City Responds to Your Transportation Plan Comments
Parking items in PINK
Bike lane items in ORANGE
Snow Removal in BLUE
- “Street lights along sidewalk areas a good idea. Do not see a need for parallel parking or additional bike paths—bike paths have a right-of-way; use space for snow removal—most winters are not like this one has been.”
- K. Kearsley
"I wonder how you plan on removing snow on these proposed street designs."
- Charles Parsons
City response:
Parallel parking provides a physical and psychological barrier between motorists and pedestrians using adjacent sidewalks. Street-side parking further serves as a traffic slowing feature resulting in safer and quieter streets.
Bicycles do not need dedicated bike lanes on low speed local streets. When streets and residential blocks are designed properly, motorists tend to regulate themselves to 20 mph and lower and bicyclists are compatible with automobiles as their speed differences are minor. Also, at these reduced speeds, the likelihood of a fatality between a motorist and pedestrian or bicyclist is reduced from 60 percent at 30 mph to 10 percent at 20 mph. Higher speed local and collector streets are best served with a separation of bike users and motorists for the above reasons.
Street-side parallel parking allows us to save valuable downtown land for commercial and residential development rather than allocating it to unattractive and expensive municipal parking lots which are often less convenient than street side parking. However, the respondent is correct in observing that not all streets need to accommodate parallel parking.
Snow removal is indeed a concern. Two approaches are available to the City: First, we can and do require a proportion of developed land area to be set aside for snow storage. Second, as the community grows with infill development the revenue and tax base will increase. This will allow us to move beyond just storing snow street-side and allow us to remove snow to outlying storage areas. This has been the snow management pattern in comparable area communities such as Jackson and Teton County, Wyoming. - “My concerns continue to be the bike lanes. I am an avid biker and really have to keep my head up and watch the parked cars moving out. Also, more bike paths in the plan? Kids still can’t ride their bikes safely from the west side of town.”
- Barbara Zimm
City response:
The bike lanes on Main St. simply provide a dedicated bicycle travel lane for what was a blended use of bicycles and cars with their conflicting speeds and competition for space. Idaho law provides for the right of bicyclists to utilize the state roadways. The separation of these modes of travel along with the other features of fewer lanes and reversed diagonal parking have resulted in sharply reduced travel speeds, this according to the Teton County Sheriff’s Department.
We are aware of the need for more Safe Routes to Schools and will take every advantage of State grant funds and our own resources to provide more pathways for school bound children. An expansion of our pathway system is a move forward to a Complete Streets policy and greater pedestrian friendliness. - “Think placement of bike lane on Main St. is unsafe, particularly for families towing kids or small children on bikes. Think visibility for parked cars is poor (hard to see around adjacent cars) and it’s unsettling to ride right next to traffic. Suggest moving bike lane to behind parked cars, next to sidewalk, next time road is resurfaced or redesigned.”
- Shannon Brooks Hamby
City response:
The suggestion of relocating the bike lanes to the outside of the main travel lanes is an excellent one. It may indeed be desirable and possible to do this within an outside access lane design where it is separated by a median strip from the interior through lanes.
There were several objectives behind the re-configuration of Main St. First, vehicle speeds were too high. The reduction of travel lanes to two with a turn lane has resulted in substantially reduced speeds. Second, given that under State law bicyclists have a right to utilize Main St., the decision was made to provide a dedicated lane of separation from motorists. This was seen as a best solution given the existing Main St. design. Future design options may offer a better design. Moreover, it was recognized that most cyclists using Main St. were older riders; it was never intended to encourage small children to utilize this travel option. Parents are encouraged to supervise their children’s cycling routes.
The placement of a bike lane further caused a rethinking of the safety of the existing diagonal parking scheme. Nationwide traffic safety data demonstrates the advantages of reversed diagonal parking as a product of better vision for motorists pulling out into traffic; this as opposed to backing out. - “Are we taking into account the rate & ‘weight’ of growth in the up-coming plan?”
- Rashell Stanger
City response:
Our consultant analyzed the current roadway levels of service throughout the town and quantified the amount of additional traffic demand required to adversely impact our system. We can measure from this analysis the amount of impact each increment of new development will have on the system and plan and guide development accordingly.
More importantly, the economic downturn and changes in housing and development pattern demand will alter our community’s future growth pattern. We are about to engage in an analysis of the costs of growth as part of our upcoming capital improvements plan. This will help us to make an informed community-based decision as to how we want our town to grow. Envision Victor will be a key player in this process. Additionally, sustainable development policies are supported by the City Council and staff and will be an ongoing part of future community discussion. We are committed to smoothing out the peaks and troughs of the community’s growth cycle with the view of making our town more self-sustaining.
