THE BIKE HAYS MasTER PLAN CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1: Context and Opportunities ................................................ 9 Chapter 2: The Bikeway Network: Principles and Structure ......... 17 Chapter 3: Infrastructure Design Concepts ........................................ 29 Chapter 4: Implementation ...................................................................... 53 THE Chapter 5: Support Systems ..................................................................... 73 BIKE HAYS MasTER PLAN MAPS 1. Destinations .................................................................................................11 2. Street Contexts ...........................................................................................13 3. Network Opportunities ...........................................................................15 4. BikeHays System by Phase .....................................................................26 5. BikeHays System by Infrastructure Type ...........................................27 6. Initial System Sequencing ......................................................................57 THE BIKE HAYS MASTER PLAN 4 INTRODUCTION he City of Hays is ideally positioned to make Why a Bikeway Plan? Goals of this Master Plan this wonder vehicle an important part of its transportation picture. The city is compact, People in Hays have a strong interest in health and so most trips are relatively short. It has a net- active transportation. In 2007, the city developed a workT of wide, relatively quiet streets that connect plan for trails with many good ideas that with unlim- parks, schools, and activity centers. Hays has a vital ited funds would give the city a great pathway net- downtown, distinctive park and recreation resources, work. However, trails are very expensive, often cost- historic and cultural attractions with appeal to both ing as much as $300,000 per mile. The proposed visitors and residents, fine neighborhoods, a boule- system, while excellent, was simply unaffordable to vard system, and a great university campus. Its flat the city. Furthermore, the new federal transportation topography makes bicycling in Hays both a pleasure bill – MAP-21 – has significantly reduced funding for and highly accessible to most people. transportation alternatives, and the State of Kansas is one of only two states to opt out of the Recreational Bicycles and Hays are made for each other, and cy- Trails Program (RTP), electing to reprogram its share cling can play an important role in the city’s transpor- of funds for roads. tation system. This plan is dedicated to encourag- ing Hays’ citizens to use this healthy, low-impact, and This plan takes a different direction, based on devel- pleasurable form of transportation as part of their oping an affordable network of bicycle facilities. This daily routines. Bicycling in Hays can be a useful and concept makes maximum use of the city’s largest in- convenient form of transportation for many purposes frastructure investment: its street system. It uses trails that are part of daily life: work, school, visiting friends, and exclusive pathways to fill gaps in the system. parks and recreation, shopping, and many others. But Trails remain a major part of an ultimate system, but it is profoundly satisfying to reach our destinations the immediate need is to get people into the habit of under our own power and to experience the city and using bicycles for routine trips. its people in new and more personal ways. A BikeHays bicycle infrastructure system, then, is We know that bicycling for transportation does not guided by the following goals: meet everyone’s needs and that most trips in Hays INTRODUCTION will continue to be made by car. But people should Goal One: Increase the number of people who use have choices, including the option to feel safe and the bicycle for transportation as well as recreation. comfortable using the healthy, sustainable, and so- A measurement of the success of this plan will be sig- cially satisfying means of mobility that the bicycle of- nificantly increasing the percentage of trips for a va- fers. riety of purposes. Goal Two: Improve bicycle access to key commu- nity destinations. A bicycle transportation system should get people comfortably and safely to where 5 THE BIKE HAYS MASTER PLAN they want to go. Bicycles are used most often for rec- eryone from kids to seniors makes all of us health- reational trips, and these trips to parks, ball games, ier, and reduces overweight and obesity rates and and recreation centers are important contributors to improves wellness and lowers overall health care overall travel in the city. Therefore, the system serves costs. all of the city’s parks, and links them into a unified green network. But it also serves important commu- Goal Four: Increase safety on the road for motor- nity destinations and sources of travel, such as the ists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Improved safety is a FHSU campus, Downtown, and other retail centers. critical goal for any transportation improvement, and good infrastructure can reduce crashes and increase Goal Three: Use bicycling as part of an effort make comfort for all users of Hays’ transportation network. Hays more sustainable at three levels: global, com- munity, and individual. Trips made by bicycle pro- The Measures of Success: Guiding Criteria for mote community sustainability in three ways: an Effective Bicycle Transportation Network • Global sustainability. Bicycle transportation re- The design of any bicycle transportation system duces fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emis- should be guided by criteria that can be used to eval- sions, helping the city reduce its impact on the uate individual components and the effectiveness of global environment. The Hays system is especially the entire network. The Netherlands’ Centre for Re- suited to short trips, for which cars are both least search and Contract Standardization in Civil and Traf- efficient and most polluting. A bikeable Hays will fic Engineering (C.R.O.W.), one of the world’s leading not save the planet. But as a great sage said about authorities in the design of bicycle-friendly infrastruc- 2,000 years ago, “It’s not your job to finish the task, ture, has developed especially useful requirements to but you are not free to walk away from it.” help determine the design of bicycle systems. Draw- ing on C.R.O.W.’s work in its excellent design manual, • Community sustainability. A good and heavily Sign Up for the Bike, an urban bicycle network should used bicycle transportation system can help re- generally fulfill six basic requirements: duce the cost of government by marginally reduc- ing the need for more expensive projects. Also, on • Integrity (or, in C.R.O.W.’s term, Coherence): Hays’ a social level, bicycling enhances the quality of civ- bikeway network at all points in its evolution ic life, helping us interact with each other as peo- forms a coherent system that links starting points ple. Places that lead in bicycle transportation also with destinations. The network is understandable tend to attract people because of their community to its users and fulfills a responsibility to convey quality. them continuously on their paths. • Individual sustainability. Incorporating physical • Directness: The bikeway network should offer activity into the normal routine of daily life for ev- cyclists as direct a route as possible, with mini- 6 INTRODUCTION mum detours or misdirections. tions, existing facilities, and opportunities. • Safety: The bikeway network should maximize Chapter Two: The Bikeway Network: Principles and the safety of using the bicycle for transportation, Structure. This chapter establishes overall principles minimize or improve hazardous conditions and that guide the proposed network. It presents a com- barriers, and in the process improve safety for pe- plete conceptual system of on-street bikeways, paths, destrians and motorists. and multi-use trails. • Comfort: Most bicyclists should view the net- Chapter Three: Facility Design Guidelines. This work as being within their capabilities and not im- chapter presents the vocabulary of facilities and posing unusual mental or physical stress. As the street adaptations proposed for the Hays network, system grow, more types of users will find that it based on the city’s specific street characteristics and meets their needs comfortably. environmental features. It concludes by applying the infrastructure types to the conceptual bikeway net- • Experience: The bicycle network should offer its work and its various routes. users a pleasant and positive experience that capi- talizes on the city’s built and natural environments. Chapter Four: Implementation. This section estab- lishes criteria that determine the sequence of devel- • Feasibility: The bicycle network should provide opment and proposes an initial network, based on a high ratio of benefits to costs and should be serving all parts of town and early feasibility. viewed as a wise investment of resources. It is ca- pable of being developed in phases and growing Chapter Five: Support Programs. The League of over time. American Bicyclists describes five E“ ’s” as components of a bicycle-friendly community (BFC) program and These criteria and the system design principles that judges BFC applications accordingly. These program logically follow from them are discussed in detail in categories are Engineering,