TO:
Honorable Mayors and Members of the Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach City Council
SUBJECT:Title
Tri-Cities Study Session on the Draft Beach Cities Living Streets Design Manual.
RECEIVE AND FILE
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Councils: Receive and File the staff report and presentation materials and provide input (or comments) related to the Draft Beach Cities Living Streets Design Manual and discuss whether there is a common set of shared principles for living streets among the beach cities.
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The tri-cities study session is intended to bring the Council, Commissioners and public from each city up to speed on the work that has been completed to date so that they are familiar with the purpose and concepts of living streets when the Draft Manual is brought forward to each commission and council for review at a later date. This staff report provides a brief introduction to the topics, work completed to date, community workshops, and next steps for the cities of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and the Beach Cities Health District in the development of the Beach Cities Living Streets Design Manual and Aviation Boulevard Multimodal Corridor Plan.
BACKGROUND:
The Beach Cities Health District, through a grant from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), partnered with the cities of Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach, and Stantec to develop a comprehensive design manual to guide future street improvements towards the goals of health, safety, livability, sustainability, and more. The Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) and partnering cities have a long history of collaborating on active transportation policies and initiatives that aim to improve the health and wellness of residents while also offering a greater range of safe and convenient transportation choices to the community.
The work efforts under this grant include customizing the Los Angeles County Living Streets Manual for the three South Bay cities and then applying concepts from the manual as a framework for potential improvements on Aviation Boulevard through the South Bay.
Community Engagement:
As part of this process, three community workshops were held to solicit ideas and comments to shape the Living Streets Design Manual (Manual) and Aviation Boulevard Multimodal Corridor Plan. Stakeholders unable to attend one of the three workshops were also invited to provide written comments online. The specific content and focus of each workshop is outlined below.
Workshop 1 - Living Streets Planning Concepts
July 17, 2017, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Manhattan Heights Auditorium, 1600 Manhattan Beach Boulevard
Workshop 2 - Preliminary Aviation Corridor Concepts & Alternatives
January 31, 2018, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Boulevard
Workshop 2 Materials: Display Boards <http://www.hermosabch.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=10420> and Alternatives <http://www.hermosabch.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=10419>
Workshop 3 - Draft Living Streets Design Manual & Aviation Corridor Concepts
April 23, 2018, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Hermosa Beach Community Center Theater, 710 Pier Avenue
Workshop 3 Materials: Presentation <http://www.hermosabch.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=10587>
In addition to the three project workshops, in January 2018, BCHD hosted a Streets for All day of events that included discussions and dialogue with decision-makers, staff, and the community from the beach cities about the community’s values and how the principles of living streets help to achieve those values. During the community-focused event, the top values articulated by attendees included:
1. Community
2. Beach
3. Safety
4. Recreation
5. Weather
6. Walkability
Living Streets Design Manual:
The grant awarded to the Beach Cities included the adaptation of the Los Angeles County Living Streets Design Manual to fit the context and needs of the beach cities. These concepts are important as a growing number of communities, including the beach cities, are discovering the value of streets as important public spaces for many aspects of daily life. Beach cities residents want streets that are safe to cross or walk along, offer places to meet people, link healthy neighborhoods, and have a vibrant mix of retail and amenities. More people are enjoying the value of farmers’ markets, street festivals, and gathering places and people want to be able to walk and ride bicycles.
Once adopted, the Manual is intended to assist staff, decision-makers, and the community in understanding living streets concepts and consider how those concepts may be appropriately applied to different types of streets and public spaces when planning and designing projects that involve streets and streetscapes. The Draft Living Streets Design Manual is provided as Attachment 1 and the chapter topics are provided below.
1. Introduction
2. Vision, Goals, Policies, and Benchmarks
3. Street Networks and Classifications
4. Traveled Way Design
5. Intersection Design
6. Universal Pedestrian Access
7. Pedestrian Crossings
8. Bikeway Design
9. Transit Accommodations
10. Traffic Calming
11. Streetscape Ecosystem
12. Gathering Places
13. Designing Land Use Along Living Streets
14. Retrofitting Suburbia
15. Community Engagement for Street Design
16. Emerging Technologies
17. Beach Cities Specific Chapters
Aviation Corridor Multimodal Plan:
The second work effort of the grant included the development of a series of concepts that apply the Living Street Manual framework to Aviation Boulevard. This corridor in the South Bay region is heavily traveled, auto-oriented and can potentially benefit from safety and livability improvements. Through this process, three conceptual alternatives were developed and collectively are referred to as the Aviation Boulevard Multimodal Corridor Concept Plan. While the Aviation Corridor Concepts are not the primary focus of today’s study session, this context is provided to show how the Living Streets Concepts may be applied to a corridor in the Beach Cities. Future implementation of any improvements along the corridor would be at the discretion of the governing agency that has jurisdiction over their segment of roadway.
Moving Forward:
Staff anticipates that the review and adoption of the Living Streets Design Manual and Aviation Corridor Concept Plan, would be brought forward to the commission(s) and councils of each city later this fall for review and discussion. And as we turn our attention from adoption to implementation, staff anticipates a number of opportunities to collaborate among the three cities moving forward which may include:
1) Leveraging funding for specific projects with Living Streets concepts
2) Convening three Beach Cities to pursue a regional approach
3) Partnering to engage the community in dialogue around living streets
4) Identifying feasible best practices that can be consistently implemented across the cities
Attachments:
1. Draft Beach Cities Living Streets Design Manual
2. Tri-Cities Study Session PowerPoint Presentation