Traffic Calming: Publications and Practice

PennDOT District 6-0 Street Typology and Speed Management

Decision-Making Framework

DVRPC Office of Safe Streets

Transportation Engineering and Safety ConferenceDecember 13, 2019

8:30 AM

Stakeholders

• PennDOT District 6-0

• City of Philadelphia– Department of Streets

– Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (OTIS)

• PennDOT Bureau of Maintenance and Operations– Kittelson & Associates, Inc.

Goal

Create a data-driven approach for determining where speed management treatments are most appropriate on arterials in Philadelphia

Study Arterials:

Principal Arterial

Minor Arterial

Philadelphia Streets + PennDOT RMS

Comparison: Principal Arterials

• Width: 73 ft• No. of lanes: 4• Speed limit: 35• AADT: 11,500• Land Use: Park/Residential• Context: Suburban• Jurisdiction: State

Henry Ave Torresdale Ave

• Width: 46 ft• No. of lanes: 2• Speed limit: 30• AADT: 14,500• Land Use: Residential-Commercial• Context: Urban• Jurisdiction: State

Comparison: Minor Arterials

• Width: 42 ft• No. of lanes: 2• Speed limit: 25• AADT: 4,000• Land Use: Residential• Context: Urban• Jurisdiction: State

Elmwood Ave 3rd St

• Width: 27 ft• No. of lanes: 2• Speed limit: 25• AADT: 5,000• Land Use: Residential-Commercial• Context: Urban Core• Jurisdiction: City

DM-2 Update - Draft

Key Questions

1. What speed management strategies are possible within the cartway of the arterial? (ROAD)

2. What land uses front the street and how do they dictate which speed management strategies are appropriate? (LAND)

3. Citywide, how does the arterial fit into the overall transportation network? (CONTEXT)

• Is the priority for land access or vehicle mobility?

1. Roadway Characteristics

• Width• Number of lanes• AADT• Speed limit

46 feet

1. Roadway Characteristics:Number of Lanes

4 or more

3 or less

1 2 3 4 5 6

2. Land Use

• Residential• Commercial • Industrial• Park• Mixed land use

• Residential-Commercial• Residential-Industrial• Commercial-Industrial

Commercial

Residential

2. Land Use: Data

• DVRPC Land Use data (2015)• 100 ft buffer along arterial to capture land use frontages• Land use categories summarized as:

– Park = min. 90% is park– Residential = min. 70% of road fronted by res LU– Commercial = min. 50% is com LU frontage– Industrial = min. 30% is ind LU frontage– Mixed uses for remainder

3. Context

• Urban• Urban Core

Methodology

• Roadway Characteristics (Sources: PennDOT & Streets Dept data)

• Land Use (Source: DVRPC data)

• Context(Source: City of Philadelphia parcel data)

Typology Assignment

WIDTH CATEGORIES NO OF LANES AADT LAND USE Example StreetsLess than 35 feet < 3 < 10000 Residential Spruce/Pine; Allens Ln

< 3 < 10000 Commercial/Res-Com Passyunk; 18th St< 3 >= 10000 Commercial/Res-Com

35-50 feet < 3 < 10000 Commercial/Res-Com Woodland Ave; Kensington Ave; Germantown Ave< 3 < 10000 Residential Diamond St< 3 >= 10000 Residential/Res-Com Torresdale Ave; Rhawn St

>= 3 *Any* Any industrial New State Rd; Penrose Ave>= 3 *Any* Commercial/Res-Com Chestnut St>= 3 *Any* Park MLK Drive

50-75 feet *Any* < 10000 Commercial/Res-Com Bustleton Ave, Girard Ave*Any* < 10000 Any industrial State Rd, Hunting Park Ave

>= 3 >= 10000 Commercial/Res-Com Broad St, Aramingo Ave>= 3 >= 10000 Any industrial>= 3 >= 10000 Park/Residential Henry Ave, Cobbs Creek Pkwy

More than 75 feet >= 3 *Any* Park/Residential Kelly Dr>= 3 *Any* Commercial/Res-Com Columbus Blvd, Grant Ave>= 3 *Any* Any industrial Washington Ave, Essington Ave

Roadway Characteristics + Land Use

TRAFFIC CALMING RESEARCH

Sources• Pennsylvania’s Traffic Calming

Handbook (2012)• Design Manual, Part 2 Update:

Multimodal Traffic Calming (2019 – DRAFT)

• Philadelphia Streets Department• NACTO Urban Design Guide

(2013) and Urban Bikeway Design Guide (2014)

• FHWA (various)• New York City Department of

Transportation Left Turn Traffic Calming Program

Design Criteria/Considerations

• AADT minimum and maximum thresholds• Speed limit maximum thresholds• Other considerations

– Land use (NACTO)– One-way vs. two-way– Number of travel lanes– Road width– Intersection density

Turning Movement Calming

AADTMaximum

Speed LimitMaximum Land Use Other

Considerations

Slow turn wedge/box ― ― ― one-way street

Hardened centerline ― ― ― two-way street

Curb extensions(SR: 1-2 mph) 15,000 40 MPH ― anywhere in

urban core

*SR: speed reduction benefit

TYPOLOGY ASSIGNMENT

Typology Development

1. Roadway Characteristics– Volume– Width and number of lanes– Intersection density/signalization– Speed limits– One-way vs. two-way

2. Land Use3. Context

1. Roadway Characteristics

• Key indicators:

– Narrow: less than 35 ft and any number of lanes OR less than 50 ft and less than 3 lanes

– Wide: greater than 50 ft and any number of lanes OR greater than 35 ft and 3 or more lanes

– High Volume (“Connector”): greater than 10,000 AADT

2. Land Use

• Residential/Commercial (“Neighborhood” uses)– Residential– Commercial– Residential-Commercial– Residential-Industrial

• Others (“Connector” uses)– Industrial– Commercial-Industrial– Park

Proposed Context

• Urban• Urban Core

– Center City (green)

– Commercial Corridors (blue & yellow)

– Schools (not shown)

Updated TypologiesNarrow NeighborhoodCommercial/residential land useNarrow streetLess than 11,500 AADT

Narrow ConnectorNarrow streetGreater than 11,500 AADT, or industrial land use

Wide NeighborhoodCommercial/residential land useWide streetLess than 11,500 AADT

Wide ConnectorWide streetGreater than 11,500 AADT, or industrial land use

URBAN CORE

Overview:Narrow Neighborhood

• Total mileage:– 207 mi (29% of network)

• Definition:– Urban context:

1. Commercial/residential land use

2. Narrow street3. Less than 10,000 AADT

– Urban core context:1. Narrow street

Example Streets:School House Ln @ Wissahickon Av

Narrow Neighborhood

Example Streets:Baltimore Av @ 56th St

Narrow Neighborhood

Example Streets:Chestnut St @ 12th St

Narrow Neighborhood

Speed Management Treatments: Narrow Neighborhood• Vertical deflection

– Speed cushion– Raised intersection– Raised crosswalk– Speed table (rare)– Speed hump (rare)

• Horizontal deflection– Curb extension– Pinchpoint– Traffic circle (rare)– Chicane (rare)

• Separation of users– Standard bike lane– Protected bike lane– Sidewalks

• Other– Hardened centerline/

slow turn wedge– Two-way conversions

Speed CushionsStreets where speed cushions are appropriate:• Narrow Neighborhood• Narrow Connector• Wide Neighborhood• Wide ConnectorOther ArterialsLocations where speed cushions installed on arterials:

850 feet between stop signs

Snyder (SR 2002) and 9th St. Test Location: Narrow Neighborhood

9th and Snyder (SR 2002)

• Typology: Narrow Neighborhood• Treatments:

– Speed cushion– Raised crosswalk– Raised intersection– Protected bike lane– Hardened centerline– Curb extensions (non-lane narrowing)

Test Location: Narrow Neighborhood

Rising Sun (SR 1001) and LevickTest Location: Narrow Connector

Rising Sun (SR 1001) and Levick

• Typology: Narrow Connector• Treatments:

– Protected bike lane– Hardened centerline– Curb extensions (non-lane narrowing)

Test Location: Narrow Connector

Rising Sun (SR 1001) and Levick

• Typology: Narrow Connector• Treatments:

– Protected bike lane– Hardened centerline– Curb extensions (non-lane narrowing)

Commercial Corridors

• Maintained by Philadelphia Department of Planning and Development

• Character field:– Pedestrian/Transit Corridor– Auto-Oriented Strip– Free-Standing Center– Specialty Center– Mixed Character

• Urban• Urban Core

– Commercial Corridors

• Pedestrian/ Transit

• Neighborhood Mixed Character

Proposed Context

Schools

• Colleges/ Universities

• K-12 Schools (in progress)

Final Product Development

• New typology layers for the District 6-0 safety webmap

• Linked primer with data dictionary, framework, methodology, etc.

• Proposed changes to speed management evaluation process incorporating new typologies

Milestones• Sept 2018: First Stakeholder Meeting• Oct 2018: Study Area (Arterials) Analysis• Dec 2018: Initial Typology Exploration• Feb 2019: Stakeholder Interviews• Apr 2019: Second Stakeholder Meeting• May 2019: Check-in with DM-2 Traffic Calming Project• July 2019: Third Stakeholder Meeting• August 2019: Presentation to SPC• November 2019: Fourth Stakeholder Meeting

Urban Core Consideration

• How do we relax treatment standards in the Urban Core?

Proposal: 50% increase to AADT thresholds if urban core context applies

Treatment Categories

• From PA Traffic Calming Handbook:– Vertical deflection– Horizontal deflection– Physical obstruction

• Additional Categories– Turning Movement Calming– Lane Configuration

Vertical DeflectionAADT

MaximumSpeed LimitMaximum Land Use

OtherConsideration

s

Raised intersections(SR: minor)

11,500 ― residential/ commercial ―

Raised crosswalks(SR: 6 mph)

11,500 45 MPH residential/ commercial ―

Speed cushions 11,500 30 MPH ―

min. 850 feet between stop

signs*;no trolley routes

Speed tables(SR: 6.5 mph)

6,500 ― residential/ commercial

min. 850 feet between stop

signs*;no trolley routes

Speed humps 3,500 30 MPH residential

min. 850 feet between stop

signs*;no trolley routes

*SR: speed reduction benefit**intersection density criteria does not apply to signalized intersections

Horizontal Deflection – Diverting

AADT Maximum Speed LimitMaximum Land Use Other

Considerations

Raised intersections

Raised crosswalks

Speed cushions

AADTMaximum

Speed LimitMaximum Land Use Other

Considerations

Chicanes(SR: 5-13 mph) 3,500 ―

residential(urban context

only)

narrow street,no trolley routes

Traffic circles(SR: 4-6 mph) 3,500 ― residential

narrow street,not urban core,no trolley routes

Roundabouts(SR: 15-20 mph)

25,000(single lane) ― size of

intersection

*SR: speed reduction benefit

AADTMaximum

Speed LimitMaximum Land Use

OtherConsideration

s

Gateways ― ― residentialnarrow street,

intersects wide road

Curb extensions(lane narrowing)

6,000 ― residential/commercial narrow street

Curb extensions(non - lane narrowing)(SR: 1-2 mph)

15,000 40 MPH ― anywhere in urban core

Median island(SR: 1-5 mph) ― ― ― wide, two-way

roads

Protected bike lane(SR: 3-4 mph)

6,000 minimum ― ― ―

On-street parking ― ― ― preferred in most locations

Horizontal Deflection – Tunneling

*SR: speed reduction benefit

AADTMaximum

Speed LimitMaximum Land Use Other

Considerations

Narrow to 10 ft lanes ― 45 MPH not industrial not a surface transit route

Narrow to 11 ft lanes ― 45 MPH not industrial

Road diet(center turn lane)(SR: 3-5 mph)

20,000 ― ― wide road, no trolley routes

Two-way conversion ― ― ― one-way street,min. 35 ft wide

Standard bike lane ― ― ― permitted in most locations

Lane Configuration

*SR: speed reduction benefit