Walk/Bike/Places 2018

Narrow It Down: Data-Driven Approaches to Achieve Multimodal Solutions on Constrained Roadways

Monday, September 17, 2018 | 3-4 p.m. Breakout Session

Presenters: Cassidy Boulan, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission; Jane Lim-Yap, AICP, LEED AP, Principal Planner, Kittelson & Associates, Inc.; Thom Stead, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission

As demand for bicycle and pedestrian facilities continues to increase, many communities are faced with the challenge of transforming legacy infrastructure into facilities for all ages and abilities. Learn how projects in Florida (road diets) and Philadelphia (neighborhood greenways) used data-driven methodologies to identify new networks and design possibilities along roadways previously perceived to be too narrow or congested to accommodate high-quality bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Presenters will also share outreach approaches for communicating opportunities and dispelling myths using data.

As part of this breakout session, Kittelson principal planner Jane Lim-Yap presented on how a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) project is addressing initial community controversy and seemingly disparate stakeholder perspectives through innovative community engagement, close agency partnerships, and thoughtful data analyses. The session’s goal was to help similar communities faced with utilizing existing roadways with limited right-of-way to serve a growing demand for mobility and access options, and in the context of a very engaged and vocal community. The project is being advanced to concept development as a lane elimination with a cycle track. It is the first such project on a state roadway in Central Florida.

Road diet projects in urban environments bring disparate yet understandable views on bicycling mobility, pedestrian accessibility and safety, and vehicular traffic challenges. Oftentimes, these potentially contentious projects get bogged down, and emotional responses take over a process. Traditionally, data- and resource-intensive ways were used to inform traffic impacts of reallocating street space. This session utilizes several (free) data sources and approaches to explain potential traffic diversions and the trade-offs among various community needs.

The study employed a menu of tools for innovative data gathering and big data analytics to understand cost/benefit on all users (including peak period versus all-day), benefits/impacts of various street section alternatives, and trade-offs – all toward avoiding a potential impasse. The team used resource-efficient Google travel time collected through an API to understand network travel times and potential diversions. The study also used data visualization that allowed community members to meaningfully engage and provide input based on data and information.

Context-Based Complete Networks: An Innovative Approach to Classify, Design, and Prioritize Implementing Context-Based Complete Street Networks

Monday, September 17, 2018 | 5:30-6:30 p.m. Poster Presentation

Presenter: Aditya Inamdar, AICP, LEED AP, Planner, Kittelson & Associates, Inc.

This poster presentation by Kittelson planner Aditya Inamdar will display a methodology to combine context-based street type classification with bicycle and pedestrian level of traffic stress (LTS)/level of comfort (LOC) analysis. Land use context-based street type classification will guide development of context-sensitive design standards, while LTS/LOC analysis will help prioritize street corridors to implement those context-sensitive design standards on key corridors to create a complete network.

Collect – Evaluate – Communicate – Repeat: Designing and Implementing Effective Project Evaluations

Tuesday, September 18, 2018 | 5:30-6:30 p.m. Poster Presentation

Presenter: Amanda Leahy, AICP, Senior Planner, Kittelson & Associates, Inc.

Kittelson senior planner Amanda Leahy presented on the successes, challenges, and lessons learned during development and implementation of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Safe Streets Evaluation Handbook. The audience learned about best practices for developing and implementing before-and-after studies to assess the effectiveness of projects in meeting stated objectives and delivering anticipated benefits. The audience also became familiar with different methods of data collection, performance measure selection, evaluation, and communication of project outcomes. Strategies for identifying specific, objective, and quantifiable goals and establishing meaningful and measurable criteria for project evaluation were explored. Example data collection plans and evaluations for various project types were shared.

Learning outcomes:

• How to develop and implement before-and-after studies to support evidence-based planning
• How to create specific, objective, and quantifiable goals and identify meaningful and measurable criteria
• How to recognize scenarios which may benefit from before-and-after studies as an evaluation tool
• How to scale data collection and evaluation efforts based on available resources

Amanda also presented at the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) awards ceremony at the member meeting on Sunday, September 16, 2018, and staffed the APBP booth on Monday, September 17, 2018, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Gamechanger: Moving from Reactive to Proactive Safety Planning with Systemic Safety Analysis

Wednesday, September 19, 2018 | 4:30-5:30 p.m. Breakout Session

Presenters: Erin Ferguson, PE, Principal Engineer, Kittelson & Associates, Inc.; Byron Rushing, Bicycling & Walking Program Manager, Atlanta Regional Commission; Rebecca Sanders, Research Lead, Toole Design Group

In the age of Vision Zero, new techniques for analyzing and prioritizing unsafe locations are needed to proactively address safety issues. Systemic safety analysis is an emerging technique that allows cities and regions to identify the commonalities between crash locations and screen for those factors throughout their networks. Many crashes occur in somewhat random locations and are often overlooked by traditional “hotspot” scans, but systemic analysis provides a data-driven foundation for systemic countermeasures that help minimize the chances that future crashes will “move around.” This type of analysis is particularly important for pedestrians and bicyclists, who generally have lower crash numbers than motorists and benefit from identifying high-risk areas based on roadway characteristics and traffic operation patterns rather than spot locations.

This panel described the value of systemic safety analysis and showcased two examples in practice. Kittelson principal engineer Erin Ferguson provided an overview of systemic safety analysis and the types of value cities and regions may gain from using it. Byron Rushing then discussed how the Atlanta Regional Commission is using the results of a recent high-level systemic analysis to choose priority investment corridors and modify street design approaches to reduce the likelihood of future pedestrian and bicycle crashes. Finally, Dr. Rebecca Sanders of Toole Design Group profiled Seattle’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Analysis, and discussed how SDOT continues to use those results to prioritize and coordinate investments throughout the city. Participants left with a better understanding of the potential for systemic safety analysis and concrete examples of its impacts.