Tuesday morning, September 30, was the second community meeting to hear from residents and businesses about the proposed temporary and experimental traffic calming on Horton St. bike boulevard. The goal of traffic calming on Horton is to reduce the number of cars and reduce the speed of cars.
It was great to see 30 people turn out at 9:00 am, and we had a lively hour and a half of sharing points of view. I listened and learned from the people who came. Here are my take-aways.
Follow the Bike/Ped Plan. At this time, what is called for is Level 4 traffic calming. Level 4 means that there are additional measures put in place to slow car traffic down, with either horizontal (meaning side to side, weaving) traffic calming, like chicanes or narrowing, or vertical (up and down) traffic calming like speed humps. By slowing cars, we can hope some drivers will choose other more efficient routes, and avoid Horton. How many of you avoid roads with speed bumps when possible?
Provide more data. We don't really know where all the cars are coming from and where they are going. We are not trying to trick drivers or add to their frustration levels at traffic congestion in town, but we are trying to say this street is being protected for bicyclists. Staff suggested putting up speed signs by Thanksgiving that tell drivers what speed they are going, and will also record the number of cars and their speeds. Sherwin Williams' Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which is on the October 7 city council agenda, will be completed over the next 9 months or so, and will provide additional data on this area and the impacts that that development project will bring, including on traffic. It includes a traffic study.
Don't pit neighborhood against neighborhood. I think that some feel that a Level 5 diverter (which would close Horton to through car traffic either at 45th/Sherwin and/or at Stanford) would benefit some and hurt others. I disagree, in that the overall goal is to reduce ALL traffic on Horton, and I think that it would be effective in that, but I heard very clearly that others are concerned about "dumping" confused cars into the Park Ave district. With proper signage posted, we would hope to alert drivers to any closures or otherwise persuade them to find another route.
Safety is critical. This is one of the reasons I have been concerned about the proposed Level 4 traffic calming possibilities. Some of the Level 4 options narrow the road and put cars in conflict with each other, rather than with bikes. There are other options for Level 4 that I think would be safer options.
There is history here. Apparently, when the Chiron/Novartis/Grifols campus was being approved, Horton was considered an alternative route and pressure release for the traffic impacts on Hollis St. Now, we are reversing that goal by putting the Horton cars back on Hollis. There is no doubt that Hollis will be impacted.
Do it right and don't chicken out. Let's think this through and NOT repeat what happened in the Triangle neighborhood a few years ago. In that case, diverters were put in and then taken out within a few weeks, as the neighborhood reacted. The Level 4 traffic calming in the Triangle has NOT decreased vehicle counts on their streets, but it has decreased speed. As critical as it is to get some kind of traffic calming put in (since Horton has long had more than 3,000 vehicle trips per day, the maximum for a designated Bike Boulevard in Emeryville), it is o.k. to gather this kind of input and plan it out accordingly.
The real goal is to decrease vehicle trips in Emeryville in general, in my opinion. I think we will have to look at this overall for the city, not just for one street. Making driving in Emeryville less attractive is important, along with improving alternatives to driving. This includes looking at parking, Emery-Go-Round, bike and pedestrian connectivity, and thinking more globally about how these policies interact.
Keep access for local use. We need to look carefully at the places people need to get to and how they can get there now and with new measures put in place.
The Plan calls for Level 4 traffic calming now and in two years, Level 5 diverters, if the numbers are not sufficiently reduced. That coincides with the Sherwin Williams development - with construction starting in 2016 or so. We can plan for that and decide not to go that route if Level 4 has the impacts we hope for.
Please stay engaged on this topic, as it is an important part of our city's overall plan for changing the dominance of the car in town, at least on one street. When some asked why we need to worry about this at all, I put forward my ideas about the need to recognize "complete" streets, that support all modes of travel, and the "bike boulevard" which elevates the bicycle over the car in terms of priority and treatment.
Horton is a special street in many ways. It is not predominantly residential now. It is wide and has long blocks between stop signs. There is not parking on much of it. All of this contributes to fast driving, without the "natural" traffic calming that comes with greater pedestrian activity or narrowing.
One person bravely said, and I agree, that this is not something that can be worked out by studying alone. There is a certain amount of trial and error with these attempts to change behavior. I am glad that we have a grant to pay for the engineering and design work, and that it will be relatively inexpensive to put in "temporary" and "experimental" measures, so that we can really try out a few things. Let's be open to ideas.
When I was in Minneapolis last week for a national conference (RailVolution) on public transit and bike/ped issues, I was very impressed with that city's bike supportive culture. They are trying things that other places have not tried. Let's be bold and try something on Horton, and let's make it Level 4 traffic calming for now. Thanks again to all who have attended a meeting, or sent in an email with your thoughts. There will be more opportunities to engage!
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