05-11-2022 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 Recommendations How can the City improve and enhance the equity, accessibility, connectivity, and safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users? ● Focus on the mobility needs of marginalized groups, such as lower income, transit-dependent, older adults, people of color, and people with disabilities, who are more likely to live near and regularly use unsafe transportation facilities. ● Prioritize investments on the west side of the City where there is lower median income, less car ownership, and a higher proportion of people of color, but less bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure when compared to the remainder of the city. ● Start with filling gaps in the sidewalk network, especially along high-stress and high-injury corridors: Rice Street and the western segment of Little Canada Road. ● Add or improve infrastructure at intersections for safe crossing and to reduce crash risk, as intersections are more dangerous than street segments. What improvement and enhancement strategies can the City use to prioritize improvements to pedestrian, bicyclists, and transit infrastructure? ● Prioritize projects based on demographic, crash risk, connectivity, and economic analyses, which primarily identify the city west of 35E along and near Rice Street for improvements. ● Expand upon these four analyses according to the City’s needs and priorities. ● Fill sidewalk gaps leading to bus stops and make these paths accessible for people who walk and roll to equitably increase safety and improve connectivity. ● Consider implementing a phased approach for improvements, beginning with demonstration projects at critical areas of concern, followed by filling sidewalk and bike lane gaps along and near Rice St and Little Canada Rd, and beginning the process of applying for available funding sources for bigger projects such as a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over 35E. What community engagement strategies can the City use to engage residents in transportation planning, paying particular attention to equity, accessibility, connectivity, and safety? ● Distribute surveys more extensively, host scheduled listening and discussion sessions, and organize destination engagement events such as charrette workshops, community asset mapping, and walking/cycling audits. ● Involve and work with residents throughout the entire planning process, not just when feedback is required on existing plans. ● Make concerted efforts to reach marginalized groups by meeting them where they’re at, both physically–by holding events where people already gather, and conceptually–by facilitating engagement events that embrace different strengths and ways of knowing. ● Eliminate barriers to participation, which vary depending on the engagement type, but can include providing childcare, preemptively defining key concepts for participants, hosting events at different times, on both weekends and weekdays, and at easily accessible locations, and providing financial incentives or compensation for people’s time.