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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985 Downtown Traffic Circulation Study Opening the 200&300 Blocks of S Washington AveDOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY OPENING THE 200. AND 300 BLOCKS OF SOUTH WASHINGTON AVENUE PUBLIC SERVICE DEPARTMENT HOWARD G. MC CAFFERY DIRECTOR TRANSPORTATION DIVISION DAVID A. BERRIDGE TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER JUNE 1985 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OFFIGURES ..................ii LIST OFTABLES ..................iii . INTRODUCTION .....,........."...1 . Angle Parking Requirements y . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . . . 2 ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ^ Traffic Flow Impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Traffic Circulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . � . . . 3 _ Parking Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Loss -of Parking Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Pedestrian Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 ` Traffic Safety . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . 6 IMPLEMENTATION COSTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 ` OTHER CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Meters for the 100 Block Mill . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Opening the 100 Block at Michigan Avenue . . . . . 1.0 SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 APPENDIX r. i LIST OF FIGURES FIG. 1 - EXISTING CIRCULATION PATTERNS . . . . . . 7 FIG. 2 - POSSIBLE CIRCULATION PATTERNS 200 AND 300 BLOCKS OPEN . . . . . . . . . 8 FIG. 3 - POSSIBLE CIRCULATION PATTERNS 100, 200 AND 300 BLOCKS OPEN . . . . . . . 11 ' M. 4 - 200 BLOCK EXISTING LAYOUT . . . . . . . . A 1 FIG. 5 - 200 BLOCK ALTERNATIVE 1 LAYOUT . . . . . . A 2 FIG. 6 - 200 BLOCK ALARNATIVE 2 LAYOUT . . . . . . A 3 FIG. .` 7 - 300 BLOCK EXISTING LAYOUT . . . . . . . . A 4 FIG. ` 8 - 300 BLOCK ALTERNATIVE 1 LAYOUT . . . . . . A 5 FIG. 9 - 300 ' BLOCK ALTERNATIVE 2 LAYOUT . . . . . . A 6 i� ii LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1 - PARKING SPACE COMPARISON . . . . . . . . 5 TABLE 2 - ACCIDENT HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 TABLE 3-COST ESTIMATES .............9 FA DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY OPENING THE 200 AND 300 BLOCKS OF SOUTHWASHING7[QN AVENUE INTRODUCTION JUNE 13, 1985 The nature of the downtown commercial/retail environment . continues to change with each passing year. Prior to 1978South Washington Avenue was closed from 8AM-6PM for attended parking and opened in the evenings for traffic circulation" Between 1978 and 1980 the City decided to develop a pedestrian oriented environment in the 100, 200 and 300 blocks of South Washington Avenue. As a result each block was closed at one end and attended parking equipment and gates were installed at the other end. These modifications resulted in: creation of parking areas only accessible via the one-way streets in the Central Business District: elimination of drive -by (through) traffic in front of the commercial/retail areas; an environment which favored ' pedestrian activity over vehicular movement: and the loss of man parking spaces due to the construction of the landscaped islands. At the time the plan was implemented, the general concensus of the downtown merchants was that this type of pedestrian oriented environment was desirable. During the ensuing years, many changes have occurred in the downtown merchant/retailer make-up. As a result, the issue of changes to the traffic circulation patterns, in particular, the possible opening of the Washington Mall for two-way traffic flow has been raised frequently. The Lansing City Council has requested that the Administration prepare a report focusing on the opening of the 200 and 300 blocks of South Washington Avenue to two-way traffic (Public Properties and Safety Committee Report dated April 1, 1985). This report addresses the physical changes which would be required, costs and the traffic and parking impacts. Angle Parking Requirements Existing physical conditions in each block are essentially the ' same. They consist of landscaped islands designed to support 90 degree parking in a small parking lot type environment and curb -to -curb widths of 64 feet. This width is not sufficient to allow proper access to adjacent 90 degree parking spaces without conflicting with oncoming traffic" Two-way free -flow traffic in these blocks would require the implementation of directional ^' angle parking in order to create acompatible environment between traffic flow and parking. Angle parking would eliminate conflicts with opposing traffic during the parking and unparking - maneuvers. DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY-1 JUNE 13, 1985 Alternatives - Given that angle parking is specifically required, there are three alternatives available: Alternative Qu Work within the existing island dimensions and restripe the parking spaces to 60 degrees. Alternative : Modify the design of the existing islands to support 60 degree angle parking more efficiently" Alternative (3): Remove all of the landscaped islands and work with "clean" block faces to maximize 66 degree parking efficiency. Since the 100 and 400 blocks would continue to be landscaped and present a generally pleasing environment, Alternative Number 3 was deemed to'bednconsistent with the overall downtown plan and not considered further. Alternatives Number 1 and Number 2 were analyzed in detail. ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS Traffic Flow Impacts The opening of the Washington Mall would necessitate the upgrading of three existing traffic signals along Washington Avenue. These signals currently operate stop and go for eastbound and westbound traffic and would continue to operate with their existing timings and splits, which favor both east -west traffic progression -and north -south pedestrian movements. An analysis of progression along Washington Avenue was performed. It indicated that only limited northbound progression exists during the various timing plans currently utilized daily in the CBD. There would be no signal progression for southbound traffic on Washington Avenue. Since the signal progression would be poor, it is anticipated that little through traffic would be diverted from Grand Avenue or Capitol Avenue, as these streets have very good 'rogres;ion. It should be emphasized that traffic diverting from other streets to Washington Avenue would do so because it would generally have predetermined business in the area and not because of the desirability of the route. The only exceptions to this general statement might be for westbound to southbound traffic on Washtenaw which currently utilizes Capitol Avenue and possibly eastbound to northbound traffic on Kalamazoo Street which currently uses Grand Avenue. Based on the high travel desire for these movements, some diverson to Washington Avenue might occur. DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY-2 JUNE 13, 1985 Low levels of service (congestion) along -Washington Avenue can be expected for several realons: (1) limited traffic signal progression as detailed above; (2) only one lane of traffic flow in each direction; (3) requirement that through traffic wait while parked vehicles back into the roadway; and ' ^ (4) the presence of delivery vehicles stopped along Washington Avenue. ' ' Delivery vehicles are cu rently allowed into the parking lots and cause few operational problems once inside, generally parking in vacant spaces. In some cases, these vehicles park along the existing islands which sometimes hampers, but does not totally restrict parking lot operation. If Washington Avenue is modified to serve twn-laoe two-way traffic operation, delivery vehicles parking parallel along the islands would force through traffic into oncoming traffic. Therefore, such parking would have to be prohibited and strictly enforced. ` Some delivery activity occurs along the curb areas along the east -west streets where the Washington Mall is currently closed. This area would also be lost if the blocks were open for two-way ` traffic. Such a reduction in delivery vehicle dwell areas may cause hardships for some businesses which cannot be served by the existing CBD alley system. Some of the long-time downtown merchants have expressed their recollections of these,operational problems occurring in the past when Washington Avenue was open and delivery vehicles routinely blocked parked vehicles in the spaces for (in some instances) long periods of time. Traffic Circulation ' The opening of the 200 and 300 blocks of the Washington Mall would improve some aspects of downtown traffic circulation. Visitors to the core CBD commercial/retail establishments would ` b e permitted to circle through IQ area along mang new travel /Pal.ls, Travel distances would be reduced and improved access to available parking would be created. Major one-way north -south arterials (Grand and Capitol) would remain unchanged, and, the major east -west arterials (Washtenaw, Kalamazoo, and Allegan) could also remain one-way with no impact on the core CBD circulation improvements created by opening the 200 and 300 ' blocks. Given the concept that east -west and north -south arterials retain their current one-way operation and current signal timings, the impact of opening the 200 and 300 blocks of the Washington Mall ._ on downtown traffic would be minimal. Travel times along the arterials would remain essentially unchanged. DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY-3 JUNE 13, 1985 Figure 1 shows the existing travel patterns and Figure 2 shows the proposed travel patterns in the core area of the CBD. Parking Operations The existing operation of the mall parking lots require attendants and parking gates. Two different control concepts were considered for the through traffic scenari& a "master meter" and conventional parking meters. An innovative concept, the "master meter" consists of a centrally located device, which controls all parking spaces in a confined area. Due to the wide variation in travel patterns of the drivers after they leave their vehicles, it was determined that a minimum of six (6) machines would be required to control the two blocks. At a cost of $8,000 - $12,O00 per machine the total cost of this concept is substantially higher than if conventional parking meters were used. In addition, the use of pawking meters would eliminate adverse walking distances for the public after they park their vehicles. Therefore, thp recommended parking control for the open blocks would be parking meters. This method would also be consistent with the operation of the 400 block of South Washington Avenue. Parking meters would be purchased with the token acceptance feature similar to all other meters used in the commercial/retail core of the CBD. Time limits on the meters could vary within each block based on the needs of the businesses. Further input would be required from the businesses regarding this issue. However, the recommended maximum time limit would be two (2) hours in order to encourage parking turnover" Installation of parking meters in the 200 and 300 blocks would substantially reduce the number of attended parking spaces in the Washington Mall retail area and reduce the viability of the existing merchant validation (rubber stamp) program. Merchants could continue to use the parking token system to provide free customer parking. The use of the tokens is geared toward the repeat visitor rather than the one time or infrequent visitorL Parking meters require immediate payment by'the visitor, whereas, attended parking allows payment at the end of the visit. Merchant validation at the attendant booth permits customer reimbursement for the initial visit. Parking tokens issued by the merchant to the customer (visitor) provide a reimbursement mechanism, however, they must be retained and used on subsequent visits to the CBD. Parking meters also require enforcement and issuance of parking tickets. This particular aspect of parking enforcement has been absent from the Washington Mall area of the CBD for more than 10 years. DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY-4 JUNE 13, 1985 Loss of Parking Spaces Table 1 summarizes the number of parking spaces available for each alternative in each block, as well as the number of existing spaces. A review of Table 1 indicates that the change in the number of spaces would be as follows: Alternative #1: 200 block 14 spaces lost, 300 block 16 spaces lost; ^ � � Alternative 02: 200 block 8 spaces lost, 300 block 9 spaces lost. , The combined overall loss of parking spaces for both blocks for Alternative 01 is 30 spaces (28.8%) and for Alternative 02 is 17 spaces (16.3%). ----- PARKING SPACE COMPARISON 200 BLOCK ALTERNATIVE 1 36 ALTERNATIVE 2 42 EXISTING CONDITIONS 50 LOST SPACES ALTERNATIVE 1 14 ALTERNATIVE 2 8 TABLE 1 Pedestrian Safety 300 BLOCK 38 45 54 16 � 9 Pedestrian/vehicular conflicts would increase at the new ' intersections. Although the intersections would be controlled by walk/wait indications, the presence of additional vqhicular traffic in these high pedestrian traffic areas woul,(cause a. , increase in accident potential. Man' pedestrians currently cross in mid -block locations all along the mall. Such crossing activity is due to the general pedestrian atmosphere which exists in the area today and is of* course legal. This atmosphere is present due to the absence of through traffic, the existing parking lot environment and the high levels of pedestrian activities. The mid -block crossing activity is a result of the desire of pedestrians to make ran'fi` stops at the existing businesses fronting on both sides of the Washington Mall. If the Washington Mall is opened, two-way traffic will dramatically alter the pedestrian environment. Existing pedestrian desires to cross at mid -block locations will remain DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY-5 JUNE 13, 1985 unchanged and it is assumed that the increased traffic congestion at the newly opened intersections might actually increase the attractiveness of mid -block crossing for the pedestrians. Therefore, a condition would be created where pedestrians would routinely be crossing at midblock locations between parked cars into two-way traffic flow. This is not a desirable situation from a pedestrian safety standpoint. Traffic Safetg The presence of two-way tOaffic along Washington Avenue will result in increased accident potential. Vehicle backing accidents are currently occurring in all four blocks of South Washington Avenue. Table 2 provides a listing of accident totals for all four blocks including the 400 block (which is currently open to two-way traffic). Total parking accidents are somewhat higher in the open 400 block as compared to the other three blocks which are currently closed. Therefore, it is anticipated that accidents might increase in the newly opened blocks. The increase would be dependent upon the amount of parking activity in a� block and the volume of through traffic. In general parking activity is higher in the 200 and 300 blocks than in the 400 block. ACCIDENT HISTORY INVOLVING PARKING VEHICLES 1985 2 1 1 ' 2 1984 1 2 3 2 1983 1 2 2 1 1982 1 1 O 3 1981� � 1 1 1 1 TOTALS 6 7 7 9 TABLE 2 There would also be increased accident potential at the newly opened intersections. However, if the east -west streets remained one-way, the increase would be less than if the east -west streets were converted to two-way traffic. DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY-6 ALLEGAN JUNE 13Y 1.9B5 WASHTENAW KALAMAZOO ... ... ... .., I . . .... ... ... . ... . ... . ... ... ... j% G A. I,k c'. ".. L. F, 1 .1. 'Ui N! i- .*,,.i 1 K ; , — MICHIGAN - L� t 1 II IL FIGURE 1* DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY-7 JUNE 13, 1985 POSSIBLE CIRCULATION PATTERNS 200 AND 300 BLOCKS OPEN g ~_ FIGURE 2 DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC -CIRCULATION STUDY-8 JUNE 13, 1985 TRAFFIC SIGNAL MODIFICATIONS SIGN WORK PAVEMENT MARKINGS RESTRIPING PARKING EQUIPMENT REMOVAL PARKING METERS BOOTH ISLAND REMOVAL INTERSECTION MODIFICATIONS ISLAND - MODIFICATIONS CONTINGENCY (15%) TOTAL COST COST ESTIMATES 200 BLOCK ALT. 1 ALT. 2 $3000 $3000 400 400 150 150 350 400 1000 1,0OO 7,570 8,830 1/500 1000 5,780 5,780 ' -- 3,890 3,200 3000 $23,750 $29,550 TABLE 3 300 BLOCK ALT. 1 ALT. 2 $3,900 $3000 400 400 150 150 350 400 11000 .11000 7,990 9,460 - 1000 1,500 7,070 7070 -- 3,880 1,350 47100 $25010 $31,860 IMPLEMENTATION COSTS ^ There are several major work items which would be required to _ open the 200 and 300 blocks of the Washington Mall. The cost estimates given in Table 3 detail these costs. The following major work items would be required: ` 1) Traffic signal modifications 2) Sign work, pavement markings and restriping 3) Parking equipment removal and installation ^' 4) Roadway modifications _ ' 5) Mall island modifications (optional) .. DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY-9 JUNE 13, 1985 Alternative 1 could be implemented for approximately $49,400. This would create two-way traffic flow in the 200 and 300 blocks with 74 parking spaces (a loss of 30 spaces). Alternative 2 could be implemented for approximately $61,400. This would create two-way traffic flow in the 200 and 300 blocks with 87 parking spaces (a loss of 17 spaces). OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Meters for the 100 Block Mall The installation of parking meters in the 200 and 300 blocks will result in the loss of 104 spaces out of 144 attended parking spaces in the Washington Mall commercial/retail core of the CBD. As previously stated this would have a very severe impaCt on the existing merchant validation program. The remaining attended parking area in the 100 block could function independently, however, the possibility of converting this block to metered operation without opening the street to two-way traffic should be evaluated in the future if changes are made in the 200 and 300 blocks. If it is determined that a metered parking area with token acceptance capabilitiei would service the 100 block business environment satisfactorily, this operationalchange could be implemented in conjunction with the opening of the 200 and 300 blocks or at some later time. Opening the 100 Block at Michigan Avenue The proposed improvement to Mic'higan Avenue between Capitol Avenue and Grand Avenue, more commonly referred to as the "Approach to the Capitol" project, is currently in the feasibility study stage. One of its major features is a traffic/pedestrian circle at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Michigan Avenue. The core CBD commercial/retail district could benefit from further circulation improvements and enhanced access/egress if a "full -function" traffic circle could be constructed at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Washington Avenue (see Figure 3). The current design of the traffic circle does not lend itself well to opening Washington Avenue at Michigan Avenue for two -wag traffic flow. However, since this project is in preliminary desieVonly, modifications can be considered and evaluated. There are many operational details regarding this concept which need to be considered that are not addressed in this report. However, it warrants further study, and will be evaluated as part of the "Approach to the Capitol" analysis. If feasible and desirable, it could be implemented in conjunction with the "Approach to the Capitol" project. DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY-10 CAPITOL BLDG. ALLEGAN WASHTENAW KA LA MAZOO JUNE 1.3y 1.985 POSSIBLE CIRCULATION PATTERNS 1.00, 200 AND 300 BLOCKS OPEN MICHIGAN ................................................ ....... ... FIGURE 3 DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY-11 JUNE 13, 1985 SUMMARY As circulation and parking needs change in the downtown area, plans must be developed and evaluated to address those needs. It was not the intent of this report to study, evaluate or judge the necessity of opening the 200 and 300 blocks of the South Washington Mall to two-way traffic" The purpose of this report was to evaluate the feasibility and impact of this specific project as proposed by the City Council. In summary: , --- It is feasible to open the 200 and 300-blocks of the South Washington Mall for two-way traffic and parking. --- Parking in these blocks would have to be converted from 90 degrees to 60 degrees. --- Parking spaces would be lost in each block depending on the alternative selected. --- Parking losses would range from 30 spaces (28.8%) to 17 spaces (16.3%) depending on the alternative selected. --- Parking meters with various time limits, up to a two-hour ' maximum, would be recommended to control the parking spaces. ' --- Parking enforcement would be required in an area where there has been no enforcement. � --- Congestion along Washington Avenue should be expected. --- Problems could develop with delivery vehicles. --- Assuming no other changes are made to other existing arterial streets in the CBD, the overall impact on traffic flow would be minimal. --- TrIffic safety along Washington Avenue would be reduced and accidents could increase, but to what extent is unknown. --- Pedestrian/vehicular conflicts would increase. --- The pedestrian environment on the Mall would be lost. � --- Traffic circulation in the core of the CBD will be improved. --- Alternative 1 would require no modification of existing landscaped ifflands, result in a loss of 30 parking spaces and cost $49,400. --- Alternative 2 would require some modifications to the existing landscaped islands, result in a loss of 17 parking ~ spaces and cost $61,400. DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC CIRCULATION STUDY-12 APPENDIX 200 BLOCK S. WASHINGTON SQUARE 4 ' -IN k- ` IIIIII� W U) EXISTING CONDITIONS 50 SPLICES 4 200 BLOCK S. WASHINGTON SQUARE ALTERNATIVE N0, I 36 SPACES 1` U) A 2 , m . \\ I 200 BLOCK S. WASHINGTON SQUARE i z ALTERNATIVE NO. 2 42 SPACES A 3 300 BLOCK S. WASHINGTON SQUARE EXISTING CONDITIONS 54 SPACES aid A 4- 300 BLOCK S. WASH INGTON SQUARE JO ALTERNATIVE" NO. I 38 , SPACES A 5 300 BLOCK S. WASHINGTON SQUARE ALTERNATIVE NO. 2 45 SPACES A 6