Transportation Plan - 2009, amended

6.1 Bicycle and Pedestrian Design Guidance, cont’d

Additional Guidance and Resources AASHTO, Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities (website: www.sccrtc.org/bikes/AASHTO_1999_BikeBook.pdf). Note: Update of the 1999 edition forthcoming at the time of this writing. Institute of Transportation Engineers, Design and Safety of Pedestrian Facilities, A Recommended Practice, 1998. Federal Highway Administration, Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access, Part II of II: Best Practices Design Guide, 1999. Federal Highway Administration / Project for Public Spaces, Context Sensitive Solutions (website: www.contextsensitivesolutions.org). Accommodating Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel: A Recommended Approach, A US DOT Policy Statement Integrating Bicycling and Walking into Transportation Infrastructure, Design Guidance (website: www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/design.htm#d5). Town of Morrisville Subdivision Ordinance v.8.0 and Zoning Ordinance v.8.0 (www.ci.morrisville.nc.us/planning/downloads.asp). Charlotte, North Carolina, Urban Street Design Guidelines (website: www.charmeck.org/Departments/Transportation/ Urban+Street+Design+Guidelines.htm). The Louis Berger Group, Inc., City of Durham DurhamWalks! Pedes- trian Plan. 2006. Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Bicycle Facility Handbook, January, 2004. Federal Highway Administration, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (website: http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/).

only in circumstances where a 10’ minimum is impractical due to specific site conditions. 6. Modify the existing subdivision ordinance to specify a maxi- mum block length of 600 feet (450 feet in Town Center Area and Activity Centers) except where it is not practicable as determined by the Town Engineer. 7. During construction, enforce the recommendations con- tained in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to provide pedestrian and bicycle detours where sidewalks and/ or bicycle facilities are blocked temporarily. 8. Off-site pedestrian and bicycle improvements are warranted in the near vicinity of a major pedestrian or bicycle trip gener- ator in the same way that off-site improvements to vehicular trafficarewarranted if thedevelopment negatively affects the level-of-service of existing roadways. Importantly, there must be a clear and causal connection between the need for any off-site improvement and the proposed development; a de- veloper cannot, for instance, be required to repair an existing deficiency in the system that s/he is not aggravating through the increased demand presented by the proposed develop- ment action. Therefore, it is hereby recommended that the Town of Morrisville amend the current subdivision and zon- ing ordinances to include mandatory pedestrian (including off-street greenway) and bicycle connections within ¼-mile of a new / retrofitted development when all of the following conditions exist, except as determined not practicable by the Town Engineer: • Public right-of-way is available to make a currently non-ex- isting connection to an existing or approved pedestrian / bi- cycle facility; AND • The proposed new / retrofitted development is expected to generate 250 or more trips per day according to the latest edition of the ITE Trip Generation Manual.

Figure 6.2 (A)

Figure 6.2 Additional Bicycle Facility Design (A) Generally, the multi-use trail, sometimes called a “sidepath” as shown in (B), is difficult to design on streets that have a large number of driveway and/or street intersections due to conflicts with turning vehicles and the additional threat posed by cyclists riding against traffic in the near vehicular travel lane. The risks can be minimized by moving the multi-use trail at least 10’ off the near travel lane, and bringing it back to the intersection for street crossings (bottom). Otherwise, a mid-block crossing may be warranted for crossings with large numbers of pedestrians and cyclists crossing (greater than 20 in the peak hour, for example). Mid-block crossing safety is improved when pedestrian-activated signals are used along with clearly visible stop bars and crossing markings. (B) The City of Charlotte, examining pedestrian safety factors, considers the factors shown in this diagram as an initial screening of when to install mid-block crossing devices for multi- use and pedestrian crossings. Taken together, these factors comprise a “solution space” where mid-block crossing treatments are recommended, then further studied to deter- mine which specific treatment is used.

Figure 6.2 (B)

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6 Design Guidance