TO: Mayor Collins and Town Council Members
FROM: Brian Dalke, Interim Town Manager
Dawn-Marie Buckland, Deputy Town Manager
Paul Michaud, Interim Community Development Director
DATE: September 13, 2018
DEPARTMENT: Community Development
Staff Contact Paul Michaud, Senior Planner, 480-348-3574
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AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Discussion of the Walk & Bike Plan
Body
TOWN VALUE(S):
☐ Primarily one-acre, residential community
☐ Limited government
☒ Creating a sense of community
☒ Partnerships with existing schools and resorts to enhance recreational opportunities
☐ Improving aesthetics/creating a brand
☐ Preserving natural open space
The Walk & Bike Plan meets the Town values of creating a sense of community by establishing a plan that aims to focus pedestrian and bicycle facilities onto collector and minor arterial streets. The plan seeks to have the Town do more outreach toward education and enforcement. This outreach specifically looks to improved partnerships with resorts and schools.
COUNCIL GOALS OR STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS:
Preparing the Walk & Bike Plan meets both an implementation measure of the Town’s 2012 General Plan and a Town Council Quality of Life initiative.
RECOMMENDATION/TOWN COUNCIL DISCUSSION/UPDATES:
No action will be taken at this meeting. Review of the draft plan was postponed until fall 2018 to allow Council to work on other unrelated projects. As it is now fall 2018, the draft plan has been brought forward for continued Council discussion.
The Council last discussed the draft plan at the study session of March 22, 2018. Based on this prior discussion, staff would look to the Council to determine the best option in moving forward. Some possible options include the following:
• If the draft plan recommended by the Planning Commission is close to what Council envisions with possible minor edits, an option is to move forward with the Minor General Plan amendment of the 2012 General Plan. This option is the Planning Commission recommendation. It updates the 2012 General Plan by striking the goals and policies of Section 4.2, Non-Motorized Circulation; striking Section 4.5, Implementation Measures; and striking Section 4.6, Maps and Standards of the Mobility Element. These sections of the 2012 General Plan are replaced with the Walk & Bike Plan.
• If Council determines the draft Walk & Bike Plan requires substantial edits from what Planning Commission recommended and only desires to incorporate a few components of the draft plan, then these components can be incorporated in a Minor General Plan amendment of the 2012 General Plan. This would require additional staff time to put these components in the 2012 General Plan format and update the proposed resolution accordingly. For example, this might include pulling out the separate McDonald Drive roadway cross-sections that removes the 2012 General Plan bike lanes.
• Another option is to leave the 2012 General Plan as-is and table the Walk & Bike Plan for a future date, such as during the next major update of the 2012 General Plan which must occur every 10 years by State Statute. The Town will likely start the process to update the 2012 General Plan between 2020 and 2022. Should the Walk & Bike Plan in its entirety or portions be adopted in 2018, the upcoming update of the 2012 General Plan could provide a good time for a look back on any necessary revisions. This option may or may not include the creation of a Council-directed committee to work on the plan.
At the March 22nd meeting, Council directed staff to update the Council on how the proposed plan furthers safety by mitigating conflicts between pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. The plan mitigates these conflicts through physical improvements, education, and enforcement. The attached Summary presentation includes several slides on mitigation. Staff was also asked to update the presentation with more detail of the proposed bicycle and/or pedestrian projects not existing or already in the existing Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The Detailed Projects presentation covers direction heard, what is in the draft plan, the design, condition-feasibility, how the project mitigates conflict, and possible options for Council consideration for each project. The Summary presentation includes detail on the Resort Loop (Project No. 13 of Table 3-3a-c of the draft Walk & Bike Plan) and McDonald Drive (Project No. 10 of Table 3-3a-c of the draft Walk & Bike Plan) since these were specifically identified by Council at the last meeting. There are two west-east bicycle connections per the 2012 General Plan, McDonald Drive and Doubletree Ranch Road. The draft Walk & Bike Plan removes the mapped connection west of Invergordon Road on McDonald Drive per the Council’s Statement of Direction. Doubletree Ranch Road remains a west-east connection. Staff is prepared to present project detail on any of the proposed facilities outlined in the list of projects on pages 3-03 through 3-05 of the Walk & Bike Plan at the September 13th work session or a future work session. This could include direction on road projects in process such as the re-pavement design of Doubletree Ranch Road east of Invergordon Road (Project No. 3 of Table 3-3a-c of the draft Walk & Bike Plan). The Walk & Bike Plan proposes some additional sidewalk on the south side of this street and a crosswalk at/near 67t Street. It may also include further discussion of traffic calming measures related to the neighborhoods on/near Hummingbird Lane (Project No. 1 of Table 3-3a-c of the draft Walk & Bike Plan). At the direction of the prior Town Manager, the Town Engineering Department made some physical improvements to part of this area based on a traffic study and the Police Department increased enforcement of this area to address ongoing resident concerns. Another project in process is the sidewalk project along Lincoln Drive. The Walk & Bike Plan proses a new crossing at/near Hillside Drive on Lincoln Drive (Project No. 9 of Table 3-3a-c of the draft Walk & Bike Plan).
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Planning Commission Recommendation
The Planning Commission on February 20, 2018 has forwarded to the Town Council approval of Resolution 2018-06, accepting the Walk & Bike Plan and the associated Minor Amendment to the 2012 General Plan.
2012 General Plan
A starting point in the project was the 2012 General Plan that was ratified by Town residents. It includes a map of bike lanes/routes and several goals and policies on non-motorized transportation. Approval of the Walk & Bike Plan allows this plan to be a supplement of the Town’s General Plan effectively amending the following portions of the 2012 General Plan:
1) The deletion of the goals and policies of Section 4.2, Non-Motorized Circulation, replaced by the goals and policies of the Walk & Bike Plan;
2) The deletion of the Implementation Measures 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, and 14 of Section 4.5, Implementation Measures, of the 2012 General Plan, replaced by the implementation measures of the Walk & Bike Plan; and
3) The deletion of Section 4.6, Map and Standards, of the 2012 General Plan that includes the maps, facility definitions, and typical street cross-sections, replaced by the maps an standards of the Walk & Bike Plan.
Summary of 2018 Draft Plan
The 2018 Walk & Bike Plan is broken into four sections: Introduction, The Plan, Projects + Costs, and Moving Forward. The format of the plan is geared toward the online user.
The Introduction summarizes the guiding principles developed through public input and the Town Council Statement of Direction process. This section explains the mission of the plan. The mission was based off the non-motorized intent in Section 4.2 of the 2012 General Plan. The rest of this section summarizes the public input process and five phases of the plan process. Also, it provides benefits in walking and biking, safety tips, and education and enforcement approaches.
The Plan section includes maps, typical roadway cross-sections, and a description of the Town’s preferred facilities and elements (or toolbox) related to its walking and biking system. The Proposed Pedestrian and Bicycle Map illustrates the future end state of the various walking and biking facilities for the Town. The Pedestrian Map and the Bicycle Map look at each system separately. These maps provide an understanding of what facilities already exist, what facilities are in the 2018-2022 CIP, and what facilities are proposed. The Street Classification Map replicates the street classification map in the 2012 General Plan. There are no changes in street classifications proposed. The typical street cross sections build off the street cross-sections in the 2012 General Plan, with revisions to make them consistent with the Walk & Bike Plan. The Toolbox section describes each of the pedestrian and bicycle facilities. It also lists the supporting elements of the system related to traffic calming, crossings, and wayfinding.
The Projects + Costs section provides a worksheet template the Town Council or Town staff may use in prioritizing future CIP projects. It also describes in more detail the projects illustrated on the pedestrian and bicycle maps of this Plan. Estimated costs and rough time frames for completion are provided, but may change as projects are funded during the annual Town budget process or as future circumstances develop. The attached cost estimates reviewed by the Planning Commission were the basis for the costs in the plan.
The Moving Forward section lists the six goals and related policies developed during the plan process. Many of these goals and policies came from the 2012 General Plan. This section continues with implementation measures, performance measures, and methods to fund the proposed improvements.
BUDGETARY IMPACT:
Implementation of the Walk & Bike Plan has a budgetary impact since it includes construction of pedestrian and bicycle facilities. The plan does anticipate spreading out the cost of such improvements between the years of 2018 to 2030. Also, funding opportunities to reduce costs may exist through seeking grants, combining improvements with future projects, and/or stipulating improvement with approval of a future development.
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Resolution 2018-06
2. Plan Process Summary
3. Compliance to SOD
4. Cost Estimates
5. Minutes
6. Resort Input
7. Summary Presentation
8. Detailed Projects Presentation
9. Walk & Bike Draft Plan
C: - Case File
Note: Past information on the plan, including public comments, are available at <http://www.paradisevalleyaz.gov/555/Bicycle-Pedestrian-Master-Plan>.