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1 City of Moscow Mobility Task Force Report to the Moscow Transportation Commission January 27, 2010 The Mobility Task Force (MTF) was formed in May 2010 to address the concerns of citizens of Moscow with access issues, especially for those with physical limitations, whether permanent or temporary. The Task Force has met twice a month since then. Our top priority is the improvement of sidewalk access in critical areas throughout the city. In the near future we will also be looking at parking, public transportation, and access to specific public and commercial facilities. Background Some areas of Moscow have excellent sidewalks and pedestrian drops; other areas, especially older neighborhoods, have either no sidewalks or defective sidewalks, and either defective or missing pedestrian drops. These problems hinder East-West and North-South connectivity in the City and, to a certain extent, the vibrancy of our Central Business District. City code requires that property owners maintain their sidewalks “in good repair and safe condition” and indicates that “where no sidewalks exist on a street, the Council may require construction by the property owner.” (City Code Title V Ch. The last city-wide program to upgrade existing sidewalks was about 30 years ago. In recent years, the general policy of the City has been to respond to specific complaints about the condition of sidewalks before repair is requested. The Engineering Department has also used grants to fund sidewalk improvements (for example Safe Routes to Schools), and has used recent stimulus funding to construct pedestrian drops. These projects have greatly improved a portion of Moscow’s sidewalk system, but many problems remain. Currently the City has about $50,000 in its annual budget for sidewalk repairs and pedestrian drops. The Engineering Department has asked the Mobility Task Force to identify and prioritize further improvements that are needed for the sidewalk system. Mobility Route Principles Moscow should be accessible to citizens of all ages and physical abilities. We should be able to use sidewalks to move safely and without serious impediments from any neighborhood • to and throughout the downtown business district, • to major shopping centers, • to the University of Idaho, ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 • to major medical complexes and care facilities, and • to schools, parks, and major recreational complexes. The Task Force has determined that there should be an ADA (Americans with Disabilitys Act)-compliant sidewalk with pedestrian drops on at least one side of the street on all snow routes, since the sidewalks as well as the roadway receive the highest priority for plowing. Furthermore, streets within the central business district (CBD) should have ADA-compliant sidewalks and pedestrian drops on both sides because of the high concentration of destinations. The streets immediately around schools and parks should also be ADA-compliant. (For the purposes of the Task Force, we have extended what the city considers to be the CBD south to College Street and north to E St. on Main, and west to Deakin on 6th St.) All new construction, of course, must comply with ADA standards. There are also some routes within the city that are not currently designated as snow routes but that provide the only access to and from a particular neighborhood using the sidewalk system. We have included them among our top priority mobility routes for sidewalk and pedestrian drop improvements. Standards Mobility routes must be accessible for users of manual wheelchairs and those who have significant sight impairments: then the routes will also be accessible for power chairs and scooters, strollers, people using crutches and other adaptive devices, and those with sight limitations. While we can’t erase the hills of the Palouse, we are committed to identifying and improving useable mobility routes to and from all Moscow neighborhoods. These routes must have pedestrian drops and sidewalks (see above, under “Principles,”) with no obstructions or vertical differentials of more than ½ inch (the current city standard). Mobility routes need to be continuous on one side of a street, rather than requiring crossing back and forth across a street to access useable sidewalks. Methods Over the past 6 months, the MTF surveyed all the Mobility Routes (as defined above) within the City of Moscow, and recorded any deficiencies. We then created an overview of problematic sidewalk segments, and ranked them in order of severity and impact of the deficiency. The ranking methodology is twofold: A. Rating all deficient sidewalk segments within the Mobility Routes on a 1-5 scale. 5= impassable. Missing sidewalks and/or curb cuts are impossible to work around because of the traffic level, speed, or other hazards on the adjoining street or highway 4=impassable, but there is a possible work around (usually using driveways) 3=difficult or potentially dangerous, but passable. Includes vertical breaks ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 more than gravel on incline, inadequate curb cuts, steeply-sloped driveways in sidewalks 2=inconvenient but safely passable: 1” vertical breaks 1=minor inconvenience: ¾” vertical breaks, rough surface B. Considering all high-ranked sidewalk segments in terms of impact. We judged that sidewalk segments that provide the sole access to an entire neighborhood, sidewalk segments that serve a high volume of traffic, and those that immediately border K-12 schools should receive higher priority than those that did not meet these criteria. The result is the ranked list (Appendix A) of about 40 critical sidewalk segments around the city, listed in order of severity of the problem. Most of these received a ranking. If a segment on this list initially recieved a ranking of or there were extenuating circumstances (for example, the segment is adjacent to a school, or on a heavily- travelled route.) All of the segments on this list have immediate and critical problems; the first on this list is, in our judgment, the worst of the worst. We have also listed some “hot spots”: specific, isolated problems on Mobility Routes that do not characterize an entire segment of sidewalk. The “notes” section clarifies why a particular segment or hot spot is on our list. Again, only the worst problems are presented on this list. We have identified many more sidewalk segments along Mobility Routes, ranked 4 (impassable but with a possible workaround) down to 1 (minor inconvenience). These are included in our detailed surveys. (A sample is included as Appendix Recommendations Based on our work over the past six months, the Mobility Task Force recommends that 1. the City of Moscow address the top-priority deficiencies listed in Appendix A, through enforcement of city codes, pursuit of public-private partnerships, grant funding, and use of its currently appropriated funds for sidewalk improvements. 2. property owners be instructed to repair the remaining problems cited on the detailed surveys of Mobility Routes. 3. the City increase efforts to protect existing sidewalk from non-pedestrian use. This includes, where necessary, marking the pavement to clarify that a section is, indeed, a sidewalk. (An example is the sidewalk on Jefferson between 3rd and 4th, west side, along the key shop and beauty shop.) Sidewalk protection includes locations where property owners routinely leave their cars, sandwich boards, or dumpsters in the sidewalk. 4. the Transportation Commission discuss and make recommendations to improve pedestrian crossings at problematic locations around the City. These include North Main Street in the area of Brent Drive, the intersection of Hwy. 95 S and the Troy Highway, the Troy Highway near Logan, the Troy Highway at Mountainview, and Hwy 95 S. at Styner. ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 5. building codes require that newly-constructed sidewalks end with ramps or pedestrian drops at alleys and driveways, or other terminations of the sidewalk. Some Suggestions for Implementation • Map the Mobility Routes throughout the city and mark deficiencies. • Make a Mobility Routes Map available on the City web site. • Communicate with constituencies through letters to individual groups and through news releases in the Daily News and Lewiston Tribune. Use door hangers to notify property owners of problems; emphasize role that a citizen task force had in initiating repair requests; offer strategies and sample prices for repairs. • Organize a public workshop to present the Task Force’s work and recommendations, and to solicit input prior to presentation to City Council. • Mark sidewalk problems using volunteers under the City Engineer’s supervision. • Display the MTF’s work at the Farmer’s Market. • Report improvements in local newspapers (individual or neighborhood responses.) We ask that the Transportation Committee actively support the recommendations made after the diligence of its Task Force, and discuss the role that the Mobility Task Force should have in continuing to improve accessible travel throughout Moscow on its sidewalk system. The Engineering department should make an annual report to the Transportation, reporting its progress in remediating the problems the MTF has identified. We live in a unique community that attempts to include all its citizens in every aspect of its life. With the implementation of our recommendations, we feel that safe, non- vehicular travel via Mobility Routes will benefit the physical and mental well-being not only those facing physical challenges, but of all citizens. ---PAGE BREAK--- RANK STREET SEGMENT SIDE MOSCOW LOCATION Overview of Deficiences of Street Segment NOTES 1 North Main St. between E and Rodeo Dr. E NE missing sw; narrow sidewalk, no ped drops 2 West A St. between Almon and Peterson N NW missing ped drops, gap in sidewalk 3 Sixth St. between Mountainview and Blaine N SE no sidewalk on bridge and to east 4 Line St. between Hwy 8 and A St. W NW broken sidewalk, no ped drop 5 D St. Adams to Hayes S NE missing sidewalks 6 Taylor Ave. between Borah and Blake N SW no sidewalk or ped drop only access to neighborhood 7 D St. Hayes to Mountainview N NE missing and deficient ped drops 8 Blaine between Harold and 5th E SE no ped drops, steep drives, broken sw 9 Mountainview Rd. between 7th and White E SE missing sidewalks 10 Farm Rd. between Hwy 8 and West A S NW no curb cuts at N parking entrances of UIBW & U4 shopping center 11 North Polk between Quail Run and E W NE missing sidewalks 12 North Almon St. between C and end of Robinson TC W NW broken sidewalk, steep driveways, no curb cuts at 625 13 Washington between 8th and 5th E SE broken sidewalk, bad ped drops, obstructing light poles 14 College Street from Main to Deakin N SW missing sidewalk, no ped drops major route to UI 15 Jackson St.between 3rd and 4th E SE obstructions; esp. at corner 3rd central business district 16 Third St. between Jefferson and Hayes N NW broken sidewalk, bad ped drops heavily used 17 Hayes St. between 6th and 1st E NE sidewalk broken, bad ped drop SE corner 5th 18 Hayes St. between 1st and D St. E NE sw very rough, no sw, bad/missing ped drops 19 First St. Main to Adams S NE missing ped drops 20 Blaine between 5th and 1st E SE broken sidewalks, bad ped drops 21 Blaine between White Ave and Troy Hwy E SE bad ped drops 22 Blaine between White Ave. and Harold E SE bad ped drop at bridge; break in sidewalk 23 White Ave. from Troy Hwy to Blaine S SE missing and deficient pededrops 24 Sixth St. Monroe to Main N SE broken sidewalks, no ped drop 25 Troy Highway: Mountainview E to 1st cemetary entrance N SE no sidewalk 26 White Ave. from Blaine to Mtnview S SE missing sidewalk and drops 27 Third St. from Blaine to Cleveland N NE missing sidewalks, ped drops school 28 East E St. from Howard to Main S NE broken sw, bad ped drops, no sidewalk alt. to D St. hill; shooping area 29 West E St. between N Almon and Main S NW steep drive, sidewalk break 30 F St. Orchard to Hayes N NE bad ped drops,steep driveways 31 F St. Mountainview to Eisenhower S NE missing sidewalk segment recreation area, elderly housing 32 Jackson St. between 6th and 3rd W SW broken sidewalk central business district 33 Levick St. between Lauder and Lathen E SW missing sidewalk section school 33 Mountainview North of Aquatic Center e NE no sidewalk 34 Hayes St. At East City Park W NE missing sidewalk park ---PAGE BREAK--- 35 Third St. Between Main and Hayes S SE broken sidewalk, bad ped drops heavily used 38 Monroe St. between D and B W NE missing sidewalk school 39 Monroe St. between D and B E NE missing sidewalk school 40 Lincoln St. between D and B W NE missing sidewalk school 41 Mountainview from White to Troy Hwy. W SE no sidewalk Hot Spot Deficiencies Hot Spot Sixth St. Between Almon and Jackson S SW grass grids east of University Pointe Hot Spot Sixth St.at Hayes N SE bad ped drop Hot Spot West Sixth St.at Deakin N SW crossing light pole inaccessible Hot Spot Mountainview and 6th E NE NE corner Mtnview and 6th:hole in pavement Hot Spot Third St. Main to Mall N NW gravel in alley by 310 3rd. St. Hot Spot Third St. Main to Mall S NW missing ped drops at Asbury Hot Spot North Main St. at Brent Dr. W NW missing ped drops Hot Spot Farm Rd. Between Hwy 8 and West A N NW non conforming sidewalk along Winco often blocked Hot Spot East A St. Between Jefferson and Adams N NE missing and bad ped. Drops at A and Jefferson school Hot Spot East A St. Between Jefferson and Adams S NE missing ped drops at A and Jefferson school Hot Spot Jefferson at 4th St. W SE bad ped drops, steep driveways Hot Spot Troy Hwy Between White and Blaine N SE steep driveway entrances at Tesoro Hot Spot Troy Hwy between White Ave and White Pl. N SE bad ped drop at bridge; break in sidewalk Hot Spot North Polk at E e NE no access from N Polk to S side of E ---PAGE BREAK--- Street Segment Side Cross Street specific location deficiency Ranking Main St. College to 3rd 2 w 7th SW corner p 5th between 415 and 411 v 4th in front of St. Andrews v 3rd between Hodgins and US Bank v e 7th McCoy's, s end p 6th 612- n end of prop. p 5th front of Prichard column v Main st. 3rd to E St. 2 w 3rd Wells Fargo 3v's 1st 103 v 1st NW corner p 1st Zion's Bank at driveway v e 1st SE corner p 2nd NE corner p 2nd SE corner p Washington Hwy 8 to 1st St. 2 w 7th Gritman-physician parking p steep driveway entries 6th 609 p 6th side of Coop v's 5th front of Follett's v's 4th side of Police Dept. v's 3rd N end of 205 v severe 2nd side of Martin's lot v 1st s end of Kenworthy Pl lot v e 1st house at NE corner v by large tree 2nd house at NE corner, n end v 4th 314, n end v 5th behind PO at tree v 6th Chang Sing Rest. v's 6th between 604 and 614 p, v steep driveway, severe v's at drive 6th 618 at N end v 7th house at NE corner v's at driveway 8th entire block o light poles