Transportation Committee

City Hall Room 101 Fayetteville, AR 72701 Transportation Committee Agenda (Immediately Following City Council Agenda Session) City Hall Room 101 / Virtual Meeting Via Zoom Tuesday, August 26, 2025 5:30 PM Members Council Member Robert "Bob" Stafford Council Member Sarah Moore Council Member Sarah Bunch Council Member Min. Monique Jones City Staff Public Works Director / City Engineer Chris Brown Assistant Public Works / Transportation Services Director Terry Gulley Transportation Committee August 26, 2025 Zoom Information Webinar ID: https://fayetteville-ar.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z2- gkTITQyCV3o9EgqlUfA Registration Link: Call to Order Roll Call New Business Hwy 112 Median Opening Request Hwy 112 (Garland Ave) – Request to Modify Raised Median Reports and Presentations Summary Plans for SS4A Education and Awareness Informational Items Adjournment NOTICE TO MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE City of Fayetteville, Arkansas Page 2  Transportation Committee Memo 2025-1534 Meeting of August 26, 2025 To: Transportation Committee Thru: Molly Rawn, Mayor Keith Macedo, Chief of Staff Chris Brown, Public Works Director From: Paul Libertini, Staff Engineer Subject: Hwy 112 (Garland Ave) – Request to Modify Raised Median Recommendation: Staff requests that the Transportation Committee select one of the options presented today as a solution to an appeal from a resident of Bradford Place to modify a raised median on Hwy 112. Background: The City has agreement in place with the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) to design and construct Garland Avenue from Janice Ave to Drake Street, approximately 1.0 miles. ARDOT is paying 100% of the design, land acquisition and construction with the stipulation that the City will take over the ownership and maintenance of Garland Avenue. The construction plans are ready to bid once some right-of-way issues are resolved. On May 9, 2019, the Transportation Committee approved a recommendation to City Council to hire Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company for professional services to design this highway project. A static, web-based public information meeting was made available to the public by the City from March 9, 2022 until April 6, 2022 on the City’s Speak Up Fayetteville website. Informational letters were sent to property owners containing a link to Speak Up Fayetteville & a QR code. The letter for Bradford Place was mailed to Harris-McHaney Property Management, 809 S 52nd St, Rogers, Arkansas. This highway has been designed as a 4-lane divided roadway with raised grass medians for safety. Median openings have been provided at all public streets. The current design provides “bulb-outs” for legal U-turns for adjacent residents. It should also be noted that this typical section is in compliance with the future widening of Hwy 112 from Fayetteville to Bentonville (approx. 20 miles) which includes raised medians and roundabouts as safety features (see exhibits). The utilization of raised medians as a safety feature is supported by 2 facts sheets, one from ARDOT and one from FHWA, which state that we can expect to see a reduction in crashes in the range of 46% to 71% (Statewide results), and a reduction in fatal & serious injuries by 82% per a case study of Hwy 412 in Siloam Springs. The Average Daily Traffic from the ARDOT website is listed as 18,000 vehicles in 2024. Bradford Place contains 44 residential units that generate approximately 292 trips per weekday (6.63 trips per unit), and 27 trips during the a.m. and p.m. peak hours (0.61 trips per unit) based on published trip generation studies by ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers). There are no published trip generation rates for Airbnb properties, however it was suggested that the trip generation rates would be higher. Mailing address: 113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov Fayetteville, AR 72701 Discussion: Staff offers the responses below to the email request from Brandon Anthes (Bradford Place) to remove the raised median: • The City GIS map shows 44 addresses, not 39 as stated • It appears that the studies mentioned were referring to an undivided highway vs a divided highway with a center turn lane • It is agreed that a center turn lane is safer than an undivided highway, but that is not the case here. Raised medians control turning movements much better than a two-way left turn lane resulting in increased safety. • It is more expensive to construct a paved center turn lane than to construct a raised grassed median • It appears that it would be possible for Bradford Place to make a driveway connection to Elm Street, thereby having full access to a median opening The following 4 options are offered for discussion: 1. Do Nothing, leave the raised median as designed 2. Extend the raised median or install traffic devices to deter vehicles from making illegal & potentially dangerous crossings 3. Shorten the raised median to allow vehicles to make a southbound left turn across Hwy 112 4. Remove the raised median and replace with a two-way left turn lane (not recommended) Budget/Staff Impact: No Impact Attachments: NWA Regional Hwy 112 Conceptual Drawing (approx. 20 miles), NWA Regional Hwy 112 Typical Section, Bradford Place - GIS Aerial Exhibit, Hwy 112/Garland Ave Conceptual Drawing, ARDOT Raised Median Fact Sheet, FHWA Median Safety Fact Sheet, Email Request from Brandon Anthes of Bradford Place Mailing address: 113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov Fayetteville, AR 72701  £ ¤412 Job 040752 £ ¤ 412 Howard Nickell Rd. - Greathouse Springs Rd. 112 End Job 040860 Job 040758 Greathouse Springs Rd. - Don Tyson Pkwy. Extension Job 040860 Don Tyson Pkwy. Extension - Hwy. 412 P R E L I M I N A RY Subject To Revision 112 End Job 040758 Begin Job 040860 § ¨ ¦ 49 End Job 040752 Begin Job 040758 112 ³ 0 Proposed Road 1,000 Photography Date: 2021 Feet 2,000 Begin Job 040752 § ¨ ¦ 49 ARDOT - Environmental GIS - Reed Map: August 31, 2021; Meeting: September 9, 2021 Public Involvement Meeting VPI Exhibit 112  0 0.01 0.03 0.05 mi The data contained herein was compiled from various sources for the sole use and benefit of the City of Fayetteville Geographic Information System and the public agencies it serves. Any use of the data by anyone other than the City of Fayetteville is at the sole risk of the user; and by acceptance of this data, the user does hereby agree to indemnify the City of Fayetteville and hold the City of Fayetteville harmless from and without liability for any Parcel Label Exhibit claims, actions, cost for damages of any nature, including the city's cost of defense, asserted by user or by another arising from the use of this data. The City of Fayetteville makes no express or implied warrantees with reference to the data. No word, phrase, or clause found herein shall be Fayetteville, AR construed to waive that tort immunity set forth under Arkansas law. Created: 8/14/2025 Credits: 2025 Imagery | EagleView Technologies | Surdex Corporation, City of Fayetteville, AR Map Author:  KNAPP ST. 9' GREEN 6' 9' GREEN 1'-6" 11' OUTER LANE & 1'-6" SPACE 1'-6" 10' INNER LANE & 1'-6" 9' GREEN SIDEWALK SPACE C&G 10' INNER LANE C&G MEDIAN C&G 11' OUTER LANE C&G SPACE 12' TRAIL MATCHLINE 'A' ONLY ONLY TYPICAL SECTION - LOOKING NORTH HWY 112 / GARLAND AVENUE N.T.S. KNAPP ST. JANICE AVE. ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY MORRILL AVE. MELMAR DR. ELM ST. ERNIE JACKS E TAT ERS 49 INT . 112 ALT E TO AV FULB DRAKE ST. HE DI ND RIGHT EXPR IME NW RLA ESSW A AY RD ID DI G R. E ST N. . IN PO T ONLY CI RC LE YIELD MATCHLINE 'A' YIELD YIELD ONLY YIELD YIELD ONLY ONLY ONLY YIELD ONLY ONLY ONLY CASSATT ST. CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS Highway 60 Conway, Arkansas raised medians What is a Raised Median? A raised median is a physical barrier that separates opposing directions of traffic, thus reducing the chance of a vehicle crossing into oncoming traffic. In urban areas, medians are often relatively narrow to limit property impacts. Improved Safety Arkansas has 54 By creating a barrier BEFORE between opposing traffic, Many Conflicts with All Turns Permitted raised medians prevent miles of most head-on collisions, urban highways which can often be severe with a raised median or fatal. Additionally, raised medians allow left-turns to be consolidated into a handful of well-designed median break locations. These median AFTER REDUCED CONFLICTS INSTALLING A breaks can also be designed to allow U-turns (see back). raised median Raised medians allow traffic to reduce crashes BY up to 71 % flow in a more orderly manner, reduce the number of conflict points, and greatly reduce crash severity and frequency. ON AN UNDIVIDED ROADWAY SEGMENT According to research from the Transportation Research Board, installing a raised median on an undivided highway resulted in a median accident rate reduction of nearly 35 percent. Raised medians are particularly beneficial when traffic volumes exceed 24,000 vehicles per day. Reduced Delays By reducing conflict points and improving traffic flow, a roadway is able to carry more traffic. As a result, delays due to traffic congestion also decrease. Raised medians have been determined to reduce motorist delays up to 30 percent. Planning Division Diagram: From Gluck, J., H. S. Levinson, and V. Stover. NCHRP Report 420: Impacts if Access Management 501-569-2201 Techniques, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1999, Figure 30, p. 72. Copyright, 501-569-2201 National Academy of Sciences. Reproduced with permission of the Transportation Research Board. August 2023 U-TURNs TO REACH DESTINATION Raised medians can be designed to allow U-turns to occur at periodic median breaks. U-turns reduce the number of conflict points along a corridor and have been proven to improve safety. Research has shown U-turns can reduce crash rates by 20 percent by removing direct left-turns from driveways. Often, a right turn from an unsignalized driveway followed by a U-turn is easier for drivers. This is because they only have to yield to one direction of traffic at a time rather than crossing two directions of traffic. Case studies in Texas and Iowa suggest 95 percent of business owners reported no change or an increase in retail sales after the construction of a raised median. Property values studied along the corridor were also reported as either unchanged or increased.1 HIGHWAY 412 SILOAM SPRINGS CASE STUDY Prior to 2013, Highway 412 in west Siloam Springs was a four-lane highway with a center turn lane. The highway regularly experienced significant congestion and safety issues. Between 2006 and 2010, 415 crashes occurred HIGHWAY 412 CASE STUDY on a 1.6-mile segment of Highway 412 in west Siloam Springs. Of those crashes, 17 were classified as a fatal or suspected serious injury, equating to a crash rate nearly three times higher than similar roadways across the state. To improve the roadway’s safety and reduce congestion, in 2012, ArDOT 46% REDUCTION widened this segment of Highway 412 to six lanes and replaced the center IN ANGLE CRASHES turn lane with a raised median. As a result, over the next five years, the total number of crashes was reduced by 20 percent, and the number of fatal and serious injuries was reduced by more than 80 percent. 82 % Fatal or Suspected Serious Injury Crashes TOTAL CRASHES PER YEAR 20 100 15 80 Reduction in all 60 FATAL and SUSPECTED 10 40 SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES 5 20 0 0 2006-2010 2012-2016 2006-2010 2012-2016 Photo: Highway 60 in Conway, Arkansas, Google Maps 1 Access Management Application Guidelines, Companion Volume to the Access Management Manual, Second Edition, Transportation Research Board, 2016  OFFICE OF SAFETY Proven Safety Countermeasures Medians and Pedestrian Refuge Islands in Urban and Suburban Areas A median is the area between opposing lanes of traffic, excluding turn lanes. Medians in urban and suburban areas can be defined by pavement markings, raised medians, or islands to separate motorized and non- motorized road users. A pedestrian refuge island (or crossing area) is a median with a refuge area that is intended to help protect pedestrians who are crossing a road. Pedestrian crashes account for roadways, particularly in areas with Safety Benefits: approximately 17 percent of all traffic a significant mix of pedestrian and Median with fatalities annually, and 74 percent vehicle traffic, traffic volumes over Marked Crosswalk of these occur at non-intersection 9,000 vehicles per day, and travel locations.1 For pedestrians to speeds 35 mph or greater. Medians/ 46% safely cross a roadway, they must estimate vehicle speeds, determine refuge islands should be at least 4-ft wide, but preferably 8 ft for reduction in acceptable gaps in traffic based pedestrian comfort. Some example pedestrian crashes.2 on their walking speed, and predict locations that may benefit from vehicle paths. Installing a median medians or pedestrian refuge islands Pedestrian Refuge or pedestrian refuge island can include: Island help improve safety by allowing • Mid-block crossings. pedestrians to cross one direction of 56% traffic at a time. Transportation agencies should • Approaches to multilane intersections. reduction in consider medians or pedestrian • Areas near transit stops or other pedestrian crashes.2 refuge islands in curbed sections of pedestrian-focused sites. urban and suburban multilane For more information on this and other FHWA Proven Safety Countermeasures, please visit Example of a road with a median and Median and pedestrian refuge island pedestrian refuge islands. near a roundabout. Source: https://highways.dot.gov/ Source: City of Charlotte, NC www.pedbikeimages.org / Dan Burden safety/proven-safety-counter measures and https://high ways.dot.gov/sites/fhwa.dot. gov/files/2022-08/techSheet_ 1 National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2020, March). Pedestrians: PedRefugeIsland2018.pdf. 2018 data (Traffic Safety Facts. Report No. DOT HS 812 850). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2 (CMF ID: 175) Desktop Reference for Crash Reduction Factors, FHWA-SA-08-011, September 2008, Table 11. FHWA-SA-21-044  Mr. Brown, On behalf of the 39 homeowners of Bradford Place Condominiums, we respectfully object to the proposed raised median at our entrance and urge the City to install a continuous center turn lane instead. A raised median would block direct access, forcing residents, visitors, delivery trucks, school buses, and—most critically—emergency responders to overshoot our drive and perform U-turns onto Elm Street. This detour adds daily inconvenience, concentrates turning con icts at a single location, and lengthens response times when seconds matter. Multiple studies con rm that center turn lanes are safer than raised medians on residential arterials like ours. A peer-reviewed Tennessee crash study found fewer total crashes on high- driveway, medium-to-low-volume roads with a center turn lane. The Minnesota DOT “road-diet” evaluation recorded a 37 percent crash reduction after converting four-lane undivided roads (fewer than 17,500 vpd) to three lanes with a center turn lane. Iowa’s Access-Management Handbook states that center turn lanes “function well” on arterials carrying 10,000–28,000 AADT with numerous driveways—precisely the conditions on this stretch of Garland. Conversely, the Oregon DOT safety guide warns that raised medians often increase U-turn frequency and introduce new con ict points. Installing a center turn lane would: • Preserve direct, predictable driveway access. • Remove turning vehicles from through lanes, smoothing traf c and reducing rear-end crashes. • Enable re, EMS, and police to reach us without detours. • Cost less to build and maintain than a landscaped median. Given the research, operational realities, and safety of all corridor users, we respectfully request the City choose a continuous center turn lane across the Bradford Place frontage. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Bradford Place Homeowners’ Association fl fi fl fi fi References: Federal Highway Administration. Safety Evaluation of Center Two-Way Left-Turn Lanes on Two-Lane Roads (FHWA- HRT-08-042). https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/08042/ “Accidents on Suburban Highways—Tennessee’s Experience.” Journal of Transportation Engineering. https://ascelibrary.org/doi/ 10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-947X%281995%29121%3A3%28255%29 Minnesota Local Road Research Board. Safety and Operational Characteristics of Two-Way Left-Turn Lanes. https:// www.lrrb.org/pdf/200625.pdf Iowa Department of Transportation. Access Management Manual (Section on TWLTL performance). https://iowadot.gov/traf c/ pdfs/MM1359-Access-Management-Manual.pdf Oregon Department of Transportation. Crash Reduction Factor Manual—Countermeasure H64: Convert TWLTL to Raised Median. https://www.oregon.gov/odot/Engineering/ARTS/CRF-Manual.pdf City’s Proposed Plan: Bradford Place Homeowners’ Association’s Proposal: fi