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Palm Beach Complete Streets Design Guidelines Outline

Section 1: Introduction 1. Why are we doing this?

a. The public has a desire for multi-modal facilities. b. Palm Beach Adopted a Complete Streets Policy on March 17, 2016.

i. The purpose is to accommodate the safety and convenience of all surface transportation system users into the planning, design, and construction of state and federally funded transportation project programmed through the Palm Beach Planning Organizations (MPO)’s Transportation Improvement Program.

c. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has emphasized Complete Streets through the implementation plan.

d. The desire is to create a context sensitive approach to serving pedestrians, bicyclists, public transit riders, commercial vehicles, and personal vehicles.

2. What are the overall goals? a. Set a framework to integrate streets with adjacent areas. b. Develop new standards and develop a tool to provide context sensitive designs for integrating street

design with the surrounding area “Way of doing business” in the future. c. Emphasize multimodal safety and mobility. d. Local governments depend on design manuals for guidance and criteria on modifying, retrofitting,

and building streets, and for integrating street design with surrounding land development projects.

3. How to use the Guidelines a. Typologies specific to street form/function (street types) and surrounding land use form/function

(land use context) have been identified. b. Practitioners can select appropriate design guidelines based on a blended approach: the type of

context and the type of street within which each individual project exists. c. The design guidelines will identify target and constrained dimensions for various critical street

elements, such as lane widths, sidewalk widths, and furnishing/landscaping zone widths.

4. Other Street Design Resources a. Local jurisdictions generally follow established standards for planning and designing streets. b. This sections describes how the Complete Streets Design Guidelines will fit within the context of

other street design criteria and guidelines. i. FHWA Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)

ii. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (the “Green Book”)

iii. The Manual of Uniform Minimum Standards for Design, Construction, and Maintenance for Streets and Highways (the “Florida Greenbook”)

iv. FDOT Plans Preparation Manual (PPM) v. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design

vi. Palm Beach County Engineering Standards

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5. Overview of document

a. The Introduction chapter will include an overview of the entire document that will further describe how to use the Guidelines.

6. Primary topics a. The purpose will be to include an area for “frequently used topics” where practitioners can see the

Design Guidelines for topics in an easy to find location.

Section 2: Best Practices 1. Introduction to best practices in Complete Streets Guidelines. 2. A review was conducted to identify best practices in Complete Streets to incorporate into the Palm Beach

MPO Complete Streets Guidelines. Examples include: a. Chicago b. Boston c. Nashville d. Philadelphia

Section 3: Multi-modal Street Typology Framework 1. Framework for the Typologies (Street Form and Function)

a. A framework for categorizing the street network includes understanding the urban context and the balance between land use & transportation modes

b. FDOT has placed emphasis on context zones 2. Street Types

a. Functional Classification included a hierarchy of streets based on vehicle mobility without considering land use context or the needs of other modes.

b. 5 Street Types will be introduced and defined: i. Limited Access facilities,

ii. Major Corridors, iii. Main Connectors, iv. Community Connectors, v. Neighborhood Streets

3. Land Use Context a. 6 Categories will be introduced and defined with the standards focusing on Urban Core, Urban

General, with Suburban and Rural Town being similar: i. Urban Core

ii. Urban General iii. Suburban iv. Rural Town v. Rural

vi. Natural

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Section 4: Blended Typology Approach 1. Introduction to the street fundamentals and cross section elements

a. This section will describe the elements that make-up a cross-section. For purposes of the Complete Streets Design Guidelines, design decisions can typically be made based on organizing streets into three fundamental elements - Pedestrian Realm/Streetside, Vehicular Way/Roadway, and Intersections.

2. Design Trees a. The concept of design trees will guide cross-section selection. b. The street typology is established through a blended approach of the street type and the land use

context. c. A Summary Design Guideline table will be setup for each land use context that lists the street types. d. Design parameters for Pedestrian Realm/Streetside elements and Vehicular Way/Roadway elements

will be included in each table. e. Design parameters will include target values and constrained values.

3. Pedestrian Realm/Streetside Design Guidance a. The purpose of this section is to develop guidelines to help provide a walk-friendly community. b. Design guidelines and dimensions will be prepared for each of the following basic elements.

i. The frontage zone is the area between the land use context and the pedestrian zone. ii. The pedestrian zone is the area of the sidewalk corridor that is specifically reserved for

pedestrian travel. iii. The landscape/furnishings zone is the area between the curb and the pedestrian zone. iv. The curb zone is the area between the edge of the roadway and the edge of the

landscape/furnishings zone. c. In addition to dimensions and design guidance on sidewalk zones, design guidance will also be

provided for other key pedestrian realm/streetside elements. i. Transit stops and shelters

ii. Bicycle parking iii. Street furniture iv. Street trees/landscaping v. Parklets

vi. Pedestrian wayfinding 4. Vehicular Way/Roadway Design Guidance

a. The purpose of the roadway design section (vehicle realm) is to develop guidelines to balance the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and motorists on the roadways within Palm Beach County. Roadway designs must offer people viable transportation choices and provide safe and convenient travel.

b. Design guidelines and dimensions will be provided for each of the following basic elements. i. Lane widths, including through travel lanes, turn lanes, bus lanes, bicycle lanes, and

parking lanes. ii. Median types and widths

c. In addition to dimensions and design guidance on lanes and medians, design guidance will also be provided for other key roadway elements.

i. Target speed ii. Traffic calming elements (center median islands, bulb-outs, speed tables)

iii. Transit lanes (curb bus lanes, median bus lanes, light rail lanes)

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iv. Bicycle facilities (cycle tracks, buffered bike lanes, contra-flow bike lanes, conventional bike lanes, shared lane markings)

v. Mid-block crosswalk type vi. On-street parking

vii. Freight delivery zones 5. Intersection Design Guidance

a. The purpose of the intersection design section is to develop guidelines to balance the efficient processing of motor vehicle traffic with the accessibility and crossing needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, and people accessing transit. Universal accessibility design principles should inform all aspects of intersection design, ranging from geometry to signal timing, with a commitment to balance the outcome for all users.

b. Design guidelines and dimensions will be provided for each of the following basic elements. i. Types of intersections, including signalized, unsignalized, all-way stop control,

roundabouts, and neighborhood traffic circles. ii. Intersection geometry, including curb radii, curb ramps, and curb extensions.

iii. Crosswalk types and widths iv. Crosswalk safety features, including signals, hybrid beacons, rapid flashing warning

beacons, and signage v. Crossing islands

vi. Signal timing for pedestrians and bicyclists vii. Bicycle intersection treatments

viii. Transit accommodations at intersections c. In addition to dimensions and design guidance on basic intersection elements, design guidance will

also be provided for other special intersections elements. i. Raised intersections

ii. Placemaking iii. Transit signal priority (TSP)

6. Typical Sections a. Up to 10 typical sections will be included that provide a redraw of the County’s current typical

sections with recommendations based on the Complete Streets Design Guidelines

Section 5: Implementation and Actions 1. This section will describe actions that must happen for the Complete Streets Design Guidelines to be

implemented. a. Adoption b. Regulatory changes/requirements that may be necessary c. Completion or preparation of other plans that may affect the implementation of Complete Streets

2. Next Steps and Actions to continue a. Refinement and flexibility of typologies b. Measuring Success