Phase 1 Conceptual Design Report
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PHASE 1 CONCEPTUAL DESIGN REPORT submitted to: Rhode Island Department of Transportation submitted by: City of Providence in association with: Toole Design Group McMahon Associates Horsley Witten Group Streetplans Collaborative DiChiera Consulting Bryant Associates Table of Contents INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................................. 1 PURPOSE AND NEED .......................................................................................................................................... 4 PROJECT CONTEXT .......................................................................................................................................................... 4 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ........................................................................................................................................ 6 EXISTING CONDITIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 8 STUDY AREA .................................................................................................................................................................. 8 ROADWAYS ................................................................................................................................................................... 9 SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 12 CRASH ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................................................... 15 PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................................................................... 17 BICYCLE ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................................................................................. 17 COUNT DATA ............................................................................................................................................................... 18 SPEED DATA ................................................................................................................................................................ 21 ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................................. 22 CLIFFORD STREET ALTERNATIVES ..................................................................................................................................... 23 PINE STREET AND FRIENDSHIP STREET ALTERNATIVES .......................................................................................................... 27 PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE ................................................................................................................................. 28 CLIFFORD STREET ......................................................................................................................................................... 28 WEST FRANKLIN STREET ................................................................................................................................................ 30 PINE STREET AND FRIENDSHIP STREET .............................................................................................................................. 30 On‐Street Parking ................................................................................................................................................ 31 URBAN DESIGN AND PLACEMAKING ................................................................................................................................. 32 COST AND CONSTRUCTABILITY ........................................................................................................................................ 35 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS ..................................................................................................................... 35 USER CONDITIONS AND OPERATIONS ............................................................................................................... 36 PEDESTRIAN UPGRADES ................................................................................................................................................. 36 BICYCLE LEVEL OF STRESS ............................................................................................................................................... 37 TRAFFIC ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................................................ 40 Background Traffic Growth ................................................................................................................................. 41 Level‐of‐Service Criteria ...................................................................................................................................... 42 2018 Existing Conditions Capacity Analysis ........................................................................................................ 43 2023 No Build Capacity Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 44 2023 Build Capacity Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 47 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................................... 50 NEXT STEPS ....................................................................................................................................................... 51 ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................... 51 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................................... 52 0 | Page Introduction The Toole Design Group (TDG) Team has prepared this report to accompany concept design plans for Phase I of the City of Providence’s City Walk initiative. Building on years of community support, City Walk is a vision for: Connecting Providence neighborhoods; Connecting major recreational amenities including Roger Williams Park, India Point Park, and the new waterfront parks currently being constructed on either side of the Providence River; Connecting civic institutions including the Museum of Natural History, Roger Williams Botanical Center, Roger Williams Park Zoo, community libraries, the Southside Cultural Center, and the Children’s Museum; and Celebrating Providence’s diverse cultures. The project was first conceptualized by community members during the Old Harbor Forums, an initiative of the City of Providence, Providence Foundation, American Institute of Architects RI, and Providence Preservation Society in 2006. Through leadership from the Jewelry District Neighborhood Association, Elmwood Neighborhood Association and Providence Foundation, the concept was further explored and discussed with the community through the 2014 City Walk Study. City Walk has since been adopted by the City of Providence as a City led initiative. Phase 1 of City Walk focuses on making safety improvements for people who walk and ride bicycles through Downtown and in Upper South Providence via Clifford, Pine, and Friendship streets. Phase 2 of City Walk focuses on Broad Street from Elmwood Avenue to Hawthorne Street. This report is only pertinent to Phase 1. Significant progress has been made on City Walk east of Richmond Street. The Wexford development being constructed on Parcels 22 and 25 will include easements for pedestrians and bicyclists which will connect City Walk to the waterfront park being constructed on the Downtown side of the Providence River. From there, the Providence River Pedestrian Bridge (Figure 1), which is also currently under construction, will connect City Walk across the River, through the waterfront park on the Fox Point side of the River along a recently constructed bike path segment from Wickenden Street to George M Cohan Boulevard, over I‐195 on the existing bicycle and pedestrian bridge and to India Point Park. At India Point Park, City Walk will connect to the East Bay Bike Path and Blackstone Bike Path. Through funding from the RI Green Economy Bond, the City will include additional directional signage and striping improvements to better direct bicyclists and pedestrians from the Wickenden/Water Street intersection to the India Street bicycle/pedestrian bridge along a recently constructed off‐road path. A separate Design Study Report, focusing on safety improvements for people who walk and ride bicycles along Broad Street between Trinity Square and Roger Williams Park (Phase 2) will be developed and issued in the coming months. Future investments in City Walk are envisioned to include wayfinding signage, landscape improvements, public art, and lighting components along Clifford, Pine, Friendship, Broad, Elmwood, and Huntington Avenue and over the Providence River Pedestrian Bridge (which is currently under construction) through Fox Point, to India Point