the I-30 Corridor is now does not need to be done overnight and may have to wait until VMT’s are lower and other transportation options are developed. The new bridge should be designed for the features to compliment the future boulevard.

I M A G E R Y

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B

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LEGEND / KEYnew road construction

low speed zone

NEW BUILDINGS

NEW PARKS/greenway

new landscaping

cultural/public buildings

BIKE LANES/PARKING LANESOUTLINE OF AHTD PROP.

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bridge descends to grade level

dashed line shows ahtd proposal edges

3rd st. connects with clinton lawn

new real estate opportunities

green way trail space

children's park

boulevard

street front retail

multimodal intersection

bike lane/parking corridor

dog park

CLINTON AVE

2ND ST

3RD ST

4TH ST

7TH ST

CAPITOL AVE

6TH ST

HEIFER INTERNATIONAL

CLINTON LIBRARY

RIVER MKT

LIBRARY

BYRD

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LLEG

E ST

9TH ST

CUM

BERL

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D ST

ROC

K ST

SHER

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N S

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RIVE

R M

ARK

ET A

VE

LAHA

RPE

A B

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2nd st spreads out traffi c

timed lights allow quick passage

I-30/I-630 INTERCHANGE:

A comprehensive solution to the I-30 Corridor involves taking all parties into consideration. This plan provides safer access and travel times for commuters by providing better connections from I-630 East to the existing I-440 and I-30 West routes to Bryant, Benton, Jacksonville and Cabot.

These improved connections, and an additional bridge crossing to connect La Harpe to Pike Avenue and I-40 West for Mayfl ower and Conway commuters, allow for the possibility of an urban boulevard through downtown Little Rock.

There is a huge economic wind-fall in the boulevard approach for the continued expansion of downtown, the revival of the east Little Rock neighborhoods cut off by the freeway, and the net additional of developable land re-captured by the narrowing of the freeway and picking up the land used by the frontage roads. In fact, over 30 acres of land are freed up for new development with a boulevard approach not to mention the potential develop-ment of vacant land east of the freeway.

The alternative is a wider freeway which is more of a barrier closing off the future of downtown and Little Rock.

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separate commuter traffi crebuild neighborhood

eliminate merging

relocated northbound ramp

Separate I-630 East commuter traffi c to I-30 West to Bryant and Benton from the commuter traffi c to I-440 to Jacksonville, Cabot, etc. by building a new fl yover to the south to eliminate the diffi cult current merging across the freeway.

Re-build the street grid in the Hanger Hill neighborhood to create new park and housing opportunities.

Relocate the existing fl yover ramp to I-30 northbound to pass under I-30 with new access ramp to I-30 northbound thereby eliminating the current fl yover located in the adjacent neighborhood.

Re-route I-30 southbound to accommodate the new fl yover to I-440.

TYPICAL BOULEVARD BLOCK:

Each block between lights will feature six lanes of through traffi c with a left turn lane at each light. These lanes of traffi c will be low to medium speed and on a series of timed lights to make through passage quick and effi cient.

On each side of the through lanes, a strip of landscaping will separate sidewalks and bike lanes. A low speed lane can ac-commodate public transit stops to keep buses and trolleys off the through traffi c lanes, as well as provide some parallel parking for retail spaces.

Wide retail sidewalks create room for street cafe style seating and public gatherings. Moving across to retail areas on the opposite side of the boulevard is protected and safe with buffer islands and large crosswalks.