Transit Improvements in Laurel

While this blog is oriented toward pedestrian and bike infrastructure (and its role in planning and the creation of a sophisticated modern city), there is another transportation mode that are no less important to cities: transit.  Two important transit improvements are coming (in a couple of years) that will help those that rely on the Metro bus or MARC trains.  The first piece of news is that MTA is adding capacity to the MARC lines via more cars.  The second piece of (old) news is that WMATA was awarded a TIGER grant last year to improve bus travel time on several routes, including Route 1 from Laurel down into DC (2MB PDF).  Bus travel time improvements include Transit Signal Priority (TSP) and Queue Jumps.  TSP allows buses to get through an intersection faster than they normally would by adding green time or truncating green time from cross streets.  Queue Jumps provide space for buses to get ahead of a queue of cars (so that there actually is a potential time advantage to using a bus over driving yourself).

Both MARC and WMATA improvements are scheduled for a couple of years out, but are very welcome nonetheless.

Real-time traffic in Laurel

Zoom and Pan within the map.

Doing Parking Islands the right way

Laurel has a lot - a LOT! - of surface parking.  These lots collect stormwater (and motor oil and antifreeze and debris) and send them directly into the nearby Patuxent river, and eventually into the Chesapeake. While treating all this stormwater prior to it reaching the river is expensive, there is a ubiquitous tool that can treat some of it :  the humble parking island.

Old style parking islands 

But instead of making them like the one above, for the same amount of money, they can be made like these:

"Green" parking islands

Capturing & treating run-off before it enters storm water inlets (photo credits: Lisa Zimmerman)

These parking islands are slowly becoming more common. They capture filter run-off from moderate storms. The only main difference between these "green" islands and traditional ones is 1) the use of rocks to slow down and capture water flow; 2) the types of plants that go in the island.

With a new Walgreens coming to town, and a new (reconfigured) parking lot,  the City presently has the opportunity to try and start "greening" some its parking lots.

US Route 1 Sidewalk gap to be filled

There has been a long-standing gap in the sidewalk network along the City's main north-south commercial corridor, Route 1. This gap is the section along Route 1 in the southern part of the City between the Contee Shopping Center and the rest of the City north of Braygreen Road.  See picture below taken from the City's Bike MasterPlan.

Only sidewalk gap on Route 1.

DPW requested sidewalk from the State about a year ago.  The State obliged and is putting in a new 5' sidewalk, with a 4' buffer between the sidewalk and road. The buffer provides room for further expansion to a full fledged hiker-biker trail that meets up with the City's existing designated bike routes (and ideally will go all the way down to Muirkirk Station and College Park, one day). This new sidewalk is a big feather in the City's cap, as it completes the sidewalk network for the entire Route 1 corridor (on the west side, at least).  Well done DPW  - you've made a lot of people safer and made their trips more convenient.

On a different note, posts on this Blog will be much more infrequent, as I am no longer in the City's employ.  Hopefully, the City will grant me the opportunity to volunteer in whatever capacity I may be of service.  Thank you Laurel; it has been an honor to work for you.

Bike Sharrows on Laurel Lakes Ave

As part of the City's Bike Masterplan, Laurel Lakes Avenue and Cypress Street were designated as preferred Bike Routes through the City.  As shown below, both Streets were marked with sharrows and signed as Bike Routes.

Bike Guide sign on Cypress, directing cyclists onto Laurel Lakes Ave for access to points south on Route 1.

Sharrows on Laurel Lakes Ave. Sharrows are located such that cyclists won't be doored by parked cars, yet motorists can still easily maneuver around them, if needed.

These two streets bring the City a little closer to having a complete north-south route the full length of the City, providing access to the commercial Route 1 corridor without requiring cyclists to actually ride on Route 1.

Hiker-Biker Trail on Van Dusen

Contractors for the City of Laurel are putting the finishing touches on an 8-ft wide trail along Van Dusen Road, from MD 198 to North Arbory Court. Here is what the heavily-worn area looked like before:

Van Dusen, before the new hiker-biker trail

Here is what the upgrade - already lined with shade trees - looks like now:

New 8' sidewalk along Van Dusen Road

Comments from passers-by have been overwhelmingly positive!

Yes, that was an earthquake in Laurel

But no, it didn't stop ongoing pedestrian and bike projects around town.  Currently, there are two projects underway.  The first is the marking and signing of Laurel Lakes Ave as a designated bike route.  The second project is the installation of a new 8' wide hiker bike trail along Van Dusen Road.  More on both of these important projects to follow.

Bike Box

This is a photo of Laurel's first intersection bike box.  It was installed with the Cypress Street bike lanes.

Left-turn Bike Box on Eastbound Cypress at Mulberry

The left-turn bike box provides a safe area for cyclists to wait out approaching traffic from westbound Cypress, without fear of being rear-ended by motorists behind them.  The sketch below shows this a bit more clearly.

Sketch showing the two ways that a cyclist can turn left onto Mulberry from Cypress

From the sketch above, an eastbound cyclist traveling in the full lane of Cypress Street can make a quick and easy left turn onto Mulberry* (solid green line) assuming there is no westbound traffic on Cypress.  If there is westbound traffic, the cyclist must wait (like any vehicle) in the intersection until westbound traffic has cleared (dotted green line).  The box delineates a safe area where cyclists are protected from westbound traffic heading toward them, as well as from eastbound traffic coming up behind them.

*Bike lanes will be installed on Mulberry as part of that street's Capital Improvement Project, currently slated to begin next spring.

Bike Lanes on Cypress Street

New bike lanes have been installed on Cypress Street from Oxford Drive to Mulberry Street.  The bike lanes are 6 feet wide.  8-ft parking lanes have been delineated, as well.

New Bike Lanes on both sides of Cypress St.

Because Cypress Street is a collector road for the Vistas, the Tiers, Oak Pointe, as well as the Wellington neighborhoods, it sees a good deal of vehicle traffic; so separating out the bike lanes for this short stretch provides for a safer biking trip.

Using Traffic Counters to Target Speeders

Typically, when DPW puts out a traffic counter, we end up with data that provides an overall speed profile, something similar to this:



Typical Speed profile for a road

By itself, this chart gives you high-level data such as average speeds, and percentage of speeders.  While this data is useful in determining if a road has an overall speeding problem, it doesn't provide the micro-level details that tells you if a problem exists during certain times.  For example, last year we presented speed data to residents on Main Street that showed that, on a relative basis, instances of speeding were low.  However, the data didn't break down the speed distribution as a function of time-of-day.  For example: what if all the speeding occurred at night? Or maybe they're all morning commuters?
To try and resolve this, DPW has a borrowed a new counter for the summer that outputs more manageable data that can be graphed into something like this:

The 3-D graph above shows how the speed distribution varies throughout the day.  In the above street, for example, we can see that there is a spike of speeding in the 7:00 hour and the 8:00 hour - meaning that these likely are morning commuters exiting the neighborhood.
Also, we can drill down and see if there are individuals that may speed at the same time every day.

The above graph is a scatterplot of all the vehicles going over 30mph, broken down by time-of-day and by day-of-week.  From this data, we can see that if there are speeders who speed every day at roughly the same time.  Of course, there's no guarantee that it is the same driver, but the data still provides the opportunity for:

• Selective and efficient radar enforcement; using radar enforcement only when the data shows it to be useful. 
• Micro-targeting speeders using radar enforcement on small time intervals to target likely repeat offenders.

Sidewalk widening on Cherry Lane

Next week, contractors will begin widening the sidewalk on the south side of Cherry lane from Laurel Place to Ashford Blvd.  The sidewalk will be widened from 4 feet to 9 feet.  While this stretch of Cherry receives a lot of pedestrian traffic currently, the City anticipates even more foot traffic along this route.  Further, this widening will induce even more pedestrians, joggers, bikers, etc. The growth of pedestrian traffic necessitates changes in the existing design of the road at driveway locations where pedestrians and cars will be in conflict.  To accommodate this change and to make the widened sidewalk safer for faster moving pedestrians - joggers and bikers, the City will also sharpen the curb radii at the driveway entrance for the Laurel Lakes Executive Park. See the photos below. While this change to the driveway entrance may seem trivial, it is not; here's why:  The current wide driveway entrance allows for very fast turning into and out of the executive park.  These fast turn movements:

• Reduce the likelihood of a turning motorists seeing a passing jogger;
• Increase the injury level of a jogger, if one is struck.

By sharpening the curb radius, we force entering and exiting vehicles to slow down as they cross the potential path of fast moving pedestrians.

Driveway to Laurel Lakes Exec. Park showing locations for new curb location

Exit from Laurel Lakes Exec. Park, showing new curb location

Entrance into Laurel Lakes Exec. Park, showing new curb location

New Pedestrian and Bike Regulations in City Code

As of July 1st, the City of Laurel has adopted a Unified Land Development Code. This new code consolidates and replaces the existing zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, forest conservation codes, and all other development-related regulations.  Several particular changes have been made in the Code with regard to the way that new developments accommodate and mitigate traffic.  Specifically, developments will now have to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle travel, in addition to the vehicle traffic that developments have traditionally been required to mitigate.  These changes will help provide alternative choices for City residents to get around town. The changes are as follows:

1. Sec. 20-2.2. (b)(3)  Requires traffic impact studies to look at the effects of bike and pedestrian traffic generated to and from new developments, instead of only vehicle traffic. This will insure that traffic mitigation, if needed, applies to pedestrian and bike traffic, instead of just car traffic.
2. Sec. 20-16.12. (b), (g)  Reduces and/or consolidates the number of parking lot driveways during redevelopment projects. The purpose of this change was to reduce the number of conflict points the lead to crashes - for cars and for bikes and pedestrians.
3. Sec. 20-31.5. (b)  All new blocks are now limited in length to 500 feet. The previous limit was 1400 feet. This change encourages shorter blocks to reduce the likelihood of mid-block crossing in commercial areas that get a lot of pedestrian traffic.
4. Sec. 20-31.1. (c)  For new developments, minor streets are to be designed such that speeding is discouraged. Potential methods, offered by the Code, include traffic calming, sharp corner radii, narrow streets, and bump-outs at intersections. By providing for traffic calming in the design process, it prevents the City from going back and having to retro-fit a speed reduction fix into a neighborhood.
5. Sec. 20-31.1. (o)  Dead-end streets (e.g. cul-de-sacs) are now prohibited.
6. Sec. 20-28.7 (e)  Bike Parking requirements: All new multi-family, office and commercial developments must provide bicycle parking. For residential properties, two spaces are required for every five dwelling units (exemptions are made for Single family, duplex, triplex, and townhouse developments are exempt from residential bike parking requirements). For retail and restaurants, two spaces are required for every 2,500 square feet. For all other commercial or office properties, two spaces for every 5,000 square feet. A single rack constitutes two spaces. Bike racks shall be either an “Inverted U-Style (Bike Arch)” type or a “2-Bike Post and Ring” type and have a powder coat finish. Wave or Grid type bike racks are not permitted. Bicycles must be able to be locked in two places. Outdoor bike racks must be located within visual distance of the entrance of the building for which the parking has been designated. Bike parking for office buildings and for residential, if applicable, shall be located indoors. Rack areas located outdoors must be lighted with a minimum foot-candle of 1.0.
7. Sec. 20-44.6. On new developments, sidewalks are required on both sides for primary and secondary residential streets; the Code previously required sidewalk on only one side. Minimum sidewalk width is now 6' with the exception of residential-only areas. For new developments or redevelopments, roadside hiker-biker trails on property that abuts permittee’s property must be extended, in kind, through permitee’s property in the City’s public right of way. In addition, bike facilities shall be required in the City right-of-way, as referenced in the City of Laurel Bikeway Master Plan.  Bicycle facilities should extend to the nearest intersection on each side of the permittee’s property.   These changes provide for the continuation of investments the City has made in alternative travel modes.

New Sidewalk

Updated
Now that many repairs to existing sidewalk around town have been made, the City's contractor will construct two new lengths of sidewalk to fill in some gaps in the overall network. There are two locations - one on the north side of town and the other on the south side:

1. 7th Street, east side, between Montgomery Street and Prince George Street. (update: completed 7/7/11)
2. Laurel Lakes Ave, west side, from its intersection with Cypress south to where the existing sidewalk terminates.  (update: sidewalk completed last night and has seen many users already!)

Each of these new segments will add about 400' of sidewalk to the City's overall network. 

The additional sidewalk on 7th Street fills in a necessary gap that ought to prevent pedestrians from needing to cross 7th Street, near Prince Georges Street - an uncontrolled location. Similarly, the new sidewalk on Laurel Lakes Ave provides an off-street connection for pedestrians traveling between the Laurel Lakes Shopping Center and the senior housing facility on Laurel Lakes Ct.

(Left) New sidewalk on 7th Street; (Right) new sidewalk on Laurel Lakes Ave

Sidewalk Contract to Start up Next Week

Contractors will be in town starting next week to make repairs at select locations where public sidewalk is damaged.  They will also be installing new sidewalk at a handful of other locations around town in order to fill in gaps in the City's sidewalk network.

Brooklyn Bridge Road re-paving

Prince Georges County will soon wrap up the re-paving of Brooklyn Bridge Road.  The road will be re-striped the same as before, with one exception. At the City's request, the County has agreed to paint narrower travel lanes on Brooklyn Bridge near the gully right before it becomes Montgomery Street.  Re-striping this narrow section of the roadway will have two effects - 1) it should have some effect on slowing down drivers as they enter the City; and 2) more importantly, it will provide a wider shoulder for all of the pedestrians, joggers, bikers, skaters, etc. that use this stretch of roadway.

View Larger Map
Brooklyn Bridge Road, prior to entering the City of Laurel

Complete Streets: 4th Street edition

While form should always follow function in the creation of a complete street, form still matters.  Here is 4th Street from 2 years ago.

4th Street, circa 2009

And here is 4th Street now. Note the:

• Pedestrian refuge islands to provide for those crossing the street - function
• Narrow lanes to reduce vehicle speed - function
• Bike lanes to increase roadway capacity - function
• Center-island medians that prevent 250,000 gallons of run-off per year - function
• Tree-lined medians to provide boulevard-style tree canopy - form
• Red brick medians - form
• All on-street parking has been retained  - function
• Wide decorative "brick" crosswalks - form and function

The inclusion of form with function creates a complete street that not only works well but is attractive and beneficial to retaining property values for those that live there.  What if Route 1 looked like this through our fair City?  Why can't it?

Community Center Bike Parking

Custom bike hitches at new community center on 811 5th Street

Phase 1 of Bikeway Masterplan Completed

In the Fall of 2009, the City of Laurel passed a resolution adopting a City-wide Bike Masterplan (3mb PDF).  In 2010, the first phase was designed and vetted in public meetings.  This phase consists of 4th and 5th streets and connects to the City's Gude Lake Park with Riverfront Park, both of which have their own trails. 5th Street also fronts Laurel Elementary School and two of the City's community centers - the Anderson-Murphy Armory and the soon-to-be-opened community center at 811 5th Street.  In addition, 4th Street provides access to two large shopping centers. Since 4th Street is only one block offset from Route 1 and carries far less vehicle traffic, these new routes provide safer alternative for north-south travel.  See map below for a graphical depiction of the Phase 1 bike routes.

This initial phase started last summer with 4th Street bike lane striping in Old Town.  Now, Phase 1 has been completed.  The Phase 1 build-out consists of 3 miles of designated bikeways -1.25 miles of on-street bike lanes and 1.75 miles of shared roads designated as bike routes.  These routes are signed with the familiar bike route sign and are marked in the road with sharrows.  These sharrows help cyclists find the lateral location in a shared-lane where they are unlikely to be impacted by the sudden opening of a parked car door.

Click for larger image

New Street Lighting

DPW has ordered additional street lighting for the following three locations:

• Ward Street
• Van Dusen Road, just south of Erica Lane
• Intersection of 4th and Montrose (upgraded lighting)

These additional lights should in place in about a month.

Lane Striping on 4th Street

Towards the end of this week, DPW is anticipating finishing the lane striping on 4th Street from Ashford Boulevard to Cherry Lane.  The existing bike lanes will continue on for this entire segment, with access to the Gude Lake paths via the new widened median openings.

Mapping Pedestrian and Bike Crashes

DPW has developed a database of all of the City's pedestrian and bike crashes. The database contains crash data starting in 2007 and is updated as we receive police crash reports.  Over time, this information provides another set of data that we can apply when prioritizing roadway safety improvements.  This database will also allow us to measure the long term effect of these safety improvements.  The pedestrian and bike crash database contains location; date; time of day; crash type; injury; and jurisdiction (City-owned street versus State-owned street).  With only 4 full years of data available right now, statistically significant trends can not yet emerge. However, of particular note:

• The City, with a population of 25,000, has about 17 pedestrian or bike crashes per year.
• There are 3 pedestrian crashes for every bike crash.
• 3:00pm to 6:00pm is the most likely time period for crashes.
• No injury was reported in 21% of crashes.
• One-fifth of all pedestrian or bike crashes occur in a parking lot.
• The areas that appear to have the most daytime pedestrian and bike traffic (commercial portion of Main Street, commercial portion of 4th Street, and Bowie Road) have very few reported crashes. See map below.

Click on map for PDF.  Excludes crashes in parking lots.

Decorative sign posts on Main Street

At the intersection of 5th & Main Streets, DPW is replacing wooden 4x4 sign posts with black aluminum historic sign poles to match the existing historic luminaires. Three wooden posts will be replaced, and the new crosswalk sign pole will be moved off of the sidewalk and onto the new bump-out to increase its visibility. In addition, the sign frames have been added to match the historic-style sign poles.



New wider crosswalks at 4th and Cherry

With a break in the weather - finally! - DPW has begun hot-taping new crosswalks at the intersection of 4th Street and Cherry Lane. These new crosswalks, along with the addition of the remaining bike lanes and signage, will complete the 4th Street reconstruction that began last fall.  The new crosswalks across 4th Street will be wider and ladder-style for increased visibility.

2010 Census: City of Laurel

The Census Bureau has released the official 2010 census results for Maryland.  Included, is a set of tables (excel file) for the counties and largest incorporated cities. Notable stats for the City of Laurel: 

• The City of Laurel now has over 25,000 residents.
• The City of Laurel added over 5,100 people from the 2000 Census, representing an increase of about 25%.
• The increase has brought the Laurel into the Top 10 most populous cities in Maryland, surpassing Cumberland and Greenbelt.

Results from Laurel's Walking Survey

Last November, DPW conducted a survey on the condition of the City's pedestrian infrastructure.  The results of the survey are posted in two parts:  1) Responses to survey questions; and 2) Residents' additional comments.

• Responses to survey questions can be found HERE,
• Additional resident comments (along with DPW responses) can be found HERE.

The takeaway from this survey is that there is a big demand for adding to and improving upon our pedestrian infrastructure.  Also, improvements in accessibility, safety, and aesthetics would encourage even more walking.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond!

Transportation & Public Safety Meeting

There will be a Transportation and Public Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 25th, at the Laurel Police Station (811 5th Street) from 7pm to 9pm.  The meeting is chaired by Councilwoman Robison, and members of DPW and the Police Department will also be on-hand. This meeting is open to the public.

Main Street: 100 years ago

Here are pictures of Main Street, with captions on the back stating that they were taken between 1906 and 1908 - when on-street parking was meant for horses.

Click on each photo for a larger image:




Main Street showing P.O. and Bank, 1908

 

View of Main Street, 12-1906

Alcorn's Store 10-6-1907, 3:00 PM

Washington Ave and Main Street, 1908

Here is the same building, as it currently stands over 100 years later.


View Larger Map

Notable Main Street features already in place back then:  granite curbs; brick sidewalk; overhead electricity; domestic water supply and underground stormwater management.