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1. Transit and HOV options need to
be expanded.
The Hazel Avenue study area is currently envisioned as an
isolated three-mile long project. For transit purposes, you
need to study the entire corridor (Hazel Avenue to Sierra
College Blvd. in Placer County) which is experiencing tremendous
growth as vacant lands are developed and as low density land
use is converted to high density land use. Alternative, Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible transportation to the
Hazel Avenue area needs to be supported. A key problem is
the need to promote a modal shift from single occupant vehicles
(SOVs) to multi-modal transportation in the corridor to alleviate
congestion over the long term. The County needs to coordinate
with Placer County and Folsom transit services to provide
a functional transit system that is convenient and has park
and ride stations at businesses. Inter-jurisdictional transit
agreements should be negotiated with transfer stations to
provide some kind of connectivity between different transit
operators.1 Transit services should be completed all the way
up to Auburn. This system should have a minimal number of
ADA accessible stops to maximize efficiency. Riders are looking
for transit that is convenient, cost effective, clean and
safe, service oriented, short with few connections, and developed
specifically for those who live and work in the area. Access
to jobs and commercial areas for people who can’t drive
must be considered.
The two existing "express" bus services currently
take nearly an hour to pick up in four places on Hazel Avenue
and drop off in four places downtown. The buses have to slug
it out with auto congestion on both Hazel Avenue and the freeway.
RT is considering express LRT service from Hazel Avenue when
the station opens in 2003, so any proposed actions or improvements
on Hazel Avenue need to take advantage of this light rail
extension along Highway 50.2 Although there doesn't seem to
currently be enough ridership along the Hazel Avenue corridor,
LRT to Hazel Avenue will increase the need for bus service
to LRT and the opportunity to coordinate with Placer and Folsom
transit agencies. RT buses of medium size with bicycle racks
on front and low-level platform access for ADA riders are
needed.3 A shuttle bus route serving light rail at Hazel Avenue
and Sunrise station is indicated.
The perception at RT is that there has not been a demand/request
for more transit service on Hazel Avenue. 4 Transit service
in the region is for the most part very sparse. Few routes
are on 15-minute headways, some are 30, but most are 60 minutes.
The 1993 Transit Master Plan, which showed Hazel Avenue as
a major transit corridor with 15-minute headway service, needed
a major new funding source that was never identified. RT is
severely under-funded, and lacks local support. Bus service
needs to meet certain fare box recovery ratios & passenger
productivity standards, set by State statute instead of for
the convenience and efficiency for the transit rider. To get
federal support, the LRT system must be considered cost-effective,
meaning the ridership numbers vs. the capital & operating
costs for the proposed LRT extension must fall within the
federal threshold as compared to a best bus service alternative.
Higher land use densities will generate a higher ridership
level; although, it is conceivable to design a cost-effective
LRT system in an area where the densities are moderate (7
d/ac) and the bus / pedestrian access to the stations is superb.
This typically means a grid street system & no sound walls
blocking accessibility.
The population densities along Hazel Avenue in Sacramento
County are considered too low to support regular bus service
at this time. Businesses with acres of parking between the
business and the bus stop also discourage transit use. Better
bus stops and pedestrian access will encourage transit use.
Possible joint use park and ride facilities along Hazel Avenue
would also encourage use of transit, as would amenities such
as bike lockers. Bus pullouts do not exist in most places5,
and stops need fully covered, shaded and well-lit shelters
to protect and encourage ridership. The street design needs
to support transit needs, with ADA accessible bus stops and
shelters, accessible path-a-travels, protected turning lanes,
pedestrian friendly access, 5 foot minimum sidewalks which
are wide enough to accommodate shelters, benches, pads and
cutouts for ADA, and roadways designed for low floor buses.
How to effectively service any proposed HOV lane on Highway
50 (e.g. transit center or park-n-ride lot) is also an issue.
Although many environmentalists are opposed to HOV lanes,
if HOV lanes are constructed on Highway 50, then any Hazel
Avenue improvements need to facilitate their use and viability.
This includes careful evaluation of the “bus-only”
transit alternatives – not just bus service as usual
but a dedicated bus lane of some kind6. Looking at alternatives
is important because of air quality and mobility issues. There
are many people who don’t have access to cars –
the elderly, persons with disabilities, etc. HOV lanes can
encourage ridership by speeding access to job centers or speeding
access to LRT express trains. Traditionally we make it easier
for cars – rather, we should make it tougher for cars
and more attractive for all alternative modes of travel.
All pedestrian and bicycle facilities must meet the state
and county minimum standards for such facilities as found
in the Sacramento City / County Bicycle Master Plan and the
Transportation Element of the County General Plan as well
as Chapter 1000 of the California Streets and Highway Code.
This includes designs for RT bus turnouts as found in the
City County Bicycle Master Plan.
2. Hazel Avenue is an important, but
very dangerous bike route.
A key problem is discontinuous facilities for pedestrians
and bikes. There is currently a hodge-podge of pedestrian
and bicycle facilities along this corridor. Pedestrian safety
and continuous bike and pedestrian corridors need to be addressed.
The corridor is noisy, dirty, and smelly – travelers
need to bike/walk right up against the traffic. Breathing
with the diesel fumes is unhealthy. Speed is also a serious
problem for cyclists and pedestrians. Shoulders or sidewalks
are very sporadic from narrow to non-existent, or so poorly
maintained they can't be used. Hazel Avenue is lacking adequate
shoulders on both sides of the street. There are numerous
little residential streets entering Hazel Avenue that do not
have a stop light, which are too hard to make a left turn
in or out of. If you are in a car it is hard - if on a bike,
it is nearly impossible and unsafe. Utilities such as telephone
poles and power line poles as well as sign poles must be set
back off the bicycle and pedestrian right of way. It would
be best to place all utilities underground.
Debris pushed from the road is also a problem, making the
riding surface uneven, uncomfortable and hazardous. If you
ride a bike down Hazel Avenue now, the shoulders are full
of gravel, and drivers get angry with cyclists riding the
line to avoid gravel and debris in shoulder. With high pressure
tires, a sharp object will blow out the tire, leading to accidents
and injury. It doesn't appear much street sweeping is done.
Yet Hazel Avenue is an important commuter bike route between
Placer County and Hwy 50. In terms of mileage, it is not that
far for cyclists. It needs to be recognized that cyclists
need a safe, convenient facility for commuters. Recreational
cyclists will benefit from this as well.
Hazel Avenue is used often by cyclists (including families
with young children) to access the American River Parkway.
There are more commuters from the Orangevale area than one
would expect -- but cyclists are afraid of competing with
the heavy traffic given the unsafe road conditions. As a result,
many people drive their bikes to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery
to begin trips from the parking lot. Safe bike lanes all the
way up to Madison and down to the future LRT station are essential.
There is a great new facility at Aerojet Road, but no good
lanes along Hazel Avenue for people to access these facilities.
We need consistent bike lanes that meet current standards.
A 5-foot Class II bicycle lane (on both sides of Hazel Ave)
would be great and would help families feel safe.7 The goal
is to have the bike access on Hazel Avenue from Madison be
so safe and convenient that parents feel safe to bring their
children down and that commuters feel free to use their bikes
to get to work. Now, people get in their cars and drive to
the fish hatchery so they can access the parkway, adding to
the road congestion and air pollution by adding unnecessary
cold starts for cars that shouldn't need to be used to start
a bike ride. Or they access the Parkway at Hazel Avenue and
Sunset, which can add a disincentive of 5 to 6 miles to a
bike commute
3. Hazel Avenue needs to be made safe
and accessible for pedestrians.
There is a lack of good walking facilities on Hazel Avenue
It currently doesn't invite pedestrians to use the whole community,
which divides the community, making Hazel Avenue more like
a freeway. This forces people to use a car for all trips,
exacerbating traffic congestion and air quality problems.
There needs to be a higher quantity of intersections to provide
access across Hazel Avenue to adjoining neighborhoods –
limited access between neighborhoods is a problem.
Don’t just focus on moving people faster – focus
on people interacting with one another (e.g. bus stops, grocery
stores w/Starbucks, etc.) We need to assist in developing
an identity for the area – “Gestalt” that
can be enhanced.
Many people would love to walk or ride to the marking or
transit, but it is currently so uninviting and dangerous,
people are scared. The closer sidewalks are to the travel
lanes, the greater the exposure to diesel fumes and flying
debris. Speed is deadly for Hazel Avenue pedestrians. At anything
above 40 mph, 95% of vehicle/pedestrian conflicts are fatal.
At 35 mph, about 50% are fatal. Steady speed is safer. There
needs to be planter strips and trees, at least 6 to 8 feet,
for pedestrians to feel safe. Accessible pedestrian islands
should be provided on crosswalks for streets wider than 50
feet - people, especially seniors (who make up one third of
the area's population) and those with disabilities, are frightened
they will not make it across before the light turns red. Buffer
strips and trees are critical.
4. Safe bike, pedestrian and equestrian
access is needed on both sides of Hazel Avenue Bridge to the
American River Parkway and at both ends of the bridge.
There is a bottleneck of cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians
on the west side of the Hazel Avenue bridge. A covered trail
was constructed on the west side of the bridge for equestrians,
but because of the dangerous exposure on the east side of
the bridge and the stairway access to the bike trail on the
northeast side, most pedestrians and cyclists use the west
covered trail for both north and southbound travel.
The American River Bike trail has on and off ramps onto Hazel
Avenue The ramp on the west side of Hazel Avenue, which has
only recently been paved, has a steep 17% grade. This grade
not only makes it inaccessible for persons with disabilities,
but it is also out of compliance with both the Americans with
Disabilities Act and the California Code of Regulations Title
24. The sidewalk over the river leads to this steep ramp that
ends at a guardrail, forcing users out into the street. There
needs to be a separate facility that connects both ends of
the bike trail. This is challenging because the bike lane
is on the south side of the River to the west of Hazel Avenue
and crosses over to the north side to the east of Hazel Avenue
The existing bike and pedestrian under crossing is a very
minimum design and needs to be completely reworked.
Continuous minimum standard (Chapter 1000 / BMP) designed
facilities for pedestrian and bicycle travel on Class I and
II bicycle facilities are needed to connect both the north
side trail to the south side trail of the American River Bicycle
Trail and also connecting the fish hatchery with the aquatic
facilities to the east of Hazel Avenue
5. Safe and adequate pedestrian facilities
for all persons needs to be provided.
There needs to be more frequent bus service during the day
as well as evenings for people who are dependent upon non-auto
transportation. Sidewalks should be provided solely for pedestrians
- cyclists should have a separate, dedicated lane. Biking
is an inexpensive means of transportation and needs to be
separated from traffic for safety. By the same token, pedestrians
need protection from conflict and injury from cyclists.
Sidewalks need to be at least five feet wide so a wheelchair
and pedestrian can pass. Straight sidewalks are preferred,
but meandering sidewalks are acceptable if the meandering
is not too exaggerated. Some buffer, such as landscaping and
trees should separate the pedestrian walk from the street.
Utility poles, utility guide-wires and bus shelters sometimes
encroach on sidewalks, and should be placed totally off the
sidewalk (preferably underground) with at least a foot of
clearance for the human body. There also needs to be good
nighttime lighting to make the roadway safer and improve visibility
while being positioned to prevent glare to adjacent properties.
Landscaping provides shading and comfort during hot weather.
But care needs to be taken to ensure species do not grow roots
that lift the sidewalks, or result in droppings that are hard
to push through or get slippery. Anything with thorns should
be well clear of the public right-of-way.
At transit stops, a vertical rather than rolled curb is needed
to provide another measure of safety. Buses can get closer
to a person on the bus stop pad, so when a senior citizen
or disabled person is trying the bridge the gap, it is easier
for them to board the bus.
Intersections should be designed to allow sight impaired
pedestrians to get oriented for crossing. Intersections with
90 degree angles and curb cuts provide the straightest walkway.
Odd angled and dog legged corners make it very difficult to
figure out how to cross. Pork chop islands are also hard,
although removing the island can make the crossing too long
to make within the signal time allowed. The recent use of
long right turn lanes with gradually sloping curves makes
it very difficult for the blind to determine where to cross
and get the right direction. Curb ramps need to be within
and aligned with cross walk markings to provide a greater
degree of safety and orientation to the pedestrian crossing
the street. Guide strips are also being used now, set in between
the crosswalk markings. It is also very helpful to have intersections
marked at the pedestrian pushbuttons with a Braille sign that
identifies the streets, as well as audible crossing signals.
6. Clean air is vital to quality of
life, both for nearby residents of Hazel Avenue and the region.
Any Hazel Avenue improvements will have to mitigate contribution
to ozone. Better movement of cars will improve conditions,
unless there is a latent demand that increases vehicle trips
and significantly increases ozone levels.
Ultimately, we must reduce vehicle trips to reduce air pollutants.
Sacramento has the 6th to 10th worse air quality in the nation,
70% caused by vehicle trips. We need to do whatever we can
to reduce that -- poor air quality is a huge health risk for
sensitive populations, including children and seniors. Just
starting a car is the worst. We must provide better choices.
If people felt safe and comfortable walking or riding a bike,
we could reduce some vehicle trips. We want to give alternate
modes every opportunity to be used.
The new EMFAC 2000 air pollution modeling raises the bar,
and will probably show that higher speeds generate more emissions.
"Dithering" between 55 and 65 is worse than between
25 and 35 mph. It is critical that accurate emissions modeling
be used in determining alternatives and in the environmental
document. We need to ensure that all air quality models are
current and each component is lining up -- assumptions in
the air quality and congestion plans must line up and be internally
consistent.
This is also an economic vitality issue. If we are going
to accommodate more people in the region, we must be able
to move them without killing ourselves. We must use the transportation
system we have more efficiently and provide other options
for more flexibility.
7. The existing landscape on Hazel
Avenue is mixed and could benefit from a cohesive landscape
plan.
The existing landscape consists of mixed residents, business
centers, partial sidewalk facilities and overhead utility
lines and poles. Consistent landscaping is nonexistent, which
results in a low visual appeal for the corridor. Incorporating
a landscape plan in any proposed Hazel Avenue improvements
and/or actions would help create a sense of community along
the corridor, increase visual appeal, and likely improve property
values.
8. Overall, we need to reduce dependency
on the automobile.
There are many reasons why reducing automobile dependency
is important. A few are listed below:
- air quality
- safety for all people; not just vehicular users
- reducing health and safety problems
- reducing the cost of living in the area
Alternative forms of accessible transportation effect air
quality, which in turn contributes to decreased single occupancy
vehicle traffic. We need to make alternatives more attractive,
more efficient, and fully fund them. There needs to be a look
at longer-term solutions for the Hazel Avenue Corridor. Any
capacity enhancement is inherently growth inducing –
anything other than transit will just fill up in a few years
as growth continues in this part of the region. The corridor
should be part of a regional transit study. Land use issues
from an area-wide standpoint need to be defined and addressed
as part of the Hazel Avenue Corridor studies.
If we do not look at alternative modes systematically within
the region, alternative transportation within the corridor
may not be supported. To meet goals of lower congestion, better
air quality, and less noise, there must be a modal shift away
from the single occupant vehicle. The problem must be viewed
from a broader perspective, beyond just this corridor, to
see where we can most efficiently design alternative systems
and find funding. This corridor may appear not have the ridership
to justify increased options for transit when considered in
isolation, but bringing in the bigger picture will give the
needed justification.8
1 With respect to inter-jurisdictional agreements,
there exists a number of fare / transfer agreements between
the municipal operators & RT. These agreements do not
address the "seamless" service concept envisioned
here, primarily because the municipal operators wish to retain
local control of their services & state / local revenue
to subsidize these services vs. becoming a member of the RT
District.
2 It is high likely that the two express bus routes will terminate
/ feed into the Hazel LRT Station. They will be timed to meet
the proposed express train service. The transfer penalty from
express bus to express rail will be less than 5 minutes. Also,
Placer & Folsom transit could use the Hazel Station, although
Folsom will most likely feed the Iron Point, Silverbrook,
or downtown Folsom LRT stations.
3 Typically, during peak service RT deploys 40 foot (large)
buses, so they can minimize operating costs. These buses have
bicycle racks & beginning with the next order (25 buses)
they will be low-floor to improve passenger loading. Low floor
buses will require curbs & paved bus stops in order to
be effective.
4 According to RT, Route 109 has been doing well. If RT had
more money to focus on that area and put more service on 109,
more people might use it.
5 RT does not support bus turnouts / pullouts as they make
it difficult for the bus to safely merge back into the traffic
stream & would add time to the overall bus trip. Typically,
bus turnouts are only provided by RT at transit centers /
LRT stations because the number of buses & transferring
pedestrian activity warrants keeping the buses out of the
traffic stream. At these locations, buses also typically "layover"
(i.e. park), allowing the operator to take a restroom break,
smoke, etc. before continuing the route.
6 Bus guide ways require a bus service peak period frequency
of 5 minutes, i.e. at least 12 buses per hour.
7 State and County standards do not allow 5-foot wide Class
I Bike Trails - the minimum for a Class I is eight (8) feet
and is a separated facility like the American River Bike Trail.
The Hazel Corridor would not meet the multiple criteria for
Class I bike facilities and could be dangerous.
8 Hazel Avenue was not considered in the Multi-Corridor Study,
because Sunrise was considered a better LRT corridor given
the higher volume of traffic, land use densities, Sunrise
Mall destination, etc. (although preliminary ridership numbers
are low for Sunrise due to the suburban nature of the corridor
& that fixed rail service doesn't serve spread-out suburbs
all that well). Given this, it isn't expected that a LRT alignment
on Hazel Avenue would fair much better than Sunrise, given
the existing nature of the Hazel corridor. RT reviewed 20+
corridors for light rail & short listed two: extension
of the South Line to Elk Grove & an extension to the Airport.
RT will also look at a regional (commuter) rail in the I-80
corridor from Auburn to Davis & three bus corridors (Stockton,
Watt & Sunrise). The Multi-Corridor Study will be completed
in 3-01.
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