Daylighting Multi-Modal Streets

Sustainable Transportation on Vancouver’s Commercial Streets

DAYLIGHTING MULTI-MODAL STREETS

Cail Smith PLAN 580 April 14, 2016

CONTENT Introduction

5 Parts of Proposal • • • • •

Vision Policy Infrastructure Events Data Collection

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION This document proposes a project for the City of Vancouver entitled Daylighting Multi-Modal Streets. This proposal requires new policies, changes to street infrastructure, a series of events and multi-phase data collection.

These different pieces of the proposal will be based on Tactical Urbanism (TU). Methods from TU encourage a phased, locally-led, short-term, lowrisk/low cost project that increases social capital (Lydon & Garcia, 2015).

These principles will be incorporated into the proposal in the following pages.

ISSUE IDENTIFICATION SUMMARY As noted in the previous memo, commercial streets in Vancouver are at the centre of tensions between business owners and cyclists. Those who want to cycle on this streets are pushing to be given road space while owners believe reducing the amount of space devoted to cars will negatively impact their business.

ISSUE IDENTIFICATION SUMMARY Resolving this conflict requires a new way of new of imaging the streets with a new transportation mode hierarchy that recognizes the right to the street for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users.

For commercial streets in Vancouver, the best approach to changing the hierarchy uses tactical urbanism methods.

DAYLIGHTING MULTI-MODAL STREETS VISION

POLICY

INFRASTRUCTURE

EVENTS

DATA COLLECTION

VISION

“Imagine a different urban future, one where walking, bicycling and the provision of more public space could be made easier.”

(Lydon & Garcia, 2015, p. xvi) Figure 1. Adapted from “5 Big New Projects Remaking Cities,” by Gizmodo, 2014, http://gizmodo.com/5-big-new-projects-remaking-cities-into-havens-for-pede-1547358152

DAYLIGHTING THE STREET Daylighting streams refers to the historical process by which urban streams are uncovered and restored. For streets, this would mean to return to an older mobility where multiple transportation modes share the streets.

Figure 2. Retrieved from “[Hastings Street at Homer Street]” by City of Vancouver Archives, 190-, http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/hastings-street-at-homer-street

Figure 3. Retrieved from “[Hastings Street at Gore Avenue, looking west],” by City of Vancouver Archives, 190-, http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/hastings-street-atgore-avenue-looking-west

MEETING GOALS Daylighting streets requires changes to policy and infrastructure that will help the City meet the Transportation 2040, Greenest City, Renewable City and Healthy City goals & targets.

Transportation 2040 • • •

By 2040, at least two-thirds of all trips will be made by foot, bike, and transit.

Reduce distance driven 0 traffic-related fatalities

Renewable City •

Greenest City • •

Over 50% of trips by foot, bicycle and public transportation Reduce average distance driven per resident by 20%

•

100% of energy from renewable Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80%

Healthy City • •

Active living & getting outside Safe, active & accessible transportation

TARGETED STREETS There are many commercial streets within Vancouver that will benefit from greater access for pedestrians, cyclists and transit-riders. This report specifically supports that the City seek interested groups to partner with on:

• Main Street • Commercial Drive • Sections of Broadway When deciding where to focus within this group, the city should concentrate on streets where interested groups are willing to champion Daylighting. Once they have an interested group, they should connect with nearby schools, community centres and, most importantly, business & property owners.

CORE OBJECTIVES As they relate to the City of Vancouver’s goals and targets noted above, this project will have the following goals:

1. Maintain or increase business rents and income.

2. Reduce traffic fatalities on these commercial streets to 0 and maintain or increase the perception of safety.

3. Have 100% of trips by residents who live with <5 km made by foot, bike or transit during within 5 years of the first event.

POLICY

POLICY AND PLANNING

LIABILITY & RISK INTERDEPARTMENTAL SUPPORT

Both Lydon & Garcia (2015) and Pfeifer (2013) have identified several issues that should be considered when “integrating shortterm, tactical projects into official planning processes” (Pfeifer, 2013, p. 8).

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

SLOW BUREAUCRACY

LIABILITY & RISK Cities and engineers often struggle with changes to street infrastructure that use a tactical urbanist approach. Since designs are often not found in geometric manuals and professional literature, politicians and professions are concerned they are exposing themselves to legal action by deviating from their professional standards. Planners have found that by stressing that the temporary and flexible infrastructure will be closely monitored have helped departments find compromises (Lydon & Garcia, 2015; Pfeifer, 2013).

Other cities have built on temporary street closure by-laws to implement these types of changes, but Vancouver already has Viva Vancouver. Viva Vancouver is focused on pedestrian spaces and has different goals than the Daylighting project. However, the institutional knowledge, permitting and connection with the Risk Management Department can easily be built on by a Daylighting team.

FINDING INTERDEPARTMENTAL SUPPORT Pfeifer (2013) suggests several best practices for interdepartmental communication when tactical urbanism approach on a project.  Approach other departments early  Communicate goals and determine other departments needs  Provide space and time for interdepartmental dialogue  Design an appropriate process that meets other departments needs.

FINDING INTERDEPARTMENTAL SUPPORT For the Daylighting Project, working with Viva Vancouver would provide the institutional knowledge to find support in the City of Vancouverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s departments. Viva Vancouver has been so successful because the team has been able to connect with other departments to waive the cost of road closures and find funding from other departments for related events. This team was lead by a planner working from within the Engineering Department, an approach also suggested for this project since it will be related to street infrastructure (Pfeifer, 2013).

GETTING COMMUNITY BUY-IN The most important piece of this project is starting in areas with community groups that are interested in championing these initiatives.

Additionally, schools, community centres and businesses nearby should be involved. In other cities, there are specific requirements for community support before a project can be approved by the City Council. ď&#x201A;­ In Portland, Intersection Repair Projects require signatures from all four corner properties and 80% of residents in the nearby blocks (n.d.) ď&#x201A;­ In New York City, the Plaza Program requires 8 letters of recommendation from key community stakeholders (n.d.)

There should be similar requirement for Daylighting projects.

SPEEDING UP THE PROCESS Once a streamlined internal process has been built and community champions have been identified, it is important to maintain this momentum. Any additional jurisdiction issues should be identified during this internal and external outreach and dealt with then.

Rather than waiting for entire streets to get on board, the Daylighting team should look for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;quick winâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interventions and activities that will gain more support and interest in the project. This may mean small interventions that take place on just one or two blocks at appropriate days and times.

INFRASTRUCTURE

INFRASTRUCTURE Unlike Car Free days, the focus for Daylighting Streets is keeping all three groups moving smoothly by taking cars off the road. This will be done by using temporary infrastructure to create three main zones: pedestrian, cyclist and transit. However, these zones will be porous and may narrow or expand as the street width allows. Cars and delivery vehicles may also be allowed through on transit routes, if necessary.

As suggested in the report on separated lanes, the Daylighting project would benefit from relaxed bylaws that allow for â&#x20AC;&#x153;larger advertising signage, more outdoor seating, or reduced onsite parking requirements to help businesses attract customers and ease the transition from the start of construction through the post-construction adjustment period, with the option to make some changes permanentâ&#x20AC;?

(Stantec, p. vii).

Materials to change the streetscape should be lowcost and easy to move (and remove). Recyclable and lightweight materials are best. There are a variety of materials that fit this criteria.

INFRASTRUCTURE MATERIALS

Figure 4. Created from World Cloud, http://www.wordclouds.com/

A COMMERCIAL DRIVE PROPOSAL During a Daylighting event, Commercial Drive would be closed to single occupancy vehicle traffic. The following changes would be made:  No cars Extension of pedestrian zone onto the street on both sides (except where bus pulls into pre-existing curb-level stops) Two-way, separated bike lane on one side of street

Two-way, transit route  Bus either pulls across bike lane  OR appropriate infrastructure set up for those using wheelchairs to get on ramp

Please see next page for illustrated cross-section.

Figure 5. Created from Streetmix, http://streetmix.net/

A MAIN STREET PROPOSAL During Daylighting, Main would be closed to single occupancy vehicle traffic.

Pedestrians are able to cross whenever and wherever it is safe as well as at crosswalks.

The following changes would be made:  No cars Two-way, separated bike lane in middle of street Transit routes remain curbside. Additional pedestrian zone in street centre. Please see next page for illustrated cross-section.

Figure 6. Created from Streetmix, http://streetmix.net/

BROADWAY PROPOSALS Broadway is a unique and lengthy street. Any interventions and rearrangement of traffic would need to be very specific to the section of the street.

Ideas from the Main Street and Commercial Drive proposals may carry over.

TEMPORARY & FLEXIBLE All of the infrastructure added initially will be temporary and flexible. Street users will ultimately show the successful and flawed designs through their use. Staff will closely monitor and be prepared to move and adjust infrastructure as necessary, especially during the first series of events. These changes should be recorded and collected as lessons learned.

EVENTS

DAYLIGHTING MULTI-MODAL STREETS EVENTS Rather than a pilot project format, the Daylighting project will use the event-based format commonly used for Tactical Urbanism Projects. The Open Streets Guide (2012) suggests several steps for developing an action plan for these events. The following slides will detail these steps.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Create a Brand Strategy Decide Schedule Design Route Plan Supporting Activities Celebrate the Effort Evaluate

EVENTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1. CREATE A BRAND STRATEGY The brand for the events will connect with two concepts: Daylighting streams & connecting with the past.

Daylighting local streams is associated with re-greening the city and bringing nature back into the city. This connects with the Greenest City aspect of the project.

Connecting to the past emphasises how mobility has changed. How we travel today does not need to be how we travel in the future. In the future, there is no reason we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t travel as we have in the past.

Daylight Streams Connect to Past

Daylighting Streets

Figure 6: Concept Drawing for Daylighting Multi-Modal Streets Event. Cail Smith.

EVENTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2. & 3. DECIDE SCHEDULE & ROUTE Deciding the schedule and frequency of events will take the season and community needs into account.

Although the majority of events would take place in the spring and summer, events should continue into the fall and winter. This continues the momentum and shows businesses how the removal of parking and SOV traffic will impact their business in other seasons.

A study of separated bicycle lanes in downtown Vancouver recommended connecting with businesses early and examining the parking, loading and business needs for each stores. This would ideally be paired with an education campaign for business (Stantec, 2011).

EVENTS –4. PLAN SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES Supporting events for Daylighting projects should remain off the street so transit and cyclists can still travel the street. There can be small information or activity booths, but the focus should be on steady (not fast) movement and enjoying the street.

Activities should touch on both parts of the brand and might include: • • • •

Historical tours & talks Costume days School outreach Activities at community centres

• • • •

Coupons and special deals Local ecology talks Guided animal encounters Making and displaying art

Historical activities should acknowledge and separate the Daylighting projects from the sexism and racism past that existed at the same time as multi-modal streets.

EVENTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5. & 6. CELEBRATE & EVALUATE Pick milestones along the way and celebrate the project supporters, especially local champions, non-profits and businesses.

Evaluate the events short-term events and include this information in longer studies of impacts of daylighting.

DATA COLLECTION

WHAT DATA SHOULD BE COLLECTED? The City of Vancouver has recommended “well-defined and continuous monitoring program[s]” for projects involving business and changes to street layouts (Stantec, 2011, p. 51). These will help the City identify whether the key goals for the project are being met. Data should be collected before the project begins and throughout the project on the following pieces of information.

Goal 1: Business Impacts • • • • • •

Sales* Vacancy Rates* Lease Rates* Rents* Accessibility Travel times on street & nearby

Goal 2: Safety Impacts • • • •

Injuries Collisions Safety Perception Traffic speed on street & nearby

Goal 3: Community Impacts • Event Attendance • Resident perception of events • Resident perceptions of safety • Mode share to street by residents (<5km) *As suggested by Separated Lane Study (Stantec, 2011)

CONCLUSION

SUMMARY The City of Vancouver has a unique chance to daylight their multi-modal streets by creating a vision, policy, infrastructure, events and data.

Through the continuous assessment of flexible infrastructure, street users can change how they view themselves in relation to their community. If this proposal moves forward, the City will be able to achieve the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core goals and will be that much closer to meeting the larger policy goals.

The Daylighting Multi-Modal Streets Project will make Vancouver greener, healthier and more sustainable for this generation and the next.

REFERENCES

If not noted on slide, images are copyrighted by Cail Smith.

REFERENCES Stantec (2011). Vancouver separated bike lane business impact study. Retrieved April 2, 2016 from http://council.vancouver.ca/20110728/documents/penv3BusinessImpactStudyReportDowntownSeparatedBicycleLanes-StantecReport.pdf Lydon, M., & Garcia, A. (2015). Tactical urbanism: Short-term action for long-term change.

Washington, DC: Island Press.

New York City (n.d.). NYC Plaza Program. Retrieved April 11, 2016 from

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/nyc-plaza-program.shtml Pfeifer, L. (2013). Tactical urbanism and the role of planners. Retrieved Feb 20, 2016 from https://reginaurbanecology.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/pfeifersrp.pdf Portland Bureau of Transportation (n.d.). Intersection repair projects. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/67083 Street Plans & the Alliance for Biking and Walk (2012). The open streets guide: Volume 1.

Retrieved from http://www.bikewalkalliance.org/storage/documents/reports/OpenStreetsGuide.pdf