Submitted By
Bill McKenna, Assistant Public Works Director/Village Engineer
Agenda Item Title
Title
A Presentation and Discussion of Various Transportation Items Including the Traffic Calming Petition Process, the Vision Zero Study, School Safety, Bike Planning, Pedestrian Signals, and Enforcement
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Overview
Overview
As requested by the Village Board at the October 30, 2023 Board meeting and in response to a Motion from Trustee Straw and seconded by Trustee Wesley to discuss pedestrian push buttons, staff and consultants will present updates on various transportation-related items, including the Vision Zero Plan, traffic calming and safety efforts, bike planning, pedestrian signals and push buttons, and enforcement.
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Anticipated Actions/Commitments
Recommendation
Should the Village Board desire to move forward with a feasibility study for bike lanes or protected bike lanes on Ridgeland Avenue, staff will present an item at an upcoming Village Board meeting. Staff will also present a budget amendment to transfer an additional $36,309 from the Fund Balance needed to fund the study.
Report
Staff and consultants from Sam Schwartz Engineering will present an update on various transportation related items, including:
• an update and overview of the ongoing Vision Zero plan;
• the status of the update to the Village’s bike plan including a feasibility study for bike facilities on Ridgeland Avenue;
• an update on school traffic safety items based on meetings with D97 and school administrators;
• a discussion with Police on traffic enforcement;
• an update on the neighborhood greenway/bike boulevard system;
• a status update on the traffic calming petition process and backlog;
• an update on the Home Avenue pedestrian bridge design;
• and a discussion on pedestrian push buttons and pedestrian signals.
Vision Zero
Vision Zero is a commitment to eliminating deaths and serious injuries from traffic crashes by using a safe systems approach in the design, administration, and management of the roadways. Since fall 2023, staff has worked with Sam Schwartz Engineering and Muse to create a Vision Zero plan. Alex Hansen and Sam Schwartz will present an overview of the Vision Zero plan and process, including key takeaways from their data collection and crash analysis, summaries of community engagement to date, and next steps.
Bike Plan Update
The Village adopted a bike plan in 2008 which was amended in 2014. The Fiscal Year 2024 Budget includes funds to update existing bike plans to reflect the current built conditions of the Village and adjacent communities; coordinate with other safety planning studies such as Vision Zero; reflect current treatments for cycling infrastructure; review industry changes, new City and County initiatives, and the feasibility of bike sharing options; and review planned routes through the Village to identify opportunities for additional infrastructure for dedicated or protected bike lanes.
The Engineering Division requested qualifications from consultants to prepare this update and is negotiating a contract with Sam Schwartz Engineering. The Transportation Commission and Plan Commission will be involved in this planning study. Staff will also provide space for public input on the bike plan update at these commission meetings and through the Village’s Engage Oak Park website.
The Fiscal Year 2024 Budget also includes $50,000 for a feasibility study for potential bike lanes or protected bike lanes on Ridgeland Avenue. Staff is negotiating a contract for this study with TranSystems Corporation. The cost of the feasibility study is $86,309, largely in part to the need for robust community engagement as the project results in removal of on-street parking across Ridgeland. Staff seeks Board direction on whether this feasibility study should move forward, especially as there are several staff concerns about bike lane installation: loss of parking lanes, lack of available space for garbage collection, loss of school drop-off and pick-up areas, and removal of idling areas for delivery vehicles. The addition of bike lanes would eliminate the parking lanes for these activities and will likely result in vehicles blocking bike lanes or the single traffic lane on Ridgeland. Should the Village Board desire to move forward with the feasibility study, staff will present an item at an upcoming Village Board meeting along with a Budget Amendment to transfer an additional $36,309 from the Fund Balance for the work.
School Traffic Safety Update
With the support of Village consultant CivicTech Engineering, the Engineering Division held several meetings with School District 97 administrators since last fall. Staff and school district officials have identified various traffic safety concerns at each school, a summary of which is attached.
Staff is working with D97 to prioritize these concerns and determine next steps to address them. Safety concerns at Julian Middle School have already been identified as the first priority, and staff is working to schedule a meeting with school officials and the PTO. Staff and CivilTech have already worked with IDOT for the installation of a school speed zone on Washington to improve safety near the school. CivilTech is also working on a request for a school speed limit on Ridgeland near Fillmore to improve crossing safety near Irving Elementary.
Enforcement
Police will present an update on traffic enforcement activities, including historical information on traffic enforcement practices, current efforts and strategies for traffic enforcement near schools and in the Village, and the tools used to focus on traffic enforcement efforts.
Neighborhood Greenway/Bike Boulevard System Update
The Village completed a substantial amount of the first segments of the neighborhood greenway system in 2023, generally along Erie Street from Kenilworth to Scoville and on Scoville from South Boulevard to Lake Street. The Village is working with V3 Companies and their subconsultant TYLin to design the neighborhood greenway system for 2024 construction. The 2024 Budget includes $300,000 for the construction of neighborhood greenways. The 2024 project focuses on the north-south portion of the greenways, generally in the middle of the Village, running along East, Scoville, Fair Oaks, and Elmwood avenues. Staff is also designing neighborhood greenway improvements where the greenways overlap with local street resurfacing projects along Kenilworth from Madison to Chicago Avenue and along Erie and Elizabeth Court.
The Fiscal Year 2024 Budget includes $350,000 for design of the remaining greenway system. Staff is negotiating a contract with V3 and TYLin for this design for construction in 2025 and 2026. Staff will present a Task Order to the Village Board for this design work at a future Village Board meeting.
To help fund construction of the neighborhood greenway in 2025, staff plans to submit an application for the Cook County Invest in Cook Grant in the amount of $250,000. This will be presented to the Board as a separate agenda item.
Traffic Calming Petition Process and Backlog
In March 2023, the Village entered into a three-year contract with CivilTech Engineering to assist with backlogged traffic calming petitions and school safety plans. At the time, 28 traffic calming petitions awaited review and presention to the Transportation Commission and Village Board. The Board-approved policy change allowing staff to administer petitions for speed humps on the 1150 south and 1200 north blocks and the assistance from CivilTech allowed the Village to process and act upon 21 of these petitions. There are 9 remaining traffic calming petitions that need to be reviewed by the Transportation Commission. Petitions for adjacent blocks will be jointly addressed. Based on the other commitments of the Transportation Commission, staff anticipates presenting the remaining traffic calming petitions by mid- to late summer. Proceeding traffic calming petitions will be reviewed on a rolling basis after a estimated months-long approval process, depending time of year and Commission capacity. A map is attached that shows the traffic calming improvements installed in 2023 as a result of petitions and the status of those petitions. The Village will continue to use CivilTech to assist with future traffic calming petitions and the development or revision of school safety plans.
Home Avenue Pedestrian Bridge Update
Although not specifically related to traffic calming measures, staff is interviewing consultants for the Phase I design of a new Home Avenue bridge. Staff issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the design of the bridge this winter and anticipates the presentation of an agreement with the State and the selected design consultant to the Village Board this spring. IDOT will need to review and approve the agreements before work may begin.
Pedestrian Signals and Push Button Discussion
As requested though a motion for discussion made by Trustee Straw and seconded by Trustee Wesley, staff has prepared a presentation on the use of pedestrian push buttons and pedestrian signals. Pedestrian push buttons are used on actuated traffic signals. These traffic signals have variable signal timings based on information the obtained from sensors called detectors. Actuated traffic signals are the industry standard for the safe and efficient movement of pedestrians and vehicles through an intersection, ensuring diminished traffic congestion. The sensors detect vehicles with a passive system that relies on traffic loops, video, or radar. The sensors used for pedestrian detection typically require manual activation by a pedestrian through the push of a button. While there are video detection systems that passively detect pedestrians, the clustering of pedestrians at intersection corners in urban areas like Oak Park make it difficult for the software to determine pedestrian direction.
Proposals have been made for the removal of push buttons to prioritize pedestrians and eliminate the need for a button. However, vibrotactile pedestrian push buttons are required by the American with Disability Act (ADA) and the US Access Board’s adopted Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) to ensure accessibility. Since the push buttons cannot be removed by law, the only feasible change is to alter the signal timing to switch between walk commands. This method is called the “pedestrian recall.”
Pedestrian recall has a distinct disadvantage. When using pedestrian recall, signals assume the continued presence of a pedestrian at all crosswalks. This takes away green light time for vehicles and walk time for pedestrians competing against crosswalks with no users. This will result in increased traffic congestion.
There are also concerns for the accessibility of pedestrian push buttons to those with physical disabilities. While current pedestrian push buttons are already ADA compliant, new push button models have an infrared (IR) sensor that can be activated with a wave of the hand. Staff intends to install IR pedestrian buttons for new and replacement signals. Staff is also meeting with the Disability Access and Aging in Community commissions on February 28th for input on the Vision Zero plan, pedestrian signals, and push buttons. Staff will present commission comments to the Board at a later meeting.
The Vision Zero plan will include recommendations for the operation of traffic signal and pedestrian signal systems. Draft recommendations will likely include the implementation of pedestrian recall at intersections where it would not create traffic congestion and at certain times of day with high pedestrian activity. Staff supports these recommendations for improved pedestrian accessibility and reduction of push buttons to maintain the movement of vehicles and pedestrians in a safe, efficient manner.
DEI Impact
DEI impacts will be discussed with each topic.
Alternatives
This is a presentation and a discussion. There are no alternatives in the presentation.