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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 2012-073 - Council Policy No 1303 e e RESOLUTION NO. 2012-073 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDDING ADOPTING CITY COUNCIL POLICY NO. 1303 RELATED TO COMPLETE STREETS INFRASTRUCTURE WHEREAS, the term "Complete Streets" describes a comprehensive, integrated transportation network that is designed, constructed, and maintained to foster safe and convenient travel along and across streets for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motor-vehicle drivers, public-transportation riders, emergency vehicles, and people of all ages and abilities, including youth, families with children, older adults, and individuals with disabilities; and WHEREAS, the City of Redding recognizes the importance of Complete Streets infrastructure that enables safe, efficient, convenient, and comfortable travel for all users. Such infrastructure includes sidewalks, shared-use paths, bicycle lanes, paved shoulders~ accessible curb ramps, crosswalks, refuge islands, pedestrian signals, signs, street furniture, bicycle parking facilities, public-transportation stops and facilities, street trees and landscape, parkway strips, and other features assisting in the provision of safe travel for all users, such as traffic-calming circles, narrow vehicle lanes, raised medians, transit bulbouts, and those features identified in the General Plan; Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan; and Bikeway Action Plan; and WHEREAS, streets that are not designed to provide safe transport for all users can present a barrier to pedestrians, bicyclists, and public-transportation riders and motorists; and WHEREAS, the City of Redding recognizes that the careful planning and coordinated development of Complete Streets infrastructure offers long-term maintenance cost-savings for local government by reducing the number and width of motor-vehicle lanes, benefits public health by facilitating physical activity, and can provide financial benefits to property owners by increasing pedestrian activity in commercial areas, while yielding a safe, convenient, efficient, and integrated transportation network for all users; and WHEREAS, the City of Redding wishes to encourage walking, bicycling, and public-transportation use as safe, convenient, and economical modes oftransportation that promote public health and independence for all people; and WHEREAS, streets are a key public space, shape the experience of residents of, and visitors to, the City of Redding, directly affect public health safety and welfare, and provide the framework for current and future development; and WHEREAS, both public and private development activities should participate in developing and implementing a Complete Streets network throughout the community; and ;J ~ ~ - ~ I C) -J eN WHEREAS, the City of Redding wishes to implement its existing policies and standards that recognize the importance of addressing the transportation needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, public- transportation riders, and motorists as contained in the Complete Streets policies of the Redding General Plan and the City of Redding Subdivision Ordinance; -- e e NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Redding that the attached City Council Policy No. 1303, titled "Complete Streets Infrastructure," is hereby adopted. I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing resolution was introduced, read, and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 21 sl day of August, 2012, by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS: COUNCIL MEMBERS: COUNCIL MEMBERS: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Bosetti, Jones, McArthur, Sullivan & Dickerson None None None (jU~ DICK DICKERSON, Mayor Attest: I , ./ '/), '. - ..;, .. Form Approved: r ~ PAMELA MI~E,' _' -- ;~,.~ierk " - ", - ", ,~ . " - I -~ ,{ DevServ\Resolutions\Reso-CompleteStreets- KM -CC. wpd ./ SUBJECT RESOLUTION NUMBER POLICY NUMBER EFFECTIVE DATE PAGE COMPLETE STREETS INFRASTRUCTURE 2012-073 1303 AUGUST 21, 2012 1 BACKGROUND On September 30, 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1358, "The California Complete Streets Act." The legislation requires local jurisdictions to amend their General Plans as necessary to ensure that they include polices that will lead to the construction of streets that can accommodate use by pedestrians, bicyclists, disabled persons, and transit users, in addition to motor vehicles. The City of Redding adopted amendments to the Transportation Element of the General Plan on August 21, 2012, to comply with the Complete Streets Act. PURPOSE The purpose of this Council policy is to provide specific direction to affected City departments in the implementation of the City's Complete Street policies. POLICY The following shall be the policy of the City of Redding to ensure that Complete Streets are, and will continue to be, a vital element of the City's transportation infrastructure. 1. The various departments of the City of Redding shall make Complete Streets practices a routine part of everyday operations, shall approach transportation projects and programs as opportunities to improve public streets and the transportation network for all users, and shall work in coordination with other departments, agencies, and jurisdictions to achieve Complete Streets. For purposes of this resolution, projects and programs include the public and private construction, reconstruction, retrofit, maintenance, alteration, or repair ofthe street system and includes the planning, design, approval, and implementation processes. Projects and program do not include minor routine upkeep such as cleaning, sweeping, mowing, spot repair, or interim measures on detour routes. 2. Street projects, including those constructed within and adjacent to, or necessary to serve, new development should incorporate Complete Streets infrastructure that balances the needs of all users, provided, however, that such infrastructure may be excluded upon written approval by the Public Works Director where documentation and data indicate that: a. Use by nonrnotorized users is prohibited by law. b. The existing right-of-way does not allow for the accommodation of all users. In such cases, alternatives shall be explored, such as the use of revised travel-lane configurations, paved shoulders, signage, traffic-calming, or similar alternatives. c. The cost would be excessively disproportionate to the need or probable future. d. There is a documented absence of current or future need. e. The safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, or vehicular traffic may be placed at an unacceptable risk ;.'/' SUBJECT RESOLUTION NUMBER POLICY NUMBER EFFECTIVE DATE PAGE COMPLETE STREETS INFRASTRUCTURE 2012-073 1303 AUGUST 21, 2012 2 3. If the safety and convenience of users can be improved within the scope of pavement resurfacing, re-striping, signalization operations, and similar routine activities on public streets, such projects shall incorporate Complete Streets components unless to do so would be unreasonable or inappropriate in light ofthe scope of the project or the project is subject to the limitations noted in Item 2 above. 4. The City of Redding Public Works Department and the Development Services Department shall review the City's existing street-related standards and ordinances and prepare revisions as may be necessary to apply Complete Streets practices throughout the transportation network The review shall consider right-of-way needs, cross-section templates, design-treatment details, street/intersection curb radii, and other standards to achieve a balance between the needs of various users of streets. 5. In its review of proposed development projects, the City will ensure that the intent of this Complete Streets policy is implemented by ensuring that the design of the development includes streets that will accommodate all multimodal users of the facility in a safe and efficient manner and that appropriate street, pedestrian, and bicycle connections from developments to adjacent main streets, open-space areas, parks, transit stops, schools, employment and commercial centers, and other activity centers are provided. It is recognized that streets must be designed in a context-sensitive manner and that not all streets, such as many local residential streets, will necessarily incorporate separate facilities for each use, as long as they provide safe accommodation for all users, 6. The Public Works Director shall: a. Establish a program to identify critical pedestrian- and bicycle-route gaps in the transportation network for all roadway users, which categorizes and prioritizes necessary improvements to correct identified deficiencies through street-maintenance programs as funding allows. b. Identify those streets and sections of streets within the City that, given existing and forecast traffic volumes, have been designed and/or constructed to accommodate traffic in excess of existing and future need. Establish a program for the redesign/retrofit of said streets to be implemented when funding is available. Such retrofits may include, bu are not limited to, reducing the number oftraffic lanes and adding bike lanes (i.e., "road diet"), reducing lane widths to accommodate bike and pedestrian facilities, and providi pedestrian-safety enhancements at intersections, such as "bulbouts" and refuge islands. c. Establish a process to facilitate public participation in policy decisions and transparency in determinations concerning the design and use of streets. d. Develop funding strategies for addressing transportation needs; actively pursue funding from state, federal, and other sources. .....,...... e e SUBJECT RESOLUTION NUMBER POLICY NUMBER EFFECTIVE DATE PAGE COMPLETE STREETS INFRASTRUCTURE 2012-073 1303 AUGUST 21, 2012 3 e. Report to the City Council regarding the steps taken to implement this policy, additional steps planned, and any desired actions that would need to be taken by the City Council or other agencies or departments to remove impediments to implementation of this policy. 7. Provide opportunities for City staff and the public to participate in training programs in how to integrate, accommodate, and balance the needs of all users when such training becomes available. Policies\CompleteStreets- KM -CC. wpd