CAMPUS BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PLAN April 2014
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Table of Contents 1 Introduction and Background ...... 1 1.1 Plan Development ...... 1 1.2 Purpose of the Plan ...... 1 1.3 Campus History and Context ...... 1 1.4 Plan Vision ...... 1 1.5 Goals and Objectives ...... 2 1.6 Outreach Activities ...... 3 1.7 Background Resources ...... 3 2 Existing Conditions: Where We Are ...... 4 2.1 Introduction ...... 4 2.2 Survey Results ...... 4 2.3 Public Outreach Results ...... 5 2.4 Campus Demographics ...... 5 2.5 General Roadway Conditions and Parking ...... 8 2.6 Existing Pedestrian Facilities ...... 18 2.7 Existing Bicycle Facilities ...... 18 2.8 Campus TDM Programs ...... 25 2.9 Transit System ...... 26 3 Future Conditions: Where We Are Headed ...... 28 3.1 Projected Campus Population Growth ...... 28 3.2 JMU Comprehensive Master Plan ...... 28 3.3 Planned City Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements ...... 28 4 Recommendations: Where We Want To Be ...... 29 4.1 Introduction ...... 29 4.2 Plan Framework ...... 29 4.3 Pedestrian Project Recommendations ...... 33 4.4 Bicycle Project Recommendations ...... 36 4.5 Recommended Programs and Policies ...... 40 4.6 Facility Standards and Design Guidelines ...... 46 4.7 Focus Area Concepts ...... 49 5 Implementation Plan: How We Are Going To Get There ...... 56 5.1 The Key: Implementation ...... 56 5.2 Funding ...... 56 5.3 Project Prioritization ...... 59 5.4 Implementation Process ...... 60
Appendix 1. Summary of Campus Outreach Comments 2. Campus Active Transportation Survey Results 3. Campus Transportation Survey Results 4. Design Guidelines and Standards 5. Virginia Supplement to the 2009 MUDTC – Chapter 9 Traffic Control for Bicycle Facilities
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List of Figures Figure 1: Residential Address Geocoding Analysis ...... 7 Figure 2: Roadway Functional Classification...... 10 Figure 3: Average Daily Traffic (ADT) ...... 13 Figure 4: Roadway Collisions (VDOT, 2012) ...... 16 Figure 5: Roadway Collisions (2008-11) ...... 17 Figure 6: Existing Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities ...... 20 Figure 7: Existing Bicycle Racks and Capacity ...... 23 Figure 8: Existing Harrisonburg Department of Public Transportation System Map (City Routes) ...... 27 Figure 9: Plan Framework ...... 30 Figure 10: Recommended Project Map ...... 32 Figure 11: Port Republic Road @ Bluestone Dr/Hillside Avenue Focus Area ...... 51 Figure 12: Carrier Drive @ Bluestone Drive Focus Area ...... 52 Figure 13: Carrier Drive @ CISAT Campus Focus Area ...... 53 Figure 14: Arboretum Trail Focus Area ...... 54 Figure 15: Main Street Focus Area ...... 55
List of Tables Table 1: Recent Enrollment Trend ...... 6 Table 2: Average Daily Traffic (2012) for Campus-area Roadways ...... 11 Table 3: Harrisonburg Traffic Collisions by Type (2008-2012) ...... 14 Table 4: Total Collisions for Campus-Area Roadways (2012) ...... 15 Table 5: Harrisonburg Bicycle and Pedestrian Collisions (2008-2011) ...... 15 Table 6: Bicycle and Pedestrian Collisions by Corridor (2008-2011) ...... 15 Table 7: Bicycle Rack Occupancy Results ...... 21 Table 8: Projected Enrollment Growth ...... 28 Table 9: Recommended Project List ...... 31 Table 10: Implementation Plan Projects List ...... 61
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Executive Summary
Purpose of the Plan
James Madison University’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan has been developed to promote multimodal transportation through the implementation of a variety of facility improvement and program development recommendations. The Plan includes short-term, mid-term, and long-term specific projects that have been detailed and prioritized. The Plan will be used by multiple campus organizations working together to improve JMU’s transportation system and to achieve the University’s commitment to sustainability. The Plan will also expand upon on recent facility improvements, and address the “5E’s” of engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation to help enhance JMU’s status as a Bicycle Friendly University, a designation received from the League of American Bicyclists (LAB).
Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)
The Plan development was overseen by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) which was made up of faculty, staff, and representatives of various on/off campus organizations (Facilities Management, UREC, Business Operations, Public Safety, Student Life, Office of Disability Services (ODS), and Systems Administration), as well as the City of Harrisonburg staff and representatives from a local bicycle shop.
The BPAC met regularly over the course of the Plan development process to provide the vision, goals and objectives of the Plan; conduct surveys and collect data; assist in Plan outreach activities; identify needs, deficiencies, and opportunities on campus for bicycle and pedestrian improvements; and review Plan concepts and recommendations.
Plan Vision and Goals
One of the primary aspects of the overall Vision for the Plan is the need to develop an interconnected multimodal network linking destinations within the JMU campus and to the broader community. Throughout this process projects that connected the City and University came up as the highest priorities in public input sessions, and in discussions with stakeholders.
This Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan will guide future plans with a long-term physical and programmatic vision for our campus. The Plan will focus on developing/completing a seamless cycling network that emphasizes and creates short distances between residential buildings and popular destinations such as academic buildings, dining facilities, recreational facilities and transit stops. It will complement infrastructure planning with education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation programs to increase usage. The vision inherent in the Plan is to: