Title
Resolution to Approve a Conceptual Plan to Redesign Fifth Avenue and Division Streets between Packard and Beakes to be More Bicycle and Pedestrian Friendly
Memorandum
Attached for your review and approval is a resolution to approve a conceptual plan to redesign Fifth Avenue and Division Street as “complete streets” that encourage pedestrian and bicycle transportation choices and enhance residential, civic, and commercial uses along these corridors, while at the same time providing for the motorists who use these streets to traverse our city.
Transportation planning in the past worked to move cars but often neglected to consider the needs of people who lived and worked near highly trafficked corridors. The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority has spent several years developing a plan that will accommodate traffic demands along Fifth and Division, while at the same time will address other community needs.
Approval of the conceptual plan by City Council will serve several purposes. It will give direction to planning staff assisting downtown developers with their site plans. It will encourage greater numbers of people to use their feet or a bicycle when traveling through the downtown, thus making them better able to minimize the use of their car downtown. It will enable the State of Michigan to complete its review of an approximately $1 million grant to the DDA for the first phase of improvements. And it will give direction to the DDA as it prioritizes future funding for downtown projects.
The DDA proposed plan for Fifth and Division is supported by the City’s recently approved 2007 Non-Motorized Plan and goals set forward in the 1988 Downtown Plan. It also addresses key elements in the proposed 2008 Downtown Plan update, which sets forward the following Guiding Values:
- Downtown will continue to accommodate and foster central business, government, shopping, cultural and entertainment functions within a reasonably compact, walkable area.
- Downtown will be accessible to everyone. Special efforts will be made to accommodate use and enjoyment by people of all ages and abilities.
- Strong emphasis will be placed on downtown’s quality as a place for people on foot by maintaining its sense of pedestrian scale; promoting an active street life; and providing a comfortable and convenient walking environment.
The proposed 2008 Downtown Plan update also sets forward that the City will work to improve and extend downtown’s system of pedestrian connections through public and private streetscape improvements; establish a physical and cultural environment that supports and encourages safe, comfortable and convenient ways for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel throughout the downtown and into the surrounding city; and address the need for bicyclists and pedestrians to cross streets as well as travel along them.
Fifth and Division operate as an important one-way street pair that carry traffic north and south through downtown. Approximately 10,000 cars/day utilize Fifth and 8,000 cars/day use Division. The streets are currently three or four travel lanes wide, with street parking in some locations. There is very little accommodation for pedestrians and bicycles along Fifth and Division at present. In addition to visitors and others who seek a pleasant opportunity to traverse the downtown, an impressive number of downtown workers are walking or bicycling to work (21% walk or bicycle - source 2000 Census), and it is possible to encourage increased alternative transportation use by providing more attractive and safe accommodations.
In 2003 the DDA commissioned an Urban Design Workbook from Pollack Design Associates which outlined strategies to encourage more multi-modal use of Fifth and Division. In 2005 Beckett & Raeder was selected to refine these strategies and develop them into a comprehensive plan.
The goals of the DDA’s proposed Fifth and Division Improvement Plan are as follows:
- “Complete Streets”. Redesign the corridors to encourage pedestrian and bicycle use, while maintaining vehicular capacity along this one-way pair.
- Connectivity. Make it possible for bicyclists to have a safe connection to the south and north sections of the city by creating bike lanes that link to the bike lanes on Packard and across the Broadway Bridges.
- Greenhouse gas reduction. Reduce the number of car trips by providing attractive and safe transportation alternatives.
- Good planning. Provide design direction to future developments with a comprehensive plan.
- Strengthen activity in the core area. Use street parking as a pedestrian amenity, to strengthen retail, and to make government services more accessible to citizens.
The Fifth and Division plan will accomplish these goals by:
- Installing bike lanes along the full length of the streets on the right hand side where car drivers would expect to see bicycles. To create room for bike lanes, travel lanes would be reduced in places to the standard City lane width of 11’, and on certain segments the number of vehicular travel lanes will be reduced while still accommodating traffic volumes.
- Adding 100 new on-street parking spaces generally on the left side of the street to give pedestrians a protected walking zone on adjacent sidewalks and residents additional access to the Farmers Market, Kempf House, and downtown businesses. Some parking already takes place on these streets, but inconsistently. Ten of these new parking spaces would be located on Fifth Avenue between Community High School and Ann Street, that could serve City Hall and its new court/police building.
- Creating gateways at Division/Packard, and Fifth/Beakes to help traffic accommodate to posted speeds as motorists enter the downtown area.
- Reducing the east/west crossing distance at intersections by providing bump-outs to make pedestrian movements more comfortable and safe for seniors, children, and others.
- Reducing City energy and maintenance costs by installing LED lights in locations that currently have cobra head and other kinds of street lights.
In addition, the plan would repair the damaged brick streets in the Kerrytown Area and expand the amount of brick street in that Area, replace missing and dead trees where necessary, add bike hoops, repair broken flags of concrete sidewalk, and work in partnership with the Ann Arbor Public Schools to make improvements to the Community High School back lawn and parking lot which are used every week by patrons coming to the Farmers Market.
Community members are used to using Fifth and Division as easy travel corridors, and efforts were made from the beginning to ensure that current and expected future vehicular traffic could be accommodated even as bicycle and pedestrian amenities were added. In September 2007 the DDA commissioned a Traffic Impact Study from Parsons Brinckerhoff Michigan, Inc. to understand whether its proposed plan would accommodate vehicular traffic.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) estimates that traffic in Ann Arbor will grow by approximately 0.7%/year. Using this traffic growth projection, Parsons-Brinkerhoff (PB) estimated that by 2025 it will take drivers 4-12 seconds more to drive the full length of Fifth or Division due to increased traffic. PB then assessed the delay during rush hour if the proposed Fifth and Division improvements were installed.
Using the same multi-year MDOT traffic growth projections, the PB Traffic Impact Study determined that if the improvements were implemented it would take drivers approximately 5-30 seconds more to drive the entire length of each corridor, or 1 to 18 seconds more than would be experienced without the changes. Thus the traffic impact is not likely to be noticeable to the average driver.
The proposed improvement plan for Fifth and Division Streets has been developed to accommodate existing traffic demands while at the same time encourage greater pedestrian and bicycle use on these corridors and thus potentially reduce the number of car trips by providing attractive and safe transportation alternatives. Moreover, the plan will support citizen access to important downtown services and businesses by providing over 100 new on-street parking spaces.
During the five years it has taken to develop this plan the DDA worked closely with several members of City staff, including representatives of Systems Planning, Parks Planning, Field Operations, Public Services, and Project Management offices, to ensure that the project will meet City goals.
Moreover, representatives of many community organizations have provided input into the development of the plan. These organizations have included Washtenaw Bicycle Walking Coalition, Ann Arbor District Library Board, Community High School staff & students, Ann Arbor Farmers Market, Kerrytown Shops, Washtenaw Area Transportation Study, Michigan Department of Transportation, AATA, Ann Arbor Hands On Museum, University of Michigan, and the Downtown Area Citizens Advisory Council.
Further, consultants for this plan have been associated with important City Planning initiatives during its evolution, including the 2007 Non-Motorized Plan and the current Ann Arbor Municipal Center project. These consultants include Quinn Evans/Architects, and the Greenway Collaborative, Inc.
The DDA has reserved some funds for this project, but the estimated total cost for all improvements requires that a multi-phase and multi-partner approach be taken to accomplish the full project. With City Council approval of this plan City staff would be able to direct private developers along the length of these streets to include elements in their site plans. Further, the DDA was notified last fall that it had been awarded a Transportation Enhancement (TE) grant from the State for approximately $1 million for the first phase of the project, which is estimated to cost $4 million. A City Council approval of the proposed conceptual plan for Fifth and Division is needed before the State can unconditionally commit funds for this project.
It is important to note that some of the specific elements of the plan are still under discussion with City staff and as portions of the project are submitted to City staff for approval we will continue to work with them to adjust the recommended plan as necessary.
Staff
Prepared by: Susan Pollay, DDA Executive Director
Approved by: Roger W. Fraser, City Administrator
Body
Whereas, The DDA has proposed to undertake improvements along the length of Fifth and Division to increase alternate transportation use, encourage residential development, and foster connections between the Kerrytown, Main Street, and State Street areas;
Whereas, Primary elements of the DDA’s Fifth and Division plan include the following:
- Maintaining one-way traffic and vehicular traffic capacity on these streets.
- Using some street width for dedicated bicycle lanes that would connect to bicycle lanes on. Packard and to the Broadway Bridges and 100 new on-street parking spaces to improve pedestrian comfort and support residential, civic and commercial purposes.
- Installing pedestrian bulb outs to reduce crossing distances and moderate traffic speeds as vehicles enter the downtown area.
- Repairing the street bricks and expanding the area of street bricks in the Kerrytown area as a signature element, and improving the pedestrian crossing between the Kerrytown Shops and Community High School.
- Using LED street fixtures or other energy-saving technology.
Whereas, The DDA proposed plan for Fifth and Division supports the goals of the 2007 Non-Motorized Plan and 1988 Downtown Plan; and
Whereas, Approval of the DDA-proposed plan for Fifth and Division would provide streetscape direction for private developments along these corridors, it would allow consideration of a DDA grant request by the State of Michigan, and it would provide direction to the DDA as it prioritizes resources for downtown improvements;
RESOLVED, The Mayor and City Council approve the DDA-proposed conceptual plan for Fifth and Division, and encourage an ongoing dialogue about the project between the DDA and City when implementation begins.
As Amended by Ann Arbor City Council on July 7, 2008.