Planning Commission

AGENDA Meeting Location: Sloat Room—Atrium Building Phone: 541-682-5481 99 W. 10th Avenue www.eugene-or.gov/pc Eugene, OR 97401 The Eugene Planning Commission welcomes your interest in these agenda items. Feel free to come and go as you please at any of the meetings. This meeting location is wheelchair-accessible. For the hearing impaired, FM assistive-listening devices are available or an interpreter can be provided with 48 hour notice prior to the meeting. Spanish-language interpretation will also be provided with 48 hour notice. To arrange for these services, contact the Planning Division at 541-682-5675. MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2014 – REGULAR MEETING (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) 11:30 a.m. I. PUBLIC COMMENT The Planning Commission reserves 10 minutes at the beginning of this meeting for public comment. The public may comment on any matter, except for items scheduled for public hearing or public hearing items for which the record has already closed. Generally, the time limit for public comment is three minutes; however, the Planning Commission reserves the option to reduce the time allowed each speaker based on the number of people requesting to speak. 11:40 a.m. II. SOUTH WILLAMETTE STREET IMPROVEMENT PLAN Staff: Chris Henry, Public Works 1:15 p.m. III. ITEMS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Other Items from Staff B. Other Items from Commission C. Learning: How are we doing? Commissioners: Steven Baker; John Barofsky; Jonathan Belcher; Rick Duncan; John Jaworski (Vice- Chair); Jeffery Mills; William Randall (Chair)  AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY April 7, 2014 To: Eugene Planning Commission From: City of Eugene Public Works – Engineering Division Subject: South Willamette Improvement Plan ISSUE STATEMENT This work session will provide a process update and Economic Study for the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan. The South Willamette Street Improvement Plan is exploring options for people to safely walk, bike, take the bus, or drive in an eight-block study area of Willamette Street from 24th Avenue to 32nd Avenue. BACKGROUND The South Willamette Street Improvement Plan will develop a complete street design plan for an active transportation corridor (providing for walking, biking, transit access, motoring and business access) that can be adopted and advanced as a capital improvement project for construction. The goal of the South Willamette Street Improvement Plan is to help South Willamette Street become a vibrant urban corridor accessible by bicycle, foot, car, and bus. The plan aims to: • Support existing businesses and the commercial district’s vitality • Create a balanced multi-modal transportation system • Further City planning efforts to identify compact growth and redevelopment opportunities • And, foster a well-informed and involved community supportive of the plan The City of Eugene engaged a consultant team including DKS Associates (a transportation planning and engineering firm), Cogito (a public involvement and strategic planning firm), and OTAK (a design and engineering firm) to analyze and develop recommendations about alternative street designs for South Willamette Street. The consultants proposed multiple alternative designs for South Willamette that were narrowed through a public process, including technical review, and evaluation criteria based on triple-bottom-line sustainable transportation planning considerations of equity, environment, and economy. The three street design alternatives advanced for more detailed analysis were: Alternative #1 (4-lanes) Alternative #3 (3-lanes with Bike Lanes) Alternative #5 (3-lanes with Wide Sidewalks) PC Agenda - Page 1 The South Willamette Street Improvement Plan included a robust, inclusive, and committed community involvement process including stakeholder groups and community forums. Meetings were structured in order to both inform and learn from these groups. Stakeholder groups were organized around interests with business and property owners meeting separately from bicyclists (both advocates for on-street facilities and parallel routes), pedestrians, neighborhood organizations, transit users, nearby residents, freight carriers, and commuters using the corridor. Three well-attended community forums were held to explore, evaluate, and refine street design alternatives with opinion surveys used to receive feedback. An interested parties list provided process updates as well as extensive media coverage and direct outreach. In addition to the public review process, a multi-agency Technical Advisory Committee provided technical review of the plan throughout its development. The Eugene City Manager has endorsed a triple‐bottom‐line approach to sustainability and analysis for City projects and programs providing for consideration of people, the planet, and prosperity (or equity, environment, and economy). In development of the Draft Eugene Transportation System Plan (Draft TSP), the Transportation Community Resource Group (TCRG) extensively vetted a sustainability rating system based on a triple‐bottom‐line analysis. The South Willamette Street Improvement Plan adapted the TCRG sustainability work to develop screening criteria for qualitative assessment of the roadway alternatives. The results of the sustainability screening are included in the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan and helped to inform the consultant project team recommendation. In weighing all the considerations identified in the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan, the community feedback and technical analysis, the consultant project team finds that Alternative #3 (3‐lanes with Bike Lanes) represents the best solution for South Willamette Street. Since staff and the consultant team last meet with the Eugene Planning Commission on November 4, 2013, the City of Eugene collaborated with business and property owner representatives to develop an Economic Study of the potential economic effects of changes to the street configuration on area businesses and properties. A local economic consulting firm, ECONorthwest, conducted a review of literature and case studies of street reconfigurations to assess their economic effects. ECONorthwest staff will present the findings of their research. The Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan (Executive Summary and Draft Plan with appendix) and Economic Study may be viewed through the project website at: http://www.eugene-or.gov/SWillametteStreet. Here are links to project documents not included as attachments as they have been previously provided to the Eugene Planning Commission at their November 4, 2013 meeting: • South Willamette Street Improvement Plan Executive Summary October 2013 (http://www.eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14078) PC Agenda - Page 2  • DRAFT South Willamette Street Improvement Plan October 2013 (http://www.eugene- or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14200) • South Willamette Street Improvement Plan Appendix October 2013 (http://www.eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14226) Staff would appreciate receiving feedback and comments regarding the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan and Economic Study at this time. NEXT STEPS The Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan, Economic Study, and details of a test street reconfiguration will be presented to the Eugene City Council at their meeting on April 16, 2014. It is expected that the Eugene City Council will hold a Public Hearing on May 19, 2014 to receive comments from the community in response to the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan. Eugene City Council deliberation and action on the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan would occur at a future meeting date following the Public Hearing. ATTACHMENTS A. ECONorthwest Economic Literature Review February 2014 (http://www.eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15365) FOR MORE INFORMATION Chris Henry at 541-682-8472 or chris.c.henry@ci.eugene.or.us PC Agenda - Page 3 DATE: February 28, 2014 TO: Chris Henry and David Nelkin FROM: The ECONorthwest Team SUBJECT: SOUTH WILLAMETTE STREET REDESIGN: ECONOMIC LITERATURE REVIEW On December 11, 2013, the City of Eugene asked ECONorthwest to conduct a literature review of the effects that the proposed street‐design changes to South Willamette would have on nearby businesses. In this memorandum, we1 summarize the findings from a literature review of existing studies about the economic effects of similar street‐design changes in other commercial corridors. I. Context Project Background Based on the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan2 (Draft Plan) the City has concluded that the transportation infrastructure on South Willamette Street from 24th Avenue to 32nd Avenue needs repair. The Draft Plan evaluated several alternative roadway configurations to serve this purpose. The Draft Plan concluded that the 3‐automotive lanes plus 2 bike‐lane alternative would best serve the wants and needs of the surrounding community without significantly hindering access or travel times through the area. Some businesses along South Willamette have expressed concern that the proposed configuration would decrease the number of customers and thereby decrease revenues and profits. The City hired ECONorthwest to evaluate how businesses have fared following similar road‐reconfiguration projects elsewhere and to judge, to the extent possible, how the proposed South Willamette reconfiguration might affect businesses and property owners along South Willamette. The 0.8 mile portion of South Willamette currently has 16,500 average daily trips (ADT) by motor vehicle with an average end‐to‐end travel time of 2.5 minutes. This portion of South Willamette has 5.2 collisions per million vehicle miles compared to the statewide average of 2.9 collisions per million vehicle miles for urban minor arterial streets. More than 15% of motor vehicles on this stretch travel more than 5 mph above the 25 mph posted speed limit. Local traffic, those making a stop on this portion of Willamette, accounts for 63% of the traffic. The other 37% are through travelers that do not stop on this portion of Willamette. There are over 70 driveways over the 0.8 mile stretch. 1 Throughout this memo, the terms “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Beth Goodman, Matthew Kitchen, Michael Weinerman and Ed Whitelaw, all at ECONorthwest <http://www.econw.com/>. 2 Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan. October 2013. http://www.eugene‐or.gov/index.aspx?NID=2055 ECONorthwest | Portland 503.222.6060 | Eugene 541.687.0051 | econw.com 1 PC Agenda - Page 4 Effects of Road Diets Transportation planners and professionals use the term “road diet”3 to refer to roadway configurations similar to that being recommended for South Willamette. Many urban areas across the country have implemented similar “road diet” policies and plans. Road diets and other traffic adjustments are often accompanied by various studies to describe and explain the effects of the reconfiguration. Most common are analyses that measure changes in motor‐vehicle traffic times, congestion, and crashes. Some researchers have also focused on resident, consumer, and business perceptions before and after the reconfiguration; business revenues; customer and delivery truck accessibility; and spending patterns by mode of transportation. ECONorthwest reviewed the professional literature to find the studies most relevant to the question of the effects of road diets on nearby businesses.4 We summarize the key points from this literature review in this memorandum. 3 The U.S. DOT defines [Federal Highway Administration; “Proven Safety Countermeasures; FHWA‐SA‐12‐013; http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/fhwa_sa_12_013.pdf ] road diets as such: The classic roadway reconfiguration, commonly referred to as a ʺroad diet,ʺ involves converting an undivided four lane roadway into three lanes made up of two through lanes and a center two‐way left turn lane. The reduction of lanes allows the roadway to be reallocated for other uses such as bike lanes, pedestrian crossing islands, and/or parking. Road diets have multiple safety and operational benefits for vehicles as well as pedestrians, such as:  Decreasing vehicle travel lanes for pedestrians to cross, therefore reducing the multiple‐threat crash (when one vehicle stops for a pedestrian in a travel lane on a multi‐lane road, but the motorist in the next lane does not, resulting in a crash) for pedestrians,  Providing room for a pedestrian crossing island,  Improving safety for bicyclists when bike lanes are added (such lanes also create a buffer space between pedestrians and vehicles),  Providing the opportunity for on‐street parking (also a buffer between pedestrians and vehicles),  Reducing rear‐end and side‐swipe crashes, and  Improving speed limit compliance and decreasing crash severity when crashes do occur. 4 In Appendix A we list the sources we reviewed for this memo. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 2 PC Agenda - Page 5 II. Evaluation Framework An evaluation of the business effects of a road improvement project is much like other evaluation problems in the social sciences. The standard approach is to 1. Establish one or more hypotheses regarding cause and effect; in this case between the implementation of road redesign and business performance. 2. Seek evidence that either confirms or rejects the hypotheses, ideally with methods that control for other factors that are not being evaluated but nonetheless may influence the outcomes of interest. 3. Review existing literature and if feasible conduct experimentation. 4. Conclude with analysis and communication of results. How Road Redesign Might Influence Business Performance Changes in the configuration of a road might influence the performance of businesses along that road in a number of specific ways. The literature shows that changes in the road configuration might permanently alter the following:  Vehicle traffic volumes in the corridor.  Non‐vehicle trips in the corridor.  Total number of trips with destinations within the corridor.  Businesses access. The construction phase of a road reconfiguration may also have impacts that would not be sustained, that may not be related to the type of reconfiguration, and may not remain after construction is completed. Evidence and Analysis An ideal analysis would isolate the effects of a policy or action by controlling for changes in factors unrelated to the policy or action of interest. This ideal is rarely achieved. Reality is too complex for the analytical tools and budget constraints. In the social sciences the “gold standard” for experiments includes the following:  An examination of results from settings with and without the policy or “treatment”; an experimental case and a control case.  An examination of results both before and after the policy or “treatment” is applied.  The collection of data that represents revealed behaviors.  In cases where objective data is not available, carefully designed survey methods may be used to understand perceptions, preferences, and other qualitative factors that help establish general magnitudes or relative magnitudes of effects. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 3 PC Agenda - Page 6 In our review of the available literature we have looked for evidence of the means by which road diets might affect business performance while being mindful of the methods used to obtain this evidence. III. Findings Summary of Literature Review Road reconfigurations may affect retail businesses in a number of ways. If a road diet changes travel times for motorists then shoppers who travel by car may choose to patronize an alternative, more accessible retailer. Likewise, the accessibility of driveways through left turn lanes may increase visits to businesses. The direct empirical evidence for these effects on business performance is virtually nonexistent. The empirical evidence for road diets’ effects on traffic and safety have been more systematically documented. The magnitude of these traffic and safety effects is typically modest for urban arterials with less than 20,000 ADT. There is evidence from the literature that road diets can produce safety benefits. There is also evidence that supports the use of road diets as tools for traffic flow management, but results are highly context‐ and design‐specific. Traffic flow benefits may come with overall reductions in ADT. The specific design of intersections and management of turn movements will have an influence on traffic patterns. Adjusting infrastructure and amenities for cyclists and pedestrians may change visits from cyclists and pedestrians. There is some evidence that walking and bike trips are associated with different business patronage and spending behavior than is associated with vehicle trips. In a number of studies bike and walk trips are associated with more frequent business patronage but with smaller per trip expenditures. If automobile ADT are reduced by a road diet then visits to retailers along the street may also be reduced. Retailers may, however, sustain visits if ADT reductions are primarily amongst through‐travelers or if ADT reductions are matched by increases in bicycle and pedestrian visits. The Draft Plan estimates that “[u]p to 500 vehicles per day may reroute to other roadways,” mostly to Hilyard Street and/or Amazon Parkway. The literature we reviewed does not show that a reduction in total ADT is linked to a reduction in visits to businesses or a reduction of business revenues. Finally, in some commercial leases there is a clause that will require the adjustment of the lease rate if the ADT changes. If ADT decreases then lease rates likely decrease, if the ADT increases then the lease rates likely increase. These economic consequences will accrue to property owners rather than tenants. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 4 PC Agenda - Page 7 Similar Street Reconfiguration Projects Table 1 lists several road diet projects that are similar in scope, ADT, and urban setting to the proposed South Willamette project. This is not an exhaustive list of comparable road diet projects, but the most relevant sites that have thus far emerged from our literature review. Table 1 Streets similar to South Willamette with reconfigurations Corridor Type Project Area Type (Urban, City Street ADT1 Reconfiguration (Commercial, Completed Suburban, Rural) Residential, Mixed) Date Eugene, OR Willamette 16,500 4 to 3-lane plus Urban Mixed N/A Street bike lanes Ashland, OR North Main 18,100- 4 to 3-lane plus Suburban Mostly Residential 2012 Street 20,700 bike lanes Portland, OR Division St 13,000- 4 to 3-lane plus Urban Mostly Residential 2013 (60th to 80th) 18,000 bike lanes (August) Portland, OR Glisan St 18,000 4 to 3-lane plus Urban Mixed 2013 (60th to 82nd) bike lanes Portland, OR NE ? 5 lanes with Urban Commercial 2013 Multnomah bike lanes to 3 Blvd lanes with bike lanes plus buffers/parking Portland, OR SE Holgate 15,305 5 lanes to 3 Urban Mixed 2009 (East of Hwy lanes with 205) buffered bike lanes Seattle, WA Nickerson 18,500 4 to 3-lane plus Urban Mixed 2010 Street bike lanes plus parking Seattle, WA Phinney Ave ? 4 to 3 lane plus Urban Mixed 2006 (N. of 51st) bike lanes plus parking 2007 Seattle, WA Stone Way N 13,300 4 to 3 lane plus Urban Mixed bike lanes plus parking Seattle NE 125th St 16,200 4 to 3-lane plus Urban Mostly Residential 2011 bike lanes Vancouver, WA Fourth Plain 17,000 4 to 3-lane plus Suburban Commercial – 2002 Boulevard bike lanes nearby residential 1ADT figures, where available, are pre‐road reconfiguration. As a part of this project, we considered developing one or more case studies to describe the economic effects of the street reconfiguration in one of the corridors shown in Table 1. We think the information most likely to result from such a case study is additional qualitative information about the effects of the street reconfiguration on businesses, as well as information and ideas for how to implement a reconfiguration to impact businesses least. Through discussions with stakeholders and City staff, we concluded that this additional information did not justify the cost of conducting case studies. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 5 PC Agenda - Page 8 V. Literature Review Details Traffic and Economic Performance The relationships between traffic, traffic congestion, and economic performance are well documented. Road reconfigurations may affect business bottom lines in several ways: longer queues and slower travel times may lead some consumers to opt for a more accessible alternative; longer travel times and narrower lanes may make it more expensive for delivery trucks to deliver goods to a business and thereby increase the cost to the business; and traffic delays may increase the cost incurred by employees when traveling to work. As a result, road reconfigurations may lead to increased transportation costs, which could increase the cost of production and decrease the quantities produced.5 There are a couple of key conclusions from the literature:  Firm location and performance are linked to transportation costs, which is consistent with the basic principles of location theory.6,7 In the case of retail firms, transportation costs are borne in part by customers as they access retail businesses.8  Researchers of Chicago and Philadelphia found that traffic congestion shrinks business market areas and reduces the chances of “agglomeration economies,” in turn raising production costs. This research, however, looked at large‐scale, highway traffic congestion as opposed to increased traffic on a single, local road like South Willamette.9 The general framework that treats transportation costs as an input into the production process is the basis for understanding the potential economic consequences of adopting road diets. 5 The economic literature on this topic is summarized in Goodwin, Phil. 2004. ʺThe Economic Costs of Road Traffic Congestion.ʺ ESRC Transport Studies Unit – University College London. 6Thünen, Johann Heinrich von. 1783–1850. Der Isolierte Staat in Beziehung auf Landwirtschaft und Nationalökonomie, oder Untersuchungen über den Einfluss, den die Getreidepreise, der Reichtum des Bodens und die Abgaben auf den Ackerbau ausüben, Vol. 1,. and Der Isolierte Staat..., Vol II: Der Naturgeässe Arbeitslohn und dessen Verhältnis zum Zinsfuss und zur Landrente, Part 1 (Partial translation into English by Carla M. Wartenberg in 1966 as Isolated State. New York: Pergamon Press.) 7Weber, Alfred. 1929. (translated by Carl J. Friedrich from Weberʹs 1909 book). Theory of the Location of Industries. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 8 Hotelling, Harold. 1929. “Stability in Competition.” The Economic Journal, 39 (March), 41‐57. 9Weisbrod, Glen et al. 2003. ʺMeasuring Economic Costs of Urban Traffic Congestion to Business.ʺ Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 1839, no. 1. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 6 PC Agenda - Page 9 Road Diets Road diets may consist of a wide range of traffic reconfigurations. In general, a road diet will include a reduction of motor traffic lanes along with other traffic calming measures, such as crosswalks. The primary focus of most road diet studies is the effect that a road diet has had on safety, travel times, and traffic speeds. In general, studies in this field conclude that road diets reduce speeds and crashes while increasing travel times. The benefits from speed and crash reductions are typically found to outweigh the costs of increased travel times, but these net gains are typically only realized in situations where total ADT are below 20,000 and are subject to context‐specific factors and conditions. An FHWA report 10 links road diets with reductions in crashes and injuries. Road diet studies that measure the effect of road diets on retail sales are typically survey based and/or have been implemented in large cities. Quantitative studies use sales tax data to measure the effect of road diets on retail performance. For example, recent research in New York City attempted to develop new metrics to measure the economic impacts and effects of street reconfigurations. These studies found that protected bike lanes, dedicated bus lanes, and other “sustainable” traffic reconfigurations were positively associated with sales tax revenues and negatively associated with commercial vacancies. 11 Oregon, unfortunately for research purposes, does not have sales tax data with which to complete this type of research. Before and After Studies Most studies of road diets focus on the traffic statistics on a stretch of road before and after road diet implementation. These studies sometimes describe the effects that the road diet had if all other things are held constant. In one study qualitative and quantitative data allowed researchers to determine the effects from road diet adjustments on York Boulevard in Los Angeles. They found that there were no “meaningful linkages between the presence of a road diet and changes in economic conditions.”12 A report on the performance of Main Street in Ashland, Oregon found that the road reconfiguration outperformed what was projected in terms of traffic speeds, queue lengths and intersection LOS and in many instances represented an improvement over the baseline conditions. 13 US Department of Transportation ‐ Federal Highway Administration. 2004. ʺEvaluation of Lane Reduction ʺRoad 10 Dietʺ Measures and Their Effects on Crashes and Injuries.ʺ 11 New York City Department of Transportation. 2013. ʺMeasuring the Street: New Metrics for 21st Century Streets.ʺ 12 McCormick, Cullen. 2012. ʺYork Blvd: The Economics of a Road Diet.ʺ University of California Los Angeles. 13 Faught, Mike. 2013. ʺRe: Post Road Diet Assessment ‐ January through October.ʺ City of Ashland ‐ Public Works. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 7 PC Agenda - Page 10 Stantec consulting collected economic data of businesses along two corridors in downtown Vancouver, BC where single bike lanes were converted to separated bike lanes. In each case business owners reported reductions in sales (‐10%, ‐4%) and customers reported similar reductions in visits to the area. The reasons customers reported for the reductions were traffic congestion, less parking, turning restrictions, and reduced pedestrian safety.14 The dense Vancouver downtown area is likely not comparable to South Willamette. Of the three DKS case studies15 only the Vancouver, WA study attempted to describe the economic impacts or effects of the road diet project. The Vancouver study found that businesses along the road diet street “faired [sic] no worse than its peer areas” in 2002‐2003, when the city experienced a general recession. The reconfigured Fourth Plain Street had a 4.7% decrease in “taxable retail sales” compared to 9.8% and 25.0% reductions at two comparison commercial zones. The only two customer complaints to the city that referred to the reconfiguration concerned traffic signal timing. Based on data from two bicycle lane installations in Seattle, Rowe used paired comparisons to show that the addition of bike lanes had, in one case, a negligible effect on business revenues and in the other a positive impact on business revenues.16 The limited number of cases and the aggregation of sales tax data within each business district, however, seriously limit the strength of the conclusions. Surveys and Opinion Research Other studies attempt to understand businesses performance through the use of business or consumer surveys. Surveys can be used to understand a respondents’ impressions of the usefulness of road improvements, business performance, and consumer behavior. A survey study of North Main Street in Ashland found that ¾ of businesses said that the road reconfiguration had no effect on their business. The majority of the remaining ¼ mostly reported that deliveries to their location were negatively affected.17 Eisele and Frawley found that business perceptions of what the effects of a new raised median would be before the addition were larger than the actual effects of the new median.18 14 Stantec Consulting ltd. 2011.ʺVancouver Seperated Bike Lane Business Impact Study.ʺ 152004. ʺNickerson Street Rechannelization before and after Report.ʺ; City of Orlando ‐ Transportation Planning Bureau. 2002. ʺEdgewater Drive before & after Re‐Striping Results.ʺ; City of Vancouver ‐ Transportation Services, ʺFourth Plain Boulevard Demonstration Re‐Striping Project ‐ Post Implementation Report.” 16 Rowe, Kyle. 2013. ʺBikenomics: Measuring the Economic Impact of Bicycle Facilities on Neighborhood Business Districts.” 17 Faught, Mike. 2013. ʺRe: Post Road Diet Assessment ‐ January through October.ʺ City of Ashland ‐ Public Works. 18Eisele, William and William Frawley. 2000. ʺA Methodology for Determining Economic Impacts of Raised Medians: Final Project Results.ʺ Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A & M University System. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 8 PC Agenda - Page 11 A survey study completed in the Portland area found that cyclists spent more than automobile consumers at restaurants, drinking establishments, and convenience stores. Motorists spent more than cyclists at supermarkets.19 Similar survey research completed in New York’s East Village found that pedestrians and cyclists spent more per capita per week than motorists.20 A survey study of Polk Street in San Francisco found that motorists spent more per trip, but pedestrians and cyclists spent more per week by taking more trips to retailers than drivers.21 Property Access and Business Performance The literature related to how property accessibility and access management influence business performance is also limited. The report by Eisele and Frawley, referenced earlier, found that business perceptions of the effects of a new raised median were larger than the actual effects.22 A report prepared for the Washington State Transportation Commission examined the relationship between business perceptions of access management and business perceptions of their own performance.23 Findings from this study include:  Retail services establishments are less inclined than other retail establishments to see a relationship between access management and business performance.  Businesses that already have good access from the main corridor are more likely to perceive a relationship between access restrictions and business performance.  Larger businesses (more than 10 employees) are more likely to see a relationship between access management and business performance. Larger businesses are also more likely to be concerned about access restrictions.  Two‐way turn lanes, as compared with factors that directly effect site accessibility, are not perceived to have an influence on business performance.  The overall level of congestion within the corridor is perceived to have a more significant influence on business performance than site accessibility and access management. 19 Clifton, Kelly et al. 2013. ʺConsumer Behavior and Travel Mode Choices.ʺ Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium. 20 Transportation Alternatives. ʺEast Village Shoppers Study.ʺ 21 San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. 2013. ʺPolk Street Intercept Survey Results.ʺ 22 Eisele, William and William Frawley. 2000. ʺA Methodology for Determining Economic Impacts of Raised Medians: Final Project Results.ʺ Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A & M University System. 23Vu, Patrick et al. 2002. “Economic Impacts of Access Management.” Washington State Department of Transportation and TRAC. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 9 PC Agenda - Page 12 Appendix A: Literature Reviewed This appendix presents the articles reviewed by ECONorthwest in this project. It includes a brief summary of the report and an assessment of how the article fits into the economic analysis. Our review of articles focused on economic issues directly related to the effects of street redesign on businesses. Relevant to Title Author(s) Year Summary Notes the Economic Study? Complete Streets 2‐page summary of the economic revitalization that many areas Complete Streets Spark Steering have experienced after implementing complete streets Yes Economic Revitalization Committee programs. Organization Research based in the Portland metro area. Supermarkets had the highest share of private vehicle use, 86%; drinking places had the lowest, 43%; high‐turnover restaurants, 64%; and convenience Stores, 59%. Automobile consumers were found to Consumer Behavior and spend more per trip, but not statistically different amounts on a Clifton et al 2013 Yes Travel Mode Choices monthly basis (ie, they took fewer trips than other modes). Bikers spend more each month than automobile drivers at restaurants, drinking establishments, and convenience stores. Directness and connectivity were a significant predictor of someone choosing bicycle mode of transportation. The road reconfiguration was found to outperform what was Re: Post Road Diet projected in terms of traffic speeds, queue lengths and Assessment ‐ January Faught, Mike 2013 Yes intersection LOS and, in many instances, represented an through October improvement over the baseline conditions. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 10 PC Agenda - Page 13  Relevant to Title Author(s) Year Summary Notes the Economic Study? Follows up on the 2012 Measuring the Street study to update metrics to accurately measure the impacts of street revitalization. Has a lit review and makes the case that street improvements and traffic calming increase the number of shoppers, revenue, and property values. Also points out that The setting is not businesses are typically opposed to projects beforehand. comparable to S Provides a summary of the biases present in the 2011 Stantec Willamette, but the report. NYDOT, with consultants, developed their own metric The Economic Benefits of methods and results are NYDOT 2013 which includes retail sales tax filings, commercial leases and Yes Sustainable Streets useful. Oregon doesn't rents, and city‐assessed market value. Methods included paired have a sales tax so that comparisons between sites and boroughs, and other data would not be comparisons between sites other similar sites within the available. neighborhood. Evaluated the addition of street corridors and plaza on retail trade and food businesses over two years before and after a project. Offers several lessons for doing this type of research in the future. Includes 3 Manhattan, 2 Bronx, and 2 Brooklyn Case studies. Bikenomics: Measuring the Economic Impact of Bicycle Concludes that the addition of bicycle lanes did not have a Rowe, Kyle 2013 Yes Facilities on Neighborhood negative impact on business districts. Business Districts Focuses on consumer spending by mode of transportation to Polk Street Intercept the region. Cars spent more per trip than cyclists, peds, and SFMTA 2013 Yes Survey Results transit, but motorists also had lower per week spending than all three other travel types. Includes numerous qualitative results, mostly from survey data, about the effect that road diets have had on traffic and Rethinking Streets: An businesses. Provides some theoretical guidance on how street Evidence‐Based Guide to Rowell & design and traffic speed affects business placement relative to 2013 Yes 24 Complete Streets Schlossberg the street and other business choices. Includes some discussion Transformations of sales tax revenues and property values in a before‐after context, but only provides summary results; no detailed metrics. Offers several potential case‐study sites. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 11 PC Agenda - Page 14  Relevant to Title Author(s) Year Summary Notes the Economic Study? A study of York Blvd, Los Angeles. Relies on qualitative and quantitative data. Most businesses presumed that their customers arrived by car, but these notions were mistaken. Business turnover road diet v non‐road diet 55% v 62%; did not York Blvd: The Economics McCormick, find statistically different property values; non‐road diet areas 2012 Yes of a Road Diet Cullen had a higher growth rate in revenues, but road diet portions had a higher absolute increase in revenues. In sum, "The quantitative analyses in this report do not reveal meaningful linkages between the presence of a road diet and changes in economic conditions." For the first protected bike lane in the US, 8th and 9th avenues in Manhattan, found that locally‐based business on 9th from 23rd‐31st had "up to 49% increase in retail sales" compared to Seemingly useful Measuring the Street: New a 3% increase borough wide. There was also "49% fewer measures, but the source Metrics for 21st Century NYDOT 2012 Yes commercial vacancies" compared to 5% borough‐wide. In of data and methods are Streets regards to dedicated lanes for buses and bike on 1st and 2nd unclear. Avenues in Manhattan: 47% fewer commercial vacancies compared to 2% borough‐wide. Collected business economic data to measure the impacts of 2 bike lanes. The net impact on sales at businesses adjacent to This is a different type of the bike lanes was ‐10% and ‐4%, respectively. Business owners conversion than that estimated losses to be between ‐6% to ‐9%. These loses were Vancouver Separated Bike proposed for S Stantec found to be insufficient to create persistent vacancies. Lane Business Impact 2011 Willamette. Downtown Yes Consulting Customers reported comparable reductions in visiting the two Study Vancouver is not be areas; the reasons for these reductions were traffic congestion, comparable to S. less parking, turning restrictions, and reduced pedestrian Willamette. safety. Provides a list of recommended mitigation measures, but many of these are specific to a dense downtown area. DKS Case Study. Estimated "taxable retail sales" in the area. The Fourth Plain Boulevard City of study found that the area faired no worse than its peers and in The source of the data Demonstration Re‐Striping Vancouver ‐ 2002‐2003, the last year of the study, the area faced a 4.7% was the Washington 2004 Yes Project ‐ Post Transportation decline in revenues versus 9.8% and 25.0% declines in other State Department of Implementation Report Services nearby commercial zones. 2 consumer complaints were made Revenue. that regarded traffic signal timing. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 12 PC Agenda - Page 15  Relevant to Title Author(s) Year Summary Notes the Economic Study? The Economic Costs of Summarizes the academic literature on the relationships Goodwin, Phil 2004 Yes Road Traffic Congestion between traffic, traffic congestion, and economic performance. Looked at 24 comparison sites in California and Washington. Evaluation of Lane "On average, crash frequencies at road diets in the after period Cited on the 4 lanes 4 Reduction "Road Diet" USDOT ‐ were approximately 6 percent lower than at the corresponding 2004 Willamette Facebook Yes Measures and Their Effects FHWA comparison sites." Road diets, however, did not have an effect page. on Crashes and Injuries on crash type or crash severity, but this study did not account for speed at the time of crash. Drennen interviewed 27 merchants in the Mission District about Valencia Street bike lanes. 44.4% said economic revitalization was "Better", 0% said it was "Worse." 46.2% said reduced auto speeds had a "Better" effect on sales, 7.7% said it was "Worse." 37% said sales were "Better," 0% "Worse" .... and This neighborhood in San Economic Effects of Traffic Drennen, several other useful results (page 46). Categorizes the benefits Francisco is likely not Calming on Urban Small 2003 Yes Emily that small businesses get from "traffic calming" efforts and comparable to S Businesses provides examples for each: Economic Revitalization and Willamette. Property Values; Attractiveness and Safety; Sales and Attracting Customers; Parking; Impact on Employees; Construction and Costs. Customers who drive less also have more disposable income. Found that each sector if affected in different ways by Findings are specific to Measuring the Economic congestion, as each relies on freight, customers, etc. road use "large urban areas," such Costs of Urban Traffic Weisbrod et al 2003 to different degrees. Impacts also depend on location (e.g., Yes as Chicago and Congestion to Business industrial v. downtown). Losses are not put in a per‐minute Philadelphia drive time or per‐day metric. Examined the relationship between business perceptions of access management and business performance. Has various Economic Impacts of interesting results, including that retail services establishments Vu et al 2002 Yes Access Management are less inclined than other retail establishments to see a relationship between access management and business performance. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 13 PC Agenda - Page 16  Relevant to Title Author(s) Year Summary Notes the Economic Study? A Methodology for Determining the Economic Survey‐based research. Found that business perceptions of Eisele & Impacts of Raised 2001 business impacts prior to the project were worse than actuals. Yes Frawley Medians: Final Project Negative impacts were found during the construction phase. Results Provides a framework for doing a cost benefit analysis or road diet projects. Monetizes many costs and benefits that aren't Traffic Calming Benefits, Litman, Todd 1999 monetized elsewhere. Provides an example of Bridgeport Way Yes Costs and Equity Impacts where tax revenues increased in the years after a road diet relative to tax revenues from the whole city. Surveyed 420 pedestrians. Peds and bikers spend more per capita per week at local businesses and visit the neighborhood East Village New York is East Village Shoppers Transportation more often than car and subway users. Recent additions of bike not comparable to S Yes Study Alternatives lanes increased bike use dramatically. 73% of respondents said Willamette. the lanes had a positive or very positive impact on the neighborhood. Evaluated the effects on business sales following various types of street improvements including medians, bike lanes, traffic Trends in Local Business pattern alterations, and creation of new public spaces. At 8 of Sales, Building Values, and Bennett 11 sites (73%) business sales increased at a greater rate than at Office Rents at NYCDOT Yes Midland comparison areas. At 9 of 11 sites sales increased in the first Street Improvement year after improvements. The projects may have promoted Project Sites economic growth. Commercial building values increased at 4 of the 6 sites with available data. DKS Case Study. Speeding and collisions down significantly after Yes, but Nickerson Street (see (see DKS the road diet. Change in total average weekday volume was mostly Rechannelization Before DKS report) negligible, about a 1% reduction. No business impacts are because DKS and After Report report) discussed. cited this Yes, but DKS Case Study. 34% reduction in crashes. 68% reduction in Edgewater Drive Before & City of mostly 2002 injuries. Significant reductions in speeding. And other traffic After Re‐Striping Results Orlando ‐ TPB because DKS results. No business impacts are discussed. cited this South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 14 PC Agenda - Page 17  Relevant to Title Author(s) Year Summary Notes the Economic Study? Survey research of drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists to a Downtown Toronto is not Bike Lanes, On‐Street The Clean Air 2009, commercial neighborhood in Toronto. Found that most comparable to S No Parking and Business Partnership 2010 businesses and customers consider the shift towards more Willamette. walkability and bikability to be advantageous. The Path to Complete Advocacy ‐ complete Conducts four case studies about getting complete streets in Streets in Underserved Clifton et al streets implementation No underserved communities. Communities guidance Provides an overview of road diet practices, where the policies Road Diet Seminar Daisa are most suitable, and the typical effects on traffic patterns and No crashes. Not much on business impacts. Provides a number of case studies of road diets. Does not Road Diet Handbook ‐ Rosales, include much information on effects on businesses, but does No Overview Jennifer cite a Vancouver case where sales increased when compared to similar, non‐road diet sites in the area. Provides a lot of theoretical guidance. Euro‐centric. Chapter 7 Transportation and The focuses on how traffic reductions may affect economies. SACTRA No Economy Focuses on taxation and other policies as means to reduce congestion. Kingsbury is the FDOT Safety Officer in Tallahassee, FL. This RE: Fire/EMS Input on Kingsbury, A contribution to the 2013 memo argues that a 3‐lane reconfiguration may improve EMS No "Road Diet" Projects Dwight discussion of EMS delays. response over 4‐lane configurations. Evaluating Complete Mostly advocacy, but Table 7 provides a guide to quantification Litman, Todd 2013 No Streets of often overlooked impacts. From Policy to Pavement: Mostly advocating for Complete Streets in San Diego, but this Implementing Complete article does lay out the range of benefits that stem from Bleir et al 2012 No Streets in the San Diego Complete Streets including branding and revitalization of Region commercial districts Walk this Way: The Economic Promise of Found that a 1‐level increase in the walkability index (IMI) DC neighborhood is not Leinberger & Walkable Places in 2012 resulted in higher average office and retail rent per sq ft, higher comparable to S No Alfonzo Metropolitan Washington, retail sales, higher res rents, and average home values. Willamette. DC South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 15 PC Agenda - Page 18  Relevant to Title Author(s) Year Summary Notes the Economic Study? Cited on the 4 lanes 4 Willamette Facebook page. There are several Safety and Operational Finds that diets for areas with ADTs over 10K face significant appendices that Analysis of 4‐lane to 3‐lane delays, but this mostly applies to sites with peak hour volumes Lyles et al 2012 compliment the report, No Conversions (Road Diets) above 1000 (which doesn't appear to apply to S. Willamette). which may require in Michigan One appendix has a detailed literature review. further attention. Not applicable to question of business revenues. 38th Avenue Corridor Plan Showalter, 2012 Includes a simple before and after measure of sales tax revenue No Implementation Sarah Focuses on travel time savings, costs of construction, Methodology for environmental impacts, effects on land development, and Determining the Economic TCRP ‐ TRB 2012 effects on agglomeration economies. It is one of the first No Development Impacts of studies to look at the later, or so it claims. Does not focus on Transit Project business impacts New Tool for EstimatingEconomic Impacts ofTransportation Focuses on highway expansion. Not applicable to impacts of TRB 2012 No Projects:Transportation changes to city streets. Project Impact Case Studies Cars veering for parking spots or to double‐park force cyclists to Parking and double‐ swerve into traffic. "Enforcement seems to be lacking when it Valencia Street traffic parking are not and Huet, Ellen 2012 comes to double‐parking in bike lanes along Valencia Street, No poses risk to cyclist would not be issues on S where bicyclists sometimes are forced to take potentially Willamette. dangerous evasive action." The Relationship of This article asks many useful questions: how does transpiration Transportation Access and Presented at a infrastructure affect delivery of product inputs, labor market Connectivity to Local Alstadt et al 2011 conference, appears to No access, and customer access. But the analysis is on a county‐ Economic Outcomes: A be unpublished. level rather than a street or neighborhood level. statistical Analysis South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 16 PC Agenda - Page 19  Relevant to Title Author(s) Year Summary Notes the Economic Study? Washington's Complete Streets and Main Street Mostly advocacy and general description of what the WA Highways Program: Case Nicholls et al 2011 No Complete Streets program does. Studies and Practice Resource American Has excerpts about complete streets programs from several Complete Streets Planning 2010 No sources. Association Final Report for Secretary No empirics. Sites Burk‐ Department of included are not Kleinpeter, 2010 Summarizes the costs and benefits of complete streets. No Transportation and comparable to S Inc. Development Willamette. Evaluating Transportation Mostly theoretical guidance on how to measure the economic Economic Development Litman, Todd 2010 No impacts of transportation projects. Impacts See other Litman articles. This is mostly about how to value Generated Traffic and Litman, Todd 2010 consumer surplus of transportation shifts and does not touch No Induced Travel on businesses impacts. Maximizing the Economic Returns of Road Infrastructure Investment. Chapter 3:The Relationship Joynt, Hubert 2009 Theoretical guidance. No Between Road Infrastructure Investment and Economic Development Focused on North Carolina's interstate highways. Found a Economic Impact of Traffic significant cost per hour of delay for crashes, but this cost Not comparable to S Khattak et al 2008 No Incidents on Businesses varied by type of business. Did not focus on demand‐side Willamette. delays, just supply‐side. Retail cost was $156/hr. of delay. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 17 PC Agenda - Page 20  Relevant to Title Author(s) Year Summary Notes the Economic Study? Makes the argument that Portlanders save money by not using cars as frequently as others, which leaves them with more Cortright ‐ Portland's Green Dividend 2007 money to spend in the local economy. Car and gas money also No CEOs for Cities leaves Oregon immediately. No other business impact discussion. Economic Impact of the Includes several case studies of public realm projects and their ECOTEC 2007 No Public Realm economic impacts in Europe. Mostly non‐applicable ‐ cited in NYDOT 2013 paper ‐ but p. 59 If significant planting New York City, New York has a discussion of the effect that additional trees have on happens along S Municipal Forest Resource Peper et al 2007 No property values and other factors. People are willing to pay 3‐ Willamette then this can Analysis 7% more for properties with ample trees versus no trees. add value to properties Progress and Challenges in the Application of Weisbrod & Discussion paper on the interaction between transportation Economic Analysis for 2007 No Alstadt and economic modeling. Transport Policy and Decision Making Curbing Cars: Shopping, Conducted 1,000 interviews of pedestrians and motorists. Schaller Not comparable to S. Parking and Pedestrian 2006 Concluded that most wanted less parking space and more No Consulting Willamette. Space in SoHo pedestrian space. Also asked about spending patterns. Hawthorne drive in Athens Georgia failed traffic tests. "By 2015, This article is about how a a three‐lane design would cause longer than desirable traffic Hawthorne may not pass specific context is not Shearer, Lee 2005 delays ... although traffic delays also will be unacceptably long if No three‐lane test suitable for a 3‐lane the road remains four lanes..." because traffic is expected to conversion. increase from significantly by 2015. Survey research to measure the impact of significant The Economic Impact of Not applicable, but might investment in bicycling infrastructure. Mostly focuses on Investments in Bicycle Lawrie et al ‐ be useful in determining 2004 tourists and found that bicycle access was much of the reason No Facilities: A Case Study of NCDOT the money cyclists bring some tourists visited an area. Investment in bicycling the Northern Outer Banks to an area. infrastructure was found to pay dividends. How Much Do You Lose Focuses on crashes. Finds no significant impact of road diets on When Your Road Goes on Huang et al 2003 No crash rates. a Diet? South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 18 PC Agenda - Page 21  Relevant to Title Author(s) Year Summary Notes the Economic Study? Researches the traffic effects of 4‐3 lane conversion. Based on Urban Minor Arterial Four‐ simulations, recommends that areas with peaks under 750 Lane Undivided to Three‐ vphpd will see few impacts. Those from 750‐875 require Knapp et al 2003 No Lane Conversion caution in implementing a conversion. The authors express a lot Feasibility: An Update of concern for those above 875 vphpd. Most simulations had a significant reduction in speeders. May be a useful Willamette Street Traffic McKenney Previous evaluation of improvement alternatives for same 2001 comparison to DKS No Analysis Engineering stretch of Willamette report. A Comparative Analysis of Useful in comparing USDOT ‐ Summarizes the trade‐offs between wide sidewalks and bike Bicycle Lanes Versus Wide 1999 alternatives 3 and 5 of No FHWA lanes. Curb Lanes: Final Report DKS report. PPS Right Sizing Case There's several case studies here. None address economics. Studies They all address volumes, crashes, etc. South Willamette Redesign: Literature Review ECONorthwest February 2014 19 PC Agenda - Page 22