Connecting the Blocks

CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 INTRODUCTION 6 UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT 7 Review of Existing Plans and Studies 7 The Study Area 10 Multimodal Districts 10 Who Lives There? 12 How Do They Live? 18 Where Are They Going? 26 How Are They Getting There? 30 What Does the Future Look Like? 45 Summary 51 NEEDS ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY 53 COMPLETE STREETS STANDARDS 53 Connectivity and Quality 53 Streets Typology 54 Complete Streets Network 63 Level of Service Standards 63 IDENTIFICATION OF MULTI-MODAL NEEDS 69 PRIORITIZATION OF MULTI-MODAL NEEDS 69 COST ESTIMATES 73 APPENDIX A: MAPS 74 APPENDIX B: PROJECT NEEDS LIST WITH COST ESTIMATES 79 APPENDIX C: PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA 125 TABLES FIGURES Table 1. People Per Acre 12 Figure 1. Multimodal Connectivity Districts 11 Table 2. Broward County Transit Routes 32 Figure 2. People Per Acre 13 Table 3. Sun Trolley Routes 33 Figure 3. Population that is 18 and Under Per Acre 15 Table 4. Limited-Access Highways in Fort Lauderdale 40 Figure 4. Population that is 65 and Older Per Acre 17 Table 5. Major East-West Corridors (Non-Interstates) 40 Figure 5. Downtown Riverfront Development 18 Table 6. Major North-South Corridors Figure 6. Existing Land Use 19 (Non-Interstates) 40 Figure 7. Single-Family Home 20 Table 7. Pedestrian Connectivity 42 Figure 8. Multi-Family Residences 20 Table 8. Bicycle Connectivity (Arterials and Collectors) 43 Figure 9. Residential Land Use 21 Table 9. Transit Connectivity 44 Figure 10. Land Use Related to Employment 23 Table 10. 2035 LRTP Cost Feasible Figure 11. Income and Car Ownership 25 Roadway Projects within Fort Lauderdale 47 Figure 12. Downtown Office Buildings 26 Table 11. 2035 LRTP Cost Feasible Transit Projects within Fort Lauderdale 48 Figure 13. Where Corridor Area Residents Work 27 Table 12. 2035 LRTP Unfunded Transit Figure 14. School Locations 29 Projects within Fort Lauderdale 48 Figure 15. Alternative Commuting Patterns 31 Table 13. 2035 LRTP 1 and 2 Ranked Bicycle Facility Improvement Projects 51 Figure 16. Existing Transit Infrastructure 35 Table 14. 2035 LRTP 1 Ranked Pedestrian Figure 17. Painted Bicycle Lane 36 Facility Improvement Projects 52 Figure 18. B-Cycle Station 36 Table 15. Maximum Walking Distances 53 Figure 19. Bicycle Facilities and Bicycle Parking 37 Table 16. CTB Complete Streets Typology 54 Figure 20. Functional Class (FDOT) 39 Table 17. Multimodal Standards: General 65 Figure 21. Future Land Use 46 Table 18. Multimodal Standards: Pedestrian Space 67 Figure 22. The Wave Alignment 49 Table 19. Multimodal Standards: Figure 23. Pedestrian-Oriented Lighting 53 Bicycle Space 67 Figure 24. Complete Streets Network 64 Table 20. Multimodal Standards: On-Street Parking and Medians 68 Table 21. Prioritization Criteria, Weights, and Thresholds 71 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY “OUR GOAL IS TO BECOME A FULLY CONNECTED CITY OF TOMORROW—A CITY THAT IS ANCHORED BY MOBILITY AND WALKABILITY; A CITY THAT IS PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY; A CITY THAT DEPENDS LESS ON VEHICLES AND RELIES MORE ON ALTERNATIVE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION.” — City of Fort Lauderdale, 2013 “Game Plan” “EVERY TRANSPORTATION AGENCY ... HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR WALKING AND BICYCLING AND TO INTEGRATE WALKING AND BICYCLING INTO THEIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. BECAUSE OF THE NUMEROUS INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT WALKING AND BICYCLING PROVIDE—INCLUDING HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENTAL, TRANSPORTATION, AND QUALITY OF LIFE—TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO GO BEYOND MINIMUM STANDARDS TO PROVIDE SAFE AND CONVENIENT FACILITIES FOR THESE MODES.” —United States Department of Transportation, Policy on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation, March 2010 The goal of the City of Fort Lauderdale to become pollution and greater energy consumption, and more multimodal and connected is part of a larger it can also impact the desirability of shopping vision that seeks to enhance the livability of the areas and businesses as destinations. To achieve a city while continuing to foster economic growth. truly connected community, the City will need to This is a vision that looks beyond change and consider both the infrastructure needed to make points towards transformation. the connections happen as well as the barriers that need to be overcome to get there. To make this vision a reality, the City of Fort Lauderdale has developed the Connecting the This CTB includes a detailed list of needed Blocks Program (CTB). CTB provides a plan—a pedestrian, bicycle and transit infrastructure pathway—to move from where we are today to improvements accompanied by planning-level that “City of Tomorrow.” cost estimates and a recommended prioritization methodology. Fort Lauderdale is fortunate to have a strong network of east-west and north-south arterial roadways, which is supplemented by a fine grid of local streets, dependency on a single mode of transportation has its costs. Specifically, the continued growth of traffic has tested the capacity of much of the roadway network, particular during peak commuting times. In environmental terms, congestion equates to higher levels of CONNECTING THE BLOCKS 4 MOBILITY PROJECT NEEDS Application of the multimodal standards and Complete Streets typology led to the identification Fort Lauderdale’s vision for multimodal of 126 multimodal projects and preparation of connectivity provides the foundation for identifying planning-level cost estimates for each. Of these specific actions that can be taken to improve projects, 115 are street segments targeted for multimodal connectivity. When these infrastructure a varying degree of pedestrian and bicycle improvements are completed, the hope is that improvements with the remainder being Citywide people will be walking in the business districts projects. Collectively, these improvements would where there is less congestion, bicyclists will be bring 609 miles of roadway corridors up to CTB traveling across the city for work and pleasure, standards (i.e., Complete Streets standards). and people will get out of their automobiles and choose to travel by other modes. Clearly, individual attitudes play a role in making this transformation happen; however, having the infrastructure and NEXT STEPS systems in place to encourage and support these The next steps for the City of Fort choices makes a significant difference. Lauderdale in implementing CTB are the In CTB, needed multimodal mobility infrastructure following: projects have been objectively identified through Making the case for CTB to the application of Complete Streets standards. 1. the development community, The focus of these standards is connectivity and public, Broward County, Florida quality, and they are organized around a new, City- Department of Transportation, specific Complete Streets typology that builds Broward Metropolitan Planning on and is consistent with the Broward Complete Organization, and South Florida Streets Guidelines. The Complete Streets Regional Transportation Authority standards address the following transportation system elements: 2. Amending the City’s • Speeds • Pedestrian crossings Comprehensive Plan, Code • Through lanes • Bicycle lanes of Ordinances, Unified Land • Sidewalks • Bicycle lane buffers Development Regulations and the • Sidewalk buffers • Sharrows – Shared Development Review Committee’s • Shade (e.g., trees Lanes process to incorporate CTB and awnings) • On-street parking • Pedestrian-oriented • Medians 3. Update the plan on an annual lighting basis with a major update every five years to coincide with the (Transit route connectivity standards were not Broward Metropolitan Planning included because the City is better positioned to Organization’s Long Range address access to transit than transit routing.) Transportation Planning process CONNECTING THE BLOCKS 5 INTRODUCTION THE CONTEXT This new program allows the City to create, prioritize, and fund transportation projects The City of Fort Lauderdale is the heart of activity in a consistent manner using all available and the seat of government in Broward County, funding sources. These sources include Florida. Additionally, it is one of the major cities Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), in the greater Southeast Florida region that Broward County, and Broward Metropolitan consists of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Planning Organization (MPO) funds; grant Counties. With a population of almost 170,000 in opportunities; developer contributions; the City’s an area of about 33 square miles, the city has a Community Investment Program (CIP); and other keen interest in moving people efficiently. transportation funds that become available. CTB builds on the Citywide Multimodal Connectivity The automobile-oriented transportation pattern Map initiative and relies on input from related in Fort Lauderdale is a product of a dispersed public involvement activities. development pattern. As in many places in the United States, development up until this point CTB is a detailed list of pedestrian, bicycle, has consisted primarily of strip malls, office parks, transit, and other multimodal infrastructure and separated residential land uses. In some parts improvements (i.e., “Complete Streets” of the city, large blocks render it difficult to walk improvements) was developed for inclusion in to destinations because they require significant the City’s Community Investment Plan, for use out-of-direction travel. Parking lots and garages as a basis for grant applications, and for use as are plentiful, and parking prices are relatively a basis for transportation mitigation associated

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