MEDIANS IN THE CITY A Report to the Olympia City Council Olympia Advance Planning & Olympia Public Works November 2003 Olympia Advance Planning Steven W. Morrison Senior Planner, Lead Project Staff Scott Carte GIS Analyst Rosalie Bostwick Office Manager Louise Bobier Administrative Assistant Sarah Phillips Graphics Technician I Lon D. Wyrick Executive Director Susan Andrews Assistant Director Olympia Public Works David C. Riker Transportation Division Manager Randy Wesselman Transportation Engineering Supervisor Dave Smith Transportation Project Engineer II Sophie Stimson Transportation Demand Management Planner Greg Walker Engineering Design II Michael Mucha Director of Public Works Olympia Planning Commission Subcommittee Chris Hawkins Planning Commission Chair Karen Messmer Planning Commission Tom Carver Planning Commission TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Background ....................................................................................................................................................1 Project Scope of Work ...................................................................................................................................1 Types of Medians...........................................................................................................................................2 Olympia Comprehensive Plan .......................................................................................................................8 Guidance #1: Attractive Streets ........................................................................................................9 Guidance #2: Safe Streets ...............................................................................................................11 Guidance #3: Accessible Commercial Access................................................................................15 Guidance #4: Effective Streets........................................................................................................18 Median Design Standards ............................................................................................................................20 Installation & Maintenance Costs ................................................................................................................23 Median Cover Types....................................................................................................................................25 Medians & Roundabouts..............................................................................................................................28 Public Art in Medians ..................................................................................................................................30 Median Suitability Checklist........................................................................................................................31 Selected Roadways ......................................................................................................................................33 Table Used in Suitability Scoring ................................................................................................................33 Conclusions..................................................................................................................................................36 Bibliography.................................................................................................................................................38 Median Suitability - Summary Sheet ...........................................................................................................39 Median Suitability Sheet #1 – Locational and Pedestrian Value Factors ....................................................40 Median Suitability Sheet #2 – Locational and Pedestrian Value Factors ....................................................41 List of Tables 1. Recently Constructed Medians ........................................................................................................23 2. Recently Constructed Pedestrian Crossing Islands..........................................................................23 3. Cost of Various Median Projects .....................................................................................................23 4. Comparison of Maintenance Costs ..................................................................................................24 5. Cover Types of Recently Constructed Medians...............................................................................25 6. Relative Maintenance Cost of Recently Constructed Medians........................................................25 7. Roadways Selected for Median Suitability Review.........................................................................33 8. Median Suitability Scores ................................................................................................................36 9. Median Opportunity Factors ............................................................................................................37 List of Figures 1. Generalized Plan View – Pedestrian Crossing with a Median...........................................................2 2. Generalized Street View – Pedestrian Crossing with a Median ........................................................3 3. Plum Street near City Hall .................................................................................................................4 4. East Bay Drive at Berry Street...........................................................................................................4 5. East Bay Drive south of Priest Point Park .........................................................................................4 6. Capitol Way South of 12th Avenue ....................................................................................................5 7. Maple Park Drive at Franklin Street ..................................................................................................5 8. Jefferson Street at 14th Avenue ..........................................................................................................5 9. Harrison Avenue near Black Lake Boulevard ...................................................................................6 i List of Figures (continued) 10. Harrison Avenue near Limited Lane..................................................................................................6 11. Mud Bay Road west of Cooper Point Road.......................................................................................6 12. Cooper Point Road near 12th Avenue.................................................................................................7 13. Cooper Point Road north of Capital Mall Drive ................................................................................7 14. Cooper Point Road near Yauger Park ................................................................................................7 15. Mid-Block Crossing on Harrison Avenue .......................................................................................12 16. Proposed East Bay Drive Improvements .........................................................................................14 17. 4th Avenue—"As It Could Become" ................................................................................................16 18. Bridgeport Way in University Place, WA........................................................................................16 19. Mowing Strip and Inside Lane Striping on Cooper Point Road Median .........................................20 20. Olympia 2-Lane Roadways..............................................................................................................22 21. Olympia 4-Lane Roadways..............................................................................................................22 22. Median Cover Type – Colored Concrete (State Avenue & Wilson Street) .....................................26 23. Median Cover Type – Grass with Trees (Cooper Point Road) ........................................................26 24. Median Cover Type – Dense Shrubs (Harrison Avenue) ................................................................27 25. Median Cover Type – Sparse Shrubs (Harrison Avenue & Mud Bay Road) ..................................27 26. Footprint of a Roundabout and 4-Leg Intersection..........................................................................28 27. Plan View – Wide Node and Narrow Road .....................................................................................29 28. Kite Girl in Lacey on Pacific Avenue..............................................................................................30 29. Public Art in the Roundabout at Market Street & Capitol Way ......................................................30 COVER: Cooper Point Road – adjacent to Yauger Park and the Skate Park ii BACKGROUND Within the last few years, medians have been discussed with almost every street improvement brought before the City Council. Current city policy is to review a project for medians at the design phase. This is fairly late in the approval process and decisions are made on a case by case basis. The city, in particular the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, was already becoming interested in some sort of city-wide median policy when community groups such as the Olympia Safe Streets Campaign and the East