Eastward View of Polk Street Near Laurel Canyon Boulevard Looking Toward the San Gabriel Mountains

Eastward view of Polk Street near Laurel Canyon Boulevard looking toward the San Gabriel Mountains. Sylmar Community Plan Chapter 4 Mobility Mobility hether walking, riding a bike or a horse, taking public transit or driving Mobility and a car, community members need to find efficient, safe and enjoyable Wmodes of transportation to reach their destinations. “Mobility” is the Public Health ability to quickly, comfortably travel within the community and region using Physical inactivity is increasingly one or several modes of transportation. One’s mobility is enhanced if a range of recognized as a public health practical and affordable travel options are available. problem due to the associated The Sylmar Community Plan recognizes that land use and mobility goals and increases in obesity, diabetes, policies are interdependent. Mobility objectives cannot be achieved without the cancer, stroke, and heart disease support of appropriate and complementary development; at the same time, land in our communities. A 2007 use and design objectives can be undermined by conflicting mobility policies. study by Los Angeles County Therefore, the mobility goals and policies in this chapter enhance and reinforce the Department of Public Health land use and design policies discussed in Chapter Three, while integrating citywide found that the communities mobility goals, including those established in the Framework, Transportation and of Sylmar, Mission Hills other City Elements. These citywide goals include: Panorama City-North Hills, and Arleta-Pacoima have a 29% • Support a first-class, multi-modal transportation system in which jobs, prevalence of childhood obesity. services and amenities are easily accessible to all residents and visitors, which The ability to efficiently, safely, respects the City’s unique communities and neighborhoods and reduces the and enjoyably walk, ride, or City’s dependence on automobiles. bicycle in one’s community can • Improve air quality, public health, and quality of life through continued have a significant impact on investment in rail, transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and trail infrastructure. individual activity levels. This • Create a street network that balances the needs of all roadway users, Plan promotes active living including pedestrians, equestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and motorists; through pedestrian, equestrian, and which values streets as public open spaces. and bicycling improvements, increased access to parks and green spaces, and supporting the development of trails and safe routes to school. *Source: “Preventing childhood obesity: the need to create healthy places. A Cities and Communities Health Report,” County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, October 2007. May 2015 4-1 This chapter first introduces the concept of “complete streets”, the basis for Sylmar’s multi-modal approach to mobility. Official street standards, modifications to these standards, and street prioritization by mode are also discussed in this Complete Streets section. The remainder of the chapter contains all of Sylmar’s mobility goals, “Complete streets” are road- policies, and design guidelines, organized into the following nine sections: ways designed and operated to enable safe, attractive, and • General Mobility comfortable access and travel • Walking for all users. Pedestrians, • Bicycling bicyclists, motorists and public • Trails transport users of all ages and abilities are able to safely and • Scenic Highways comfortably move along and • Public Transit across a complete street. In • Motorized Vehicles 2007, the State of California adopted the “Complete Streets • Goods Movement Act,” which requires local • Parking Management municipalities to plan for the routine accommodation of all roadway users when updating General Plans. Sylmar is a semi-rural, equestrian community where residents ride horses on a daily basis to get to The bicycle path on San Fernando Road provides recreational and open space areas and local retail shops. residents with a dedicated environment for cycling and walking. 4-2 Sylmar Community Plan Chapter 4 Mobility Streets Our City’s streets serve many different roles within a community. They are a means to get people to places they need to go — via bus, light rail, car, motorcycle, scooter, bicycle, on foot, and even by horseback in some the City’s communities. Streets are also places to gather, recreate, shop, exercise, and socialize. They are the backbone of a healthy community and an indicator of a local neighborhood’s culture and values. Streets must also provide mobility for our businesses, which often rely on the timely delivery of merchandise to their stores or the ability to deliver services to customer’s homes or offices. Furthermore, streets accommodate utility and sewer lines as well as provide a means to collect and transport water on rainy days. Simply stated, daily life demands a great deal from our streets; thus, the sustainable future of our neighborhoods depends on a network of roadways that balance the needs of these multiple interests and functions. Currently, most of the City’s streets are devoted primarily to moving vehicular traffic; however, over-dependence on motor vehicles puts communities in a vulnerable economic position and diminishes quality of life. Therefore, this Plan encourages a more balanced, multi-modal approach to mobility in which the community’s streets are more equitably shared by all users, termed “complete streets” by the California Complete Streets Act of 2007. San Fernando Road, a major street in the Residents are commonly seen horseback riding throughout the community. community, connecting to the Metrolink Station May 2015 4-3 Standard Street Classifications The City’s streets are organized by standard street classifications, established in the General Plan, as well as standard street dimensions, adopted by the City Planning Commission and Board of Public Works and depicted in the Department of Public Works Standard Plan. Street classifications describe a street’s function within the larger street network, while street dimensions assign appropriate street right-of-way widths (comprised of space for sidewalks, parkways, street parking, travel lanes, and medians) for each classification. The City’s principal street classifications include: • Major Highway – Class I and II. Major highways are designed to carry San Fernando Road, a Major Highway Class II. high volumes of vehicular traffic at relatively high speeds. A Major Highway Class I typically has three lanes of traffic in each direction; while a Major Highway Class II typically has two lanes. Local automobile access to individual parcels along the street should be limited. • Secondary Highway. A Secondary Highway, intended to supplement the through-traffic carrying characteristics of major highways, is designed for fewer daily trips than a Major Highway and typically provides more access to individual parcels. It typically includes two travel lanes in each direction, left turn lanes at signalized intersections, and narrower sidewalks than the Major Highways. • Collector Streets (standard, industrial, and hillside). Collector Streets are Glenoaks Boulevard, a Secondary Highway. moderate-volume, medium-speed roadways that provide access between local streets and higher street classifications. • Local Streets (standard, industrial, and hillside). Local streets are designed to allow local traffic access to their property or destination. Although street widths for each of the above street classifications are standardized, actual street widths vary because, historically, streets were built to different, narrower standards. In these circumstances, older streets are incrementally widened through street dedications from new development; however, this method of street widening may be impractical or counter to goals of increased pedestrian, Cobalt Street, a Collector Street. bicycle, or development activity. Existing, non-standard street dimensions, types of adjacent land uses, lot depths, and volumes of vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle activity may all indicate the need for a different street dimension than the adopted standard. In these cases, streets and street segments can be modified to reflect the specific needs of a community. Figure 4-1, Circulation System, delineates Sylmar’s street network and establishes right-of-way widths and dedication requirements. In the next section, Table 4-2, Street Modifications, lists the streets that will be modified concurrent with this plan’s adoption. Gladstone Avenue, a Local Street. 4-4 Forest Angeles National Av vina a G N d R N Simshaw Av n o y n a C a m i o c t a S P tz e lm W Hubbard St A N Eldridge Av W t t S S ey g l N Fenton Av n i id d r Gr Ha San Gabriel W Sunland - Mountains W N Gladstone Av Tujunga - Lake View Terrace - r D W Maclay St w Shadow Hills - ie W Foothill Bl 210 V East LaCanyon Tuna e v li O W N Dronfield Av t Figure 4-1 S r Arleta - e Pacoima Tyl N Borden Av W W Bledsoe St Bledsoe W N Glenoaks Bl March 2015 t S t Circulation System a 210 N Herrick Av S ri re o City of t y s A Sa W Polk St W W W St San Fernando N Bradley Av Sylmar CommunityCity of PlanLos Angeles PlanningArea Department • obalt This is an informational map provided for C as part of the Sylmar Community Plan. W Roxford St reference purposes only. It is not adopted W Olden St Olden W W N San Fernando Rd SW Rdwy W Yarnell St Yarnell W thill Bl W Foo N Telfair Av N Sepulveda Bl N Encinitas Av N Laure 5 l Canyon Bl GranadaKnollwood Hills - Mission Hils - PanoramaNorth City Hills - Major Highway Class II Secondary Highway Legend: Collector Local Streets Private Streets Modified Streets Proposed Streets Scenic Highway Railroad Metrolink Station Freeways Community Plan Boundary Priority Streets The Transportation Element allows communities to further classify streets by priority mode, such as walking, bicycling, horseback riding, transit, or motor vehicle. Widening streets to accommodate additional space for every mode of travel is often unrealistic and undesirable. Instead, prioritization allows for a more tailored, efficient use of the street network that balances the needs of each mode in a holistic manner.

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