HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-474-6 /10/2013Prepared by Carol Failor, Deputy City Clerk, City of Waterloo,
715 Mulberry Street, Waterloo, IA 50703, (319) 291-4323.
RESOLUTION NO. 2013-474
RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A COMPLETE STREETS
POLICY IN THE CITY OF WATERLOO, BLACK HAWK
COUNTY, IOWA AND ESTABLISHING THE COMPLETE
STREETS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
WHEREAS, the mobility of freight and passengers and the
safety, convenience, and comfort of motorists, cyclists,
pedestrians - including people requiring mobility aids, transit
riders, and neighborhood residents of all ages and abilities
should all be considered when planning, designing, and improving
Waterloo's streets; and
WHEREAS, integrating sidewalks, bike facilities, transit
amenities, and safe crossings into the initial design of street
projects avoids the expense of retrofits later; and
WHEREAS, streets are a critical component of public space
and play a major role in establishing the image and identity of a
city, providing a key framework for current and future
development; and
WHEREAS, streets are a critical component of the success and
vitality of adjoining private uses and neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, the Waterloo Blue Zones Project attaches
certification for the community to development and adoption of a
Complete Streets Policy; and
WHEREAS, a goal of Complete Streets is to improve the access
and mobility for all users of streets in the community by
improving safety through reducing conflict and encouraging non -
motorized transportation and transit; and
WHEREAS, it is recognized that there are some streets or
corridors in the City which would not fully satisfy a complete
streets environment - where it would not be advisable to have
non -motorized travel; and
WHEREAS, the National Complete Streets Coalition recognizes
ten (10) elements of a successful Complete Streets Policy.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF WATERLOO, IOWA, that the City of Waterloo hereby adopts
the Complete Streets Policy attached as Exhibit "A", which is
consistent with the National Complete Streets Coalition guidance,
and establishes the Complete Streets Advisory Committee.
Resolution No. 2013-474
Page 2
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 10th
da
of
June,
2013.
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'111411
est
G.
Clark,
Mayor
ATTEST:
Suzy Sc res, CMC
City Cle k
Exhibit "A"
Waterloo, Iowa
Complete Streets Policy
The following elements shall constitute the Waterloo, Iowa Complete Streets Policy:
1. Sets a Vision
This Complete Streets Policy incorporates the simple and basic concept that streets and roadways
should be designed, constructed, and operated to be safe and accessible for all transportation users
whether they are pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, vehicular motorists or trucks.
Further, Complete Streets are designed to improve mobility and connectivity, improve health,
increase safety, enhance neighborhoods, businesses, and institutions, and advance the quality of life
for all Waterloo citizens and visitors.
2. Specifies all Users
The City of Waterloo will ensure that the safety, access, and convenience of all users of the
transportation system are accommodated in all future roadway projects, as defined in the
Exceptions element of this Policy (#4 below), including: pedestrians (including persons with mobility
aids), bicyclists, transit users, persons with disabilities, youth, seniors, scooter riders, motorcyclists,
private motorists, commercial vehicle drivers, freight providers, emergency responders, and
adjacent land uses.
3. All Projects (All New and Reconstruction Projects)
Develop as many transportation improvement projects as possible in an affordable, balanced,
responsible, and equitable way that accommodates and encourages travel by motorists, bicyclists,
public transit vehicles and their passengers, and pedestrians.
For the City of Waterloo, Complete Streets may be achieved through single projects or incrementally
through a series of smaller improvements activities over time.
Transportation improvements will include facilities and amenities that are recognized as
contributing to Complete Streets, which may include street and sidewalk lighting; sidewalks and
pedestrian safety improvements such as median refuges or crosswalk improvements; improvements
that provide Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant accessibility; transit accommodations
including improved pedestrian access to transit stops and bus shelters; bicycle accommodations
including bicycle storage, bicycle parking, bicycle routes, shared -use lanes, wide travel lanes or bike
lanes as appropriate; and street trees, boulevard landscaping, and street furniture.
4. Exceptions
Exemptions to this Policy shall only be granted when the Complete Streets Advisory Committee, as
authorized, defined, and established in the Implementation element of this Policy (#10 below),
recommends, and the City Engineer and Planning and Programming Director concurs, and City
Council determines that any of the following are evident:
a. The project is occurring on a roadway where non -motorized use is prohibited by law; or
b. A cost and/or health impact assessment demonstrates that the cost for a particular Complete
Streets project would be excessive compared to the need, public health benefit, safety
improvement and probable use of that particular street; or
c. There is absence of use by all, except motorized road -users, that would continue in the future
even if the street were a Complete Street; or
d. An alternate facility has been previously programmed at that location; or
e. A legal and/or regulatory impediment or constraint exists.
Bicycle, pedestrian, and transit facilities shall be included in new street construction, re-
construction, and other transportation improvement projects, except under one or more of the
following conditions. Any condition approval shall follow the Implementation process outlined in
the corresponding element in this Policy (#10 below).
a. A project involves only ordinary maintenance activities designed to keep assets in serviceable
condition, such as mowing, cleaning, sweeping, patching, joint repair, crack -filling, or pothole
filing, or when interim measures are implemented on temporary detour or haul routes;
b. There is insufficient space to safely accommodate new facilities, as determined by the Complete
Streets Advisory Committee, Planning and Programming Director, City Engineer, and City
Council;
c. Where determined by the Complete Streets Advisory Committee, Planning and Programming
Director, City Engineer, and City Council to have relatively high safety risks;
d. Where the City Council exempts a project due to the excessive and disproportionate cost of
establishing a bikeway, walkway or transit enhancement as part of a project;
e. Where jointly determined by the Complete Streets Advisory Committee, City Engineer, Planning
and Programming Director, and City Council that the construction is not practically feasible or
cost effective because of significant or adverse environmental impacts to streams, floodplains,
remnants of native vegetation, wetlands, steep slopes or other critical areas, or due to impacts
on neighboring land uses, including impact from right-of-way acquisition.
5. Creates a Network
The City of Waterloo recognizes the absolute necessity of promoting pedestrian, bicycle and public
transportation network connectivity as an alternative to the automobile in order to provide
transportation options and to protect all road users, reduce negative environmental impacts,
promote healthy living, and advance the well-being of commuters. Furthermore, the City
acknowledges that as public spaces, roads must be designed to afford safety and accessibility to all
users. Finally, the City recognizes that the full integration of all modes of travel in the design of
streets and highways will help increase the capacity and efficiency of the road network, hopefully
reduce traffic congestion by improving mobility options, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and
therefore improve the general quality of life.
6. Jurisdictional (Project) Application
This Policy shall apply to all local and/or private development transportation improvement projects
whether proposed and/or constructed by the City or private developer, unless specifically excluded
through the Exceptions element of this Policy (#4 above). Federal and state transportation
improvement projects shall be encouraged to consider inclusion of Complete Streets elements.
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7. Design Criteria
The design of new or reconstructed facilities should anticipate likely future demand for bicycling,
walking and transit facilities and should not preclude the provision of future improvements. Said
design criteria must be guided by national or state recognized standards (i.e. AASHTO, SUDAS, etc.)
for the City of Waterloo. For example, under most circumstances bridges (which last for 75 years or
more) should be built with sufficient width for safe bicycle and pedestrian use in anticipation of a
future need for such facilities.
The City will generally follow accepted or adopted design standards when implementing
improvements intended to fulfill this Complete Streets policy but will consider innovative or non-
traditional design options where a comparable level of safety for users is present.
S. Context Sensitivity
It will be important to the success of the Complete Streets policy to ensure that the project
development process includes early consideration of the land use and transportation context of the
project, the identification of gaps or deficiencies in the network for various user groups that could
be addressed by the project, and an assessment of the tradeoffs to balance the needs of all users.
The context factors that should be given high priority include the following:
a. Whether the corridor provides a primary access to a significant destination such as a community
or regional park or recreational area, a school, a shopping / commercial area, or an employment
center;
b. Whether the corridor provides access across a natural or man-made barrier such as a river or
freeway;
c. Whether the corridor is in an area where a relatively high number of users of non -motorized
transportation modes can be anticipated;
d. Whether a road corridor provides important continuity or connectivity links for an existing trail
network; or
e. Whether nearby routes that provide a similar level of convenience and connectivity already
exist.
9. Performance Measures
The City of Waterloo shall develop, apply, and report on walking and bicycling transportation
performance measures in order to evaluate the functioning of the non -motorized transportation
system; to ensure consistency with current industry standards; to identify strengths, deficiencies
and potential improvements; and to support development of new and innovative facilities and
programs. Several factors shall be measured or used by the Complete Streets Advisory Committee,
City Engineer, and Planning and Programming Director to evaluate the effectiveness of this Policy on
an annual basis. However, the City recognizes that assessing the effectiveness of this Policy is a
long-term process and that the community may not experience large scale improvements or be able
to collect sufficient data during the initial two (2) years of the implementation of a Complete Streets
project. The measures may include:
a. Changes in traffic counts;
b. Changes in transit system ridership;
c. Change in school transportation survey information (transportation to -and -from school);
d. Changes in bicycle and pedestrian count data; and/or
e. Other measures, which may include: miles of on -street bicycle routes; new linear feet of
pedestrian sidewalks; number of new or reconstructed curb ramp; number of new or repainted
crosswalks; number of new street trees planted; percentage of transit stops with shelters;
change in Level of Service (LOS) measurement; customer satisfaction surveys; etc.
10. Implementation
In order to ensure Implementation of this Policy, the City of Waterloo will create a Complete Streets
Advisory Committee, which will provide recommendations to the City Engineer and Planning and
Programming Director regarding implementation of this Policy. The City Engineer and Planning and
Programming Director will then be responsible for providing formal recommendations to the Mayor
and City Council for consideration.
Membership on the Committee will be inter -departmental and inter -agency and will be subject to
appointment by the Mayor and approval by the City Council. The Committee will include members
of City's Engineering, Planning and Programming, Traffic, Community Development, Park and
Recreation, and the Police and Fire Departments. The Committee may also include representatives
from the Waterloo Blue Zones Policy Committee, representatives from the bicycling, trail, disabled,
youth and elderly communities, governmental entities including the Iowa Northland Regional
Council of Governments (INRCOG) and the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), and other
advocacy agencies and organizations, as may be relevant.
Within six (6) months of the passage of this Policy, the Committee will develop its own
administrative guidelines (i.e. rules of procedure, operating or governing rules, bylaws, etc.) and will
develop implementation strategies related to this Policy. This Committee will meet as needed, but
not less than quarterly, and provide a written report to the City Council evaluating the City's
progress regarding implementation of this Policy.
Approved by Wate oo City Council on 'X 13 — by Resolution No. 4
Authorized b ,�/t�� Att t: Date A roved: i
Y NN
pol
(Mayor) (City C rk)
4