General Meyer Avenue Complete Streets Improvements Project Public Meeting Open House #2 Algiers Regional Library Thursday, May 30, 2019 4:30 – 7:00 pm Photo courtesy of The Hawthorne Agency WELCOME

City of New Orleans Councilmember Kristin Gisleson-Palmer Project History General Meyer Avenue Complete Streets Improvements Project Photo courtesy of The Hawthorne Agency

The General Meyer Avenue Complete Streets Study City of New Orleans Councilmember Kristin Palmer Regional Planning Commission Karen Parsons Members of the Project Management Committee Mayor’s Office of Transportation Department of Public Works Planning Commission LA Department of Transportation and Development-District 02 Algiers Economic Development Foundation Algiers Neighborhood Presidents Council BikeEasy New Orleans Regional Transit Authority Consulting Engineers

Tonight’s Agenda Presentations at 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm Q & A will be recorded and proceedings in final report Citizen Review of Plot Map

What is the Purpose of the Project? To improve access for people who walk, bike, and use transit on General Meyer without diminishing automobile flow to link all users to major public facilities and activity centers within an improved multimodal transportation network in Algiers.

A Complete Street Accomplishes the Purpose Complete Streets values people walking, riding a bus, and riding a bike as well as people driving a motorized vehicle More choice/greater equity among ALL road users Everyone can get to where they are going with the greatest safety and the least amount of hassle because the traffic flow needs of ALL PEOPLE are met through careful planning and smart construction

78 People Attended / 60 People Provided Comments Public Meeting #1 – February 7, 2019 5 stations total Station 1 – sign in and welcome 78 People Attended / 60 People Provided Comments

Station 2 – 12 minute repeating slide show 5 stations: 1-Registration & Welcome 2-Slide show Divided 3 mile corridor into 3 natural 3-Problem Identification Public identified places where pedestrian, transit and bicycle problems exist 4-Problem Solutions – citizens engaged in an activity that considered different retrofits within the right-of-way 5-Comment cards and verbal comments collected

Public Identified Issues and Areas of Concern Station 3: Public Identified Issues and Areas of Concern Station 3: Public identified places where pedestrian, transit and bicycle problems exist by placing dots on the plot map of the 3 mile General Meyer corridor.

Station 4: Public asked to participate in an activity that considered different facility designs within the public right- of-way 4-Problem Solutions – Corridor divided into 3 distinctive but similar sections: describe each Citizens engaged in an activity that considered the placement, size and number of the travel lanes, medians, transit stops, bikeways and sidewalks within the existing right-of-way (cross sections of roadway facilities were movable)

Station 5: Public Comments Station 5 – comment cards were provided and if a person was more comfortable they could share their comments verbally with a transcriptionist Station 5: Public Comments

Findings from Public Comments

Numerous kinds of comments on the 60 cards and from verbal transcriptions. These included general compliments, speed of presentation, complaints about potholes and drainage, need for commercial development and maintenance of the levee. But on comments directly related to public ideas about how to modify the street right-of-way the highest number of comments (33) was in regard to having a safe place to walk. Next highest was in support of bike lanes with over 20 comments. While there was no one actively against bus stops there were 8 or 9 actively identifying bus stop needs. There was no one actively supporting vehicle lane narrowing and there were only 2 comments directly against lane narrowing among all the comments received. There were 10 people that commented on crosswalks and pedestrian crossing concerns. Parking, signs, signals and speeding each received 8 or 9 comments. Overwhelmingly, pedestrian needs ranked the highest.

Upper Avenue = Fewest Comments likely because it is the most Complete Street Section of the corridor

Post Public Meeting #1 Work Effort Study team conducted traffic counts, measurements, and field reviews Study team worked with other teams doing transit and bike evaluations in Algiers Study team researched potential solutions to identified problems using progressive but proven designs

Reviewed Existing Bikeway Facilities Across Algiers Coordinated with Moving New Orleans Bikes which is in the process of assessing bicycle facilities across Orleans Parish and planning for 75 miles of protected bikeways…some to connect with the General Meyer corridor..

Reviewed Existing Transit Service and Facilities Flanders Pace Odeon Kabel Huntlee Stops with Largest Number of Bus Boardings and Alightings in Study Area 3 Bus Shelters 50 Bus Stops 4 Complete Crosswalks Odeon We are coordinating with New Links, the Regional Planning Commission’s comprehensive evaluation of regional transit service. Highest ridership locations are 25 riders per day at Odeon and 20 riders per day at Flanders. There are 2 to 3 buses per hour in the PM peak.

Concept Plan for General Meyer Avenue Improvements Proposed designs are based on what we heard from you, the public, and evaluation of the traffic volume, speed, turning movement, land use and right-of-way availability. Street designs match the identified needs. Concept Plan for General Meyer Avenue Improvements

Behrman Ave to Merrill Street Recommended Typical Section within 80’+ R-O-W Based on “available” right-of-way. General Meyer is classified as a minor urban arterial. It has average daily traffic between 8,428 to 16,744. These numbers are in the acceptable range to reduce to 2 vehicle lanes and consistent with other New Orleans Complete Streets projects. (S. Carrollton near Maple has 15,716 ADT; Esplanade near N. Villere 12,780 ADT; St. Bernard near N. Broad 11,838 ADT)

Merrill Street to Wiltz Lane Recommended Typical Section within72’+ R-O-W Middle section – highlights from Rick

Wiltz Lane to Woodland Drive Recommended Typical Section within 56’ R-O-W Lower section highlights - rick

What are the Benefits of a Complete Street? Walkability and cycle-ability powers property values Supports environmental health Encourages healthy activity Increases safety of vulnerable users It is more equitable

Separation of Users in a Residential Corridor Note driveways and storm water catchment which is a design compatible with General Meyer. The Walk Score tool, an accepted statistical methodology that assigns a number of 0 to 100 to the value of a walkable distance to 13 community destinations including schools, retail, social and recreation destinations. It has found home buyers attach greater value to walkable homes relative to other housing units in the same metropolitan area. Higher Walk Scores reflect good transit accessibility. In Charlotte: A Walk Score point equates to $2000 increase in home value In Denver: Walkable neighborhoods have 150% premium over those in drivable sprawl Bicycling powers property values In Boulder, CO: properties adjacent to paths sell for fully 32% more than similar properties 1,000 yards away A University of Delaware study showed home property values increased $8,800 Massachusetts: houses located along bike paths take 3 weeks less time to sell than houses elsewhere Virginia Creeper Trail: contributes $1.6 M in annual revenue to its region *Walkable City Rules by Jeff Speck

Separation of Users in a Commerical Corridor Soma, AZ and Los Angeles, CA Successful walkable commercial, institutional and public development is scaled in size to fit the neighborhood and encourages walking. We estimate that by making General Meyer a Complete Street adjacent neighborhoods may increase their Walk Score between 9 and 19 points with a value of $125 to $1977 per point depending on the neighborhood.

Seattle, WA and East Bay, CA Bus Boarding Island Seattle, WA and East Bay, CA A connected bicycle network helps to alleviate harmful gases produced by vehicle emissions that lead to climate change. In 2018 the City of New Orleans and RPC bike projects reduced 759 tons of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and 61,722 Gallons of Gasoline Equivalent (GGE) by reducing vehicle miles traveled. Since 2011 the City of New Orleans and RPC bike projects have a cumulative reduction of 9,044 tons of GHGs and 734,235 GGEs *Louisiana Clean Fuel Partnership/DOE sponsored

Bus Boarding Island with bikeway and sidewalk East Bay, CA A Complete Street encourages healthy activity making for slimmer communities. Slimmer communities have lower health care costs The lower the Walk Score, the more likely residents are to be overweight. Any investment that makes a city more walkable is likely to make it less obese as well.

People on bikes and people walking can easily coordinate crossing movements A Complete Street increases safety/reduces risk Across Louisiana pedestrians comprised 16% of all traffic deaths in in 2017. Compare that to Orleans Parish. 27% of all traffic deaths were pedestrians in 2017. There were 12 pedestrian fatalities in 2017. That number rose to 17 in 2018 or 42% of all traffic deaths in Orleans were pedestrians. This is preventable with better street accommodations for pedestrians. In Louisiana 23 people died biking in 2017 and 29 in 2018. In Orleans Parish 3 people died biking in 2019 so far.

Drivers intuitively take their driving cues from the surrounding landscape. Complete Street uses thoughtful design (aesthetics, access control and continuity of facilities) to make a comfortable place for all users to reach shopping, work and activities Sidewalks and bike lanes that are continually violated by curb cuts do not feel safe to walk or bike along. Large open parking lots and wide lanes encourage speed-the opposite of what commercial businesses need to attract customers. Numerous curb cuts are unfriendly to pedestrians. Parking, travel lane, planted median with one marked entrance to parking, dedicated bike lanes, sidewalk

Bus Boarding Island with Pedestrian Crossing Seattle, WA ESSENTIALLY a Complete Street is more equitable. Provides a dedicated place to walk safely along and across a street Provides a dedicated place to bike safely Provide a safe place for transit users to board and alight a bus The flow of cars and freight traffic is comfortably accommodated. Everyone has peace on the road when everyone has a piece of the road

Status We are Here Oct-18 Nov-18 Dec-18 Jan-19 Feb-19 Mar-19 Apr-19   Oct-18 Nov-18 Dec-18 Jan-19 Feb-19 Mar-19 Apr-19 May-19 Jun-19 Team Kick-Off Data Gathering Stakeholder Briefings Preliminary Assessment Public Meeting 1 Proposed Improvements Draft Feasibility Report Public Meeting 2 Final Report / Stage 0 We are Here

Next Steps for a Road Transfer Study period ends June 30, 2019 Final Report and Concept Plans will be completed City and DOTD must agree to Road Transfer terms Proceed to Final Design if terms are agreed upon Value of roadway Value of multi-year maintenance cost Responsibilities of each in design and construction

General Meyer Avenue Complete Streets Study This Q&A session will be recorded and a transcript of the proceedings provided in the Final Report This presentation and other project information may be viewed online at http://www.norpc.org/GeneralMeyer.html