TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Marisa Lundstedt, Director of Community Development
Erik Zandvliet, T.E., City Traffic Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Follow-Up Review and Designation of Manhattan Avenue Bikeway Between 1st Street and 15th Street as an Existing Facility in the Bicycle Master Plan (Community Development Director Lundstedt).
APPROVE
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Designation of Manhattan Avenue Bikeway between 1st Street and 15th Street as an Existing Facility in the Bicycle Master Plan.
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Maintenance of the Manhattan Avenue Bikeway signs and markings is funded through the existing Public Works operating budget.
BACKGROUND:
On January 7, 2014, the City Council approved the installation of a bikeway on Manhattan Avenue (Attachments 1 and 2). The bikeway supports the 2005 Citywide Bikeway Plan, the South Bay Bicycle Master Plan, and the Draft 2015 Mobility Element of the General Plan. Public Works crews installed the bikeway signs and markings in March 2014.
DISCUSSION:
A "Bikeway" is defined as a facility that provides amenities for bicycle travel. There are three types:
Class I Bikeway (Bike Path) - A completely separated right of way for the exclusive use of bicycles with minimized crossflow, such as the pathway through the City west of The Strand. State guidelines require a width of at least eight feet for two-way bicycle movement.
Class II Bikeway (Bike Lane) - A striped lane for one-way bike travel on a street or highway. The minimum width required is four feet where there are no curbs, five feet adjacent to a curb, and five feet adjacent to an 8' wide curb parking lane.
Class III Bikeway (Bike Route) - A shared use unstriped lane with bicycle and motor vehicle traffic with design criteria and uniform symbols. No minimum widths are required, but routes should only be designated after considering factors such as surface condition, obstructions, curb parking, and connections to other bikeways.
Bicycle Friendly Street - Bicycle Friendly Streets are Class III bikeways that have been enhanced with sharrows, traffic calming measures, and other enhancements to encourage bicycling without dedicating exclusive pavement for bicyclists. Such streets generally feature lower speed limits, connections to City and school destinations, and have fewer stops.
City Bikeway Plan Conformance
The City is currently preparing an update to its General Plan Circulation Element, known as the Mobility Plan. The Mobility Plan update will identify the goals and policies for a balanced, multi-modal transportation system serving all users, including motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, seniors, persons with disabilities, and transit users. With regard to bicycle facilities, this update will incorporate the previously approved Bicycle Transportation Plans, and become the new framework for future bicycle related enhancements throughout the City.
The Draft Mobility Plan shows Class II Bike Lanes on Manhattan Avenue between 1st Street and 8th Street and Class III bike route between 9th Street and 15th Street. (Attachment 3) Bike routes and lanes are consistent with current General Plan Policies and Goals as well as the Draft Mobility Plan objectives.
Manhattan Avenue Conditions
Manhattan Avenue is a 50-feet wide north-south collector street as designated in the General Plan. It has one lane in each direction, carries approximately 9,000 vehicles per day and has a posted speed limit of 25 mph. The adjacent land use is residential between 1st Street and 8th Street, and retail commercial between 8th Street and 15th Street. Manhattan Avenue terminates at 15th Street and extends south into the City of Hermosa Beach. Parking is allowed on both sides of the street.
There is parallel curb parking on both sides of Manhattan Avenue between 1st Street and 8th Street, which allows sufficient width for painted bike lanes between the travel lane and curb parking. The new bike lanes provide a designated area for bicyclists outside of the travel lanes, so motorists are not impeded by slower bikes. Second, the lines help define the curb parking area so that residents clearly know how far parked cars can extend into the street. This has resolved an ongoing problem caused by residents who park their vehicles partly in their driveways and overhang too far into the street. Bike lanes also provide a buffer between parked cars and traffic lanes.
North of 8th Street, there is angled parking on one or both sides of Manhattan Avenue. Bike lanes are not generally recommended behind angled parking, due to the restricted sight distance of motorists backing into the street and legal requirements for bicyclists to stay in a bike lane. Therefore, Class III bike route signs and sharrows markings were installed on this street segment. In addition, "Bicyclists May Use Full Lane" signs were installed between 8th Street and 15th Street to educate both bicyclists and motorists. Bicyclists riding in the travel lane were not expected to delay motorists because of the lower vehicle speeds in the downtown area.
Photographs comparing before and after conditions on Manhattan Avenue are included in Attachment 5.
In the future, a bikeway along Manhattan Avenue could connect to The Strand Bike Path by continuing south on Manhattan Avenue and west on 35th Street in Hermosa Beach. The north end could also connect with planned bikeways on Highland Avenue and along Valley Drive/Ardmore Avenue via 15th Street (Attachment 6).
Trial Period Findings
The Traffic Engineer evaluated traffic conditions along Manhattan Avenue before and after the bikeway was installed. Bicycling volumes appear to have increased modestly from a few bicycle trips per day to approximately 50 bicycle trips per day, based on observations and local bike rack occupancy on typical Spring days. A field count was not conducted because bicyclist volumes are too low to quantify at this time. Field observations confirm that motorists are not impeded by bicyclists following the sharrows because prevailing speeds are similar to biking speeds, and there is sufficient lane width to pass slower bicyclists.
The traffic collision history between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2015 was analyzed along the Manhattan Avenue bikeway (Attachment 5). According to City records, there have been no reported bicycle related collisions and no vehicle collisions related to the bike signs or markings subsequent to the installation of the bikeway. Vehicle collision rates are somewhat lower after the bikeway was installed, but it is too early to conclude this trend will continue. While the bikeway has only been in place for a year, it does not appear to have affected either bicycle or vehicle collision rates.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
Tonight's meeting was noticed by way of a mailed postcard notice to all adjacent property owners along Manhattan Avenue prior to this meeting (Attachment 6). The City has received no objections to the bikeway signs or markings, but has received some complements on the positive effects of bike lane markings on curb parking conformance.
The City also worked with Vitality City/Blue Zones Project and the South Bay Bicycle Coalition on additional outreach efforts through email notification. The City Police and Fire Departments have no objection to the new bike lanes and sharrows on Manhattan Avenue. The Police Department has stated the bike lanes have helped with parking enforcement.
CONCLUSION:
Based on the success of the trial period and overall benefits of bikeways in the City, staff recommends that the Manhattan Avenue bikeway between 1st Street and 15th Street remain in place, and be designated as an existing facility in the Bicycle Master Plan.
Attachments:
1. January 7, 2014, City Council Report with Attachments
2. January 7, 2014 City Council Minutes
3. Draft Mobility Plan Bikeway Plan
4. Manhattan Avenue Bikeway Before/After Photos
5. Collision Summary - 2009 to 2015
6. Public Notice