Transportation Plan - 2009, amended

6.0 D esign G uidance 6.1 Bicycle and Pedestrian Design Guidance

proposed for development, a sketch plan showing the tentative lo- cations of streets, bicycle facilities, and public access ways should be submitted for the entirety of the land owned. Stub-outs (open connections for future development) should be constructed to allow for bicycle and pedestrian facilities on-site, and the next construc- tion phase should be designed to connect to this network. Feasibility analysis of the proposed connection on the adjacent parcel should be done to demonstrate that the connection on the adjacent site is constructible and able to be permitted. Circulation Requirements. Adequate provisions should be made for bicycle and pedestrian circulation between buildings and related uses on development sites. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also contains regulations for on-site circulation. Reduced Parking Options. Parking codes should be modified to allow a reduced parking option for developments that are located on bus routes and provide facilities that encourage bicycling and walking. In general, shopping center parking lots should not be designed to handle volumes that occur only once or twice per year, but rather more typical volumes. Commercial Design for Bicycle and Pedestrian Compatibility. Build- ings should not automatically be separated from the street by park- ing lots—this discourages pedestrian access and primarily serves those who arrive by automobile. A maximum setback requirement of (15 to 25 feet) can help to encourage pedestrian activity. Park- ing, driving, and maneuvering areas should not be located between the main building entrance and the street. Exceptions to this may be considered for handicapped parking spaces and drop-off areas for facilities serving a majority of seniors and school-age children. Park- ing lots should be located on the side and rear yards of the property whenever possible. For developments with multiple buildings, direct pedestrian access to public transit should be provided by clustering buildings near bus stops. Building Orientation and Facades . Main building entrances should be oriented to face the street, especially any street designated as a bus route. Entrances and paved walkways should lead directly to a bus stop. Visual stimulation is very important to pedestrians—long, blank walls with no openings onto the street discourage walking. Building facades should maintain continuity of design elements such as win- dows, entries, storefronts, roof lines, materials, pedestrian spaces and amenities, and landscaping. Parking garages on streets with bus ser- vice should have ground-floor street frontage developed for office, retail, or other pedestrian-oriented uses. On-site Walkways. For developments with multiple buildings and/or outparcels, all building entrances on the site should be connected by

Bicycle and pedestrian standards do not need to conflict with the desire to move vehicular traffic safely and expediently, but opportu- nities exist throughout Morrisville to expand upon the “bikability” and “walkability” of the whole town. No other mode of transportation is as available to everyone as walking. Everyone becomes a pedes- trian at some point, whether in a parking lot, on a greenway, or just walking through the neighborhood. Special emphasis is placed on existing and proposed Activity Cen- ters, the best practices that make the differences to cyclists and pe- destrians, getting across railroads, and making intersections easier to navigate by pedestrians, especially in low-speed conditions. The inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian facilities and design com- ponents that encourage walking and cycling are not amenities or extra improvements, but required elements of the design of new and retrofitted (change in land use or result in the increase of 25% of the square footage) private and public developments in the Town of Morrisville. Similarly, when considering design, maintenance, and upfits to all new and redeveloped properties, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and associated guid- ance and amendments is mandatory. Part I. Design Guidance The following site design guidance has been extracted from the Fed- eral Highway Administration; other guidance documents are from equally credible sources including the Institute for Transportation En- gineers; North Carolina Department of Transportation, and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (refer to guidance section for these and other resources). Residential Design for Bicycle and Pedestrian Compatibility. A resi- dential subdivision layout (including planned unit developments) should provide safe, convenient, and direct bicycle and pedestrian access to adjacent and nearby (within ¼-mile for walking and two miles for bicycling) residential areas, bus stops, and neighborhood activity centers such as schools, parks, commercial and industrial ar- eas, and office parks. Subdivision Connections. During subdivisions of properties, all streets, bicycle paths, and sidewalks should be designed to connect to adja- cent properties so that a secondary grid-based system of roads and sidewalks develops over time. When subdivisions are built with only one outlet to a main thoroughfare, the result is heavy traffic conges- tion and difficult intersections for both motorists and pedestrians. For projects in which only part of the land owned by the applicant is

Figure 6.1 (A)

Figure 6.1 Bicycle Design (A) Bicycle lanes are appropri- ate on streets with fewer drive- ways and street intersections, but sooner or later an intersection will need to be addressed. These fig- ures show three different marking treatments, with the middle im- age indicating an on-street park- ing situation. The left and right images indicate two different phi- losophies of how to handle right- turn bays. (B) Creating a good trail system requires an in-depth examination of the features that make each trailway unique and responsive to its setting. Many trails are devel- oped in conjunction with streams, rivers, and lakes. A 20’ to 30’ right- of-way can contain a 12’ asphalt wearing surface, as well as at least 2’ “clear zones” on each side of the trail, and occasional trail furniture to take advantage of scenic vistas, historic markers, or high-traffic points.

Figure 6.1 (B)

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6 Design Guidance