lafayette downtown congestion study… · 2016-02-22 · hand – my top priority as i personally...

Lafayette Downtown Congestion

Study

Tri-City Council

February 29, 2015

PurposeReduce downtown congestion... and improve the quality of life

Guiding principlesReduce

congestionImprove existing deficiencies

Improve safety

Enhance livability

Enhance the quality of life

Maintain the small town character

Adapt to future

community change

Guide future changes

Fulfill the vision of the Downtown

Plan

Address critical transportation concerns that affect the quality of life in the community.

Guiding principles by focus area

• Enhance access to downtown for all modes

• Reduce congestion in downtown

• Improve safety

• Improve access and wayfinding to parking

• Support previous Downtown studies

• Enhance access to BART for all modes

• Enhance ped/bike connections to downtown

• Improve safety

• Improve parking information

• Reduce trip diversion from SR 24 through downtown

• Improve connections to/from SR 24 via the “Y” through downtown

• Improve safety around downtown school sites

• Encourage walking and biking to school

• Improve access to the school bus system

• Minimize traffic impacts due to drop-off/pick-up activity

Downtown BART SR 24 Schools

Schedule Check-InUnderstand the Problem1

2

4

5

Generate Ideas

Test Ideas

PreferredSolutions

Policy ContextData Collection and OutreachRoot CausesBaseline Analysis

Previous and New IdeasContinuum of SolutionsLong List to a Short List

Multi-Criteria AssessmentTraffic ModelingScreening and Outreach

RecommendationsDecision-making

Wrap Up

3

AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP

Public Meetings

City Council/Circulation Commission Meetings

Web-Based Public Outreach Tool

PHASE 1 PHASE 2

Online Outreach #1: Issues and Priorities

Online Outreach #2: Ideas and Final Plan

We are here

Decision on Scenarios

Steering Committee

Previous studies

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

MDB Corridor Analysis

Core Area Traffic Study

Lamorinda Traffic Study

Downtown Street Improvement Master Plan

General Plan

MORTRAC School Bus Study

Traffic Safety Study

Parking Analysis for the Downtown Core

Bikeways Plan

EBMUD Aqueduct ROW Bike Study

Lamorinda Service Plan

2013 StreetlineSmart Parking Proposal

MTC PASS

Downtown Specific Plan

Walkways PlanLafayette Downtown Strategy

Traffic Calming Guidebook

Completed projects

• Downtown signal timing optimization

• New third eastbound lane on MDB (Moraga Rd to First St)

• Reconfigured plaza (Moraga Rd to First St)

• Improved eastbound SR 24 on-ramp at First St

• Improved bike and pedestrian facilities in Downtown

• Wider sidewalks on MDB

• Multi-use path on Moraga Rd (connecting schools)

• Crossing enhancements

• Bike sharrows

• Downtown bike bypass and route signage

Why this study is different

Build on successes, identify new ideas and “Moonshots”

Apply new “Big Data” sources and tools

Evaluate strategies and projects “holistically”

Identify feasible strategies

Focus on implementation and funding $$

Study area

Lafayette

Lafayette Reservoir

Downtown issues

8 traffic signals in 0.8 mi

Downtown Traffic

Major traffic and parking generators

Driveways create localized queuing

Downtown core destinations

Left turns on MoragaRd create backups

Recent Traffic Trends

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

2000 2007 2009 2013 2015

Inte

rsec

tion

Veh

Volu

mes

(veh

/h)

Year

PM Peak Hour Intersection VolumesMt Diablo Blvd / Moraga Rd Intersection Mt Diablo Blvd / 1st St Intersection

What about the future?

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000H

ousi

ng U

nits

Lafayette Moraga

Source: Plan Bay Area, 2013

2000 2010 2015 2040

Traffic “Big Data” – Speed

Congestion (% free flow speed)85%-100%65%-85%50%-65%33%-50%25%-33%0%-25%

Source: INRIX

INRIX utilizes in-vehicle and cell phone GPS navigation system data to determine speed and congestion levels on transportation segments.

Typical Weekday Vehicle Speeds

Traffic “Big Data”

E1 ORINDA

E2 MDB

External Screenlines

Through Trip Movement

Lafayette Zone

39%

9%

13%

18%

7%

7%

64%

29%

% of Vehicle Trips in Lafayette(7 AM-7PM)Local (Both O and D in

Lafayette)

Incoming/Outgoing (O or Din Lafayette)

Through (Both O and Doutside Lafayette)Vehicle Trips that Pass “Through” Lafayette

Source: StreetLight

StreetLight utilizes in-vehicle and cell phone GPS navigation system data to determine origin and destination flows on transportation networks.

Public Outreach

Lafayettecongestion.com

Two parts:1. Transportation survey

2. Collaborative Map survey

November 2015-January 2016

Public Outreach Tool #1

Multiple Choice Survey

857 Participants


17%

49%

3%

18%

1%2%

10%

Commuting

52%

34%

2%3%

6%

3%

0%

School

0%

65%

25%

0%6%

3% 1%

Downtown

Not relevant

Drive alone

Carpool

Transit

Walk

Bike

Other

We asked several travel behavior questions.


1. Downtown congestion

2. Downtown parking

3. SR 24 ramp access

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Downtown congestion

Downtown parking

SR 24 ramp access

School congestion

BART parking

Bike/ped downtown access

Downtown character

School safety

Downtown safety

Transit to BART

Other option

Bike/ped BART access

School bus service

BART safety

We asked for 3 high transportation priorities.

These choices were

the most frequently selected:


0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

BART safety

School bus service

Transit to BART

Bike/ped BART access

Downtown character

BART parking

Bike/ped downtown access

Downtown safety

SR 24 ramp access

Downtown parking

School congestion

School safety

Downtown congestion

Other Option

1. BART safety

2. School bus service

3. Transit to BART

We asked for 3 low transportation priorities.

These choices were

the most frequently selected:


Open Comments

Of the 857 Multiple Choice Survey participants, 45% responded to the open-ended question.


The raw comments trended around these words.


0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Under the general category of congestion, the comments revolved around these eight themes.


Parking Growth• Comments against the parking meters, especially

in private lots• Complaints about grocery store lot congestion• Calls for garages at BART, in downtown, and at the

ends of downtown

• Comments that growth will exacerbate traffic• Fears that growth will transform Lafayette

The meters are making me regret not living in Orinda.

It was a horrendous mistake for the City not to buy the lot next to Diablo Foods and build a 2- or 3-story parking deck there, which would both ease commercial and BART parking problems AND bring in major income for the City.

With the new residential construction on the horizon, enhancing BART parking options and decreasing congestion/traffic in downtown and to the freeway should be of utmost importance.

The City needs to get a grip on uncontrolled growth! They keep approving high-density usage projects without consideration of traffic. OK'ing projects that increase demand for roads & infrastructure, then artificially trying to reduce that demand by charging for things like parking is a version of extortion. It has to stop!

Stop building so many units in Lafayette. The city cannot support the number of vehicles as-is and the schools are getting too crowded.


Biking Safety• Comments about how unsafe it is to bicycle in

Lafayette, especially for school children• Calls for more bike parking• Calls for more direct bicycle connections to BART

• Comments expressing frustration about speeding• Calls for greater safety measures around the

schools• Scattered comments on distracted or angry driving

I am afraid to ride my bike for errands which used to be the only way I would get around town.

I think that it would be great if there was more bike parking at a variety of locations downtown.

We desperately need pedestrian/bike bridges linking the schools, trails, and downtown, and we need some serious traffic calming strategies in our downtown areas, particularly near Stanley and Lafayette Elementary.

The speeding down Moraga Boulevard is out of control and dangerous. There are never any police monitoring speed.

Safety and circulation around downtown schools go hand in hand – my top priority as I personally know two of the several students who have been hit by cars in the last few years. Also, the driving downtown is getting crazier as more people are on the roads and it takes longer to get to where one needs to go, so drivers are becoming riskier as frustration mounts.


Walking Transit

School options Intersections

It would be great if there were sidewalks for every street – at least on one side.

• Calls for consistent sidewalks, better lighting, and well-marked crossings

• Concern that the streets are not safe for pedestrians The bus needs to arrive between 6:40-6:45am…to be

commuter friendly.

• Calls for downtown circulators• Calls for County Connection service that coordinates

with BART peaks

Please work with Lafayette School District to understand effective solutions that can go into effect IMMEDIATELY to help improve the safety of our kids on the streets near the schools.

• Concern about the walking and biking conditions for school children

• Calls for more universal and frequent school bus service It seems like the light timing at Moraga Rd. and School St.

gives an unfair amount of green to School Street, causing big backups on Moraga. Drivers on School Street get through the intersection much faster than drivers on Moraga.

• Comments on coordinating signals• Comments about signal priorities or lane markings

at specific intersections


Collaborative Map Survey

131 Participants420 Comments

1,421 Comment Votes


Lafayette ReservoirRecreation Area

Comments by Mode

Vehicle Traffic

Pedestrian

Bicycling

Other

Transit

48%

23%

12%

10%7%

Vehicle traffic was the most popular mode to choose for a comment, but all modes received a fair amount of input.

Public Outreach Tool #2Votes per Comment

1 - 2

3 - 5

6 - 9

10 - 17

Comment voting was quite popular. Of the 420 comments, 306 (73%) received votes. The total vote tally came to 1,421. While most comments had only a small handful of votes, some comments received quite a bit of engagement.

Participants could hit a thumbs up button to express agreement and a thumbs down button to express disagreement.

Lafayette ReservoirRecreation Area

Next Steps

1. Screening of the “long list” to a “short list” of strategies2. Identify three scenario packages3. Detailed analysis of each package4. Public survey #2

Questions and Contacts

City of Lafayette StaffTony Coe, City [email protected] Hinkamp, Transportation Planner [email protected]

Arup StaffMike Iswalt, Senior Transportation Engineer [email protected]

lafayette downtown congestion study… · 2016-02-22 · hand – my top priority as i personally...

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