An Expanded Functional Classification System for Highways and Streets (2018)

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US 150; W. Broadway Avenue (0.73 mile), Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky 67 The roadway in this case study is a principal arterial (urban) that extends 0.73 mile. It traverses a single context category of the Expanded FCS. The analysis included aerial photography, visual survey, review of the state’s functional classi- fication, review of city transit information, and review of city/county bicycle information. The state highway department designates the roadway functional type as principal arterial (urban). The study provides an analysis of context using the Expanded FCS methodology. Design considerations are established using the appro- priate cell of the Expanded FCS matrix, which provides ranges to accommodate drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Additionally, consid- eration is given to any transit or freight route information as an overlay. These matrix cell ranges for each context are then translated into a cross section alternative. An evaluation of alternative cross sections based on operational and safety analysis is also included. OVERVIEW

68 An Expanded Functional Classification System for Highways and Streets Roadway Context The following table provides the roadway context descriptions: density, land use, and setbacks. Roadway context overview Milepoint Density Land use Setbacks Expanded FCS 0.0–0.73 High density, multistory and high- rise buildings; highest density within the corridor Commercial, institutional (court houses and government offices), and residential uses; off-street parking and parking structures Small setbacks with wide sidewalks and enhanced pedestrian facilities (benches, street furniture and pedestrian plazas) Urban Core Roadway Type W. Broadway Avenue is signed as US 150 and is classified as an urban principal arterial in Kentucky. US 150 provides direct access to Interstates 65 and 264 from the City of Louisville. Average daily traffic volume on US 150 is 25,200 vehicles per day (vpd). The speed limit on the corridor is currently 35 mph. While serving a significant volume of through traffic in the urban core and within the urbanized areas, it also serves high volumes of local traffic accessing the commercial, residential, and institutional areas near the corridor and the freeways. This use best fits the proposed principal arterial roadway type, which includes “corridors of regional importance connecting large centers of activity.”

US 150; W. Broadway Avenue (0.73 mile), Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky 69 Urban Core Context • Highest density (multistory and high-rise structures with integrated parking) • Mixed commercial, residential, and institutional uses • Small setbacks with sidewalks and pedestrian plazas The Expanded FCS matrix cell on the left defines the design con- siderations for the urban core– principal arterial section of the corridor. The roadway context is urban core due to the small setbacks, the mixed land use (resi- dential, commercial, and institu- tional), and high density of buildings. Most of the buildings are high rise and multistory; there are Urban Core (MP 0.0 to 0.73) enhanced-width sidewalks with street furniture and pedestrian facilities (benches and plazas); and there is on-street parking along most of the section. The roadway type is a principal arterial, because it supplies regional network connectivity to traffic through the town and facilitates access to the area centers of activity. This is the urban core of the largest city in Kentucky; the city's 2014 population was 741,096, anchoring a metropolitan city–county area of 1,338,433 people.

70 An Expanded Functional Classification System for Highways and Streets Pedestrian activity areas on W. Broadway Avenue. Driver Accommodation: According to the definitions for an urban core principal arterial, the roadway should be signed with low target operating speeds (<25 mph). Due to the principal arterial designation, the upper range of speeds is considered appropriate at 25 mph. This translates into medium mobility and medium levels of access. Enhanced bike lane on S. 6th Street at Broadway. Bicyclist Accommodation: The City of Louisville maintains a Bike Master Plan to direct investment and coordination of the city’s bicycle facilities. A primary focus of the master plan is to extend bicycle connections into the outlying suburban areas of Louisville and complete the “Louisville Loop,” an outer ring connection around the metro area. In addition, the master plan addresses the future bicycle network within the downtown urban core. The plan focuses on making strong east–west and north–south connections through the one-way street pair systems. W. Broadway Avenue is not identified as a future bike lane connection because of the extremely high volume of traffic on the roadway. However, parallel connection and cross street connections are present including the enhanced bike lane treatments on S. 6th Street (photograph on right), a primary southbound bicycle route. Due to the redundant bicycle connectivity provided by adjacent routes and the absence of the corridor as a future bikeway connection, bicycle priority is identified as low and shared-use facilities are proposed for commuting bicyclists who are comfortable riding in traffic. Other bicyclists may access the corridor from adjacent networks where bike lanes are planned and roadway volumes and speeds are lower. Pedestrian Accommodation: The land use indicates high pedestrian activity with several pedestrian oriented destinations in the area (photograph below). This assessment of the land use is backed by the Louisville Pedestrian Master Plan, which conducted a latent demand analysis for pedestrian travel. The latent demand method predicts potential non-motorized trips based on characteristics of trip origins and destinations and their relative proximity and concentration/ dispersion. As can be seen from this analysis, the downtown area, including Broadway, is identified as a Tier 1 area, meaning there is high potential to increase non-motorized transportation within the area. Based on the high number of transit stops and retail and pedestrian uses on the corridor, enhanced-width sidewalks are recommended. Street furniture and pedestrian plazas may also be considered to accommo- date aggregating pedestrians in the area.

US 150; W. Broadway Avenue (0.73 mile), Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky 71 Freight traffic on W. Broadway Avenue. The Louisville Pedestrian Master Plan also provides guidance to direct the design of roadways on pedestrian corridors to reduce vehicle–pedestrian conflicts. Two objectives of the Pedestrian Master Plan are to (1) establish criteria and set priorities for constructing pedestrian facilities based upon condition, location, and proximity, as well as current and future demand, and (2) evaluate design speed as part of all corridor projects. Some of the goals associated with these include the following: • Accommodate and improve pedestrian access to and across bridges, railroads, and state highways and through interchanges. • Provide pedestrian access across arterial streets and state routes that divide high-demand pedestrian areas. Prioritize projects for improvement using Pedestrian Master Plan criteria. Implement through corridor projects and with other available resources. Seek grant funding as needed. • Incorporate shortened pedestrian crossings into roadway designs by providing clear direction on curb bulbs and median islands, as well as other options that reduce the number of lanes a pedestrian must cross at an uncontrolled location (e.g., by eliminating peak-hour parking restrictions). • Revise curb radii standards to create tighter turns to slow traffic in locations that do not have high volumes of truck or bus turning movement and in balance with emergency response needs. • Use a combination of engineering, enforcement, and evaluation tools to reduce speeds along corridors within high-priority areas. Prioritize locations near parks, community centers, and neighborhood business districts. Where appropriate, add speed zone limits and signs (including radar speed signs), and expand the use of enforcement efforts (e.g., speed vans, red light cameras) in these areas. Overlays: Broadway is also a heavily traveled transit route serving Express Route 23; Frequent Service Routes 2 and 31; and Local Routes 31, 49, 53, 64, 61, 66, 67, 68, and 78. The ZeroBus, a free-fare downtown route, also transits Broadway between 4th and 3rd Streets. The heavy transit demand along the corridor requires lanes designed to accommodate transit buses. There is also some freight demand (photograph on right), including small delivery trucks and large WB-53 trucks, and these must be considered during the final cross section design.

72 An Expanded Functional Classification System for Highways and Streets Cross Section Existing cross section. The existing cross section on W. Broadway Avenue has two primary requirements: (1) automobile access providing a primary east–west route across Louisville traveling to Interstates 64, 65, and 264 and (2) east–west pedestrian movements as evidenced by the wide (25-foot) sidewalks. To serve automobile traffic, seven 10-foot travel lanes are provided, though the outside lanes do allow for time-of-day restricted parking. No turn lanes are present with four lanes eastbound and three lanes westbound. While the 25-foot sidewalks provide ample mobility for pedestrians along the corridor, the wide street makes crossings difficult and requires longer cycle lengths to direct pedestrian crossings, thus increasing delay to drivers and pedestrians. No bicycle allowances are present on the corridor. Evaluating the operations of major intersections within this portion of the road demonstrates that all intersections maintain a high level of service (LOS A or B) with minimal vehicular delay. Evaluating the Pedestrian Crosswalk Score (as computed by the Highway Capacity Manual, 6th edition) resulted in a LOS rating of C for all approaches. This LOS is based on pedestrian compliance (a function of delay and width of crossing).

US 150; W. Broadway Avenue (0.73 mile), Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky 73 Proposed cross section. School bus drop off at Brown Theatre. The proposed cross section reduces the number of lanes from seven to five, including a center two-way left-turn lane, allowing dedicated left turns at major intersections. Parking is removed except in localized areas which experience high drop-off/pick-up. The Brown Theatre is such a location (photograph below) and ample off-street parking opportunities exist within the corridor. Outside lanes are proposed at 13 feet to better accommodate the needs of transit. Additionally, the outside lane is striped as a shared bike lane, to allow riders comfortable riding with traffic to use the facility. It is also proposed that parallel streets W. Chestnut Street and Breckenridge Street be signed and striped as higher-order bicycle routes with separate facilities due to lower volumes of vehicular traffic on these routes. Rear access to all buildings fronting W. Broadway Avenue is available from these routes. It is also proposed that an expanded and improved tree lawn be provided along the sidewalk to increase separation from the vehicular traffic, as the existing sidewalk width is more than adequate to accommodate pedestrian demands. While the total pavement width is not reduced in this scenario, the opportunity exists to create curb extensions at major intersections or at pedestrian crossing points to reduce crossing width and to shorten traffic signal cycle lengths. Right-turn lanes are not provided to eliminate bicycle–vehicle interactions when entering right-turn lanes. Vehicle LOS for the proposed alternative does degrade, with increased delays leading to LOS C/D, but all intersections are still shown to operate within capacity during the morning and afternoon peak hours. Pedestrian crosswalk LOS is improved from LOS C to LOS B because of the reduced crossing times and delays.

74 An Expanded Functional Classification System for Highways and Streets Safety Evaluation Application of the Highway Safety Manual procedures is not possible as there is no base model available for prediction of crashes for seven-lane sections. However, individual design elements and their effect on Crash Modification Factors (CMFs) or the base crash model for other conditions may be evaluated to identify potential trade-offs in the design. These are summarized in the table below. As can be seen in the table, limiting on-street parking can reduce crashes by as much as 28 percent. Due to the current time-of-day restrictions, which place parking in a travel lane, it is possible that real-world safety gains would be even greater. The increase of offset from fixed objects from 3 feet to over 16 feet is shown to decrease crashes by 3 percent, though, improvements to pedestrian safety and pedestrian comfort are of significant benefits. The current cross section does not provide any separation between travel directions, while the proposed cross section introduces a two-way left-turn median. This impact cannot be directly measured by the Highway Safety Manual application, though comparing a four-lane undivided section to a four-lane divided section shows a reduction in base crash conditions from 23.5 crashes to 13.2 crashes. Other studies have developed similar crash reductions factors for two-way left-turn lanes such as the FHWA TechBrief on two-way left-turn lanes, which estimated a Crash Reduction Factor of 29.1 percent on total crashes. A primary contributor to the pedestrian crash model is the number of lanes the pedestrian crosses. When reducing the number of crossing lanes from seven to five, the pedestrian percentage of total injury crashes is reduced from 4.2 percent to 3.9 percent, an 8 percent reduction in pedestrian crashes. Finally, the introduction of left-turn lanes on Broadway are directly shown in the CMFs to improve from 0.81 when left-turn lanes are present only on the side streets to 0.66 when they are introduced to the major street (a 20 percent reduction in crashes). Design Elements Existing Cross Section Existing CMF Proposed Cross Section Proposed CMF Notes Proportion of curb length with on-street parking 0.8 1.57 0.25 1.14 CMF Median Width 0 23.5 10 13.2 Not a direct measure of median width, but rather change in segment crashes resulting from undivided to divided Offset to roadside fixed objects 3 1.03 16 1 CMF Number of Lanes Crossed by Pedestrian 7 0.042 5 0.039 Impacts the base conditions for pedestrian involvement Number of Left Turn Lanes 2 0.81 4 0.66 CMF

75 C A S E S T U D i E S Lessons Learned The application of the Expanded FCS in the case studies demonstrated the following lessons learned: 1. Modal accommodation and balancing in the design could be achieved using the ranges provided in each cell of the Expanded FCS matrix. These considerations included the elimination of turn lanes in the urban core and urban contexts to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic, widening lanes to accommodate buses, and reducing target operating speeds in suburban context to comply with the citywide connector for bicyclists. 2. Consistency of the cross section was also achieved with the use of 11 foot lanes throughout the corridor and wider lanes in the rural context. 3. The use of the Expanded FCS in determining the context and roadway type was easily implemented throughout the corridor. Context sections were easily discernable and the presence of ‘major’ intersections facilitated the clear distinction of the boundaries. Local knowledge of the facility also played an important role in the determination of the context boundaries. 4. Designating the context categories allowed for an easy transition in developing the design concepts and alternative for the design of the cross sections. These preliminary designs can be further developed to address specific location needs and issues. However, it should be noted that the initial development was easily completed by use of the ranges provided in the Expanded FCS cells. 5. An issue to be noted here is that local needs and constraints may affect these design choices and impact the final designs. Designers should become familiar with the existing and future context of the specific sections of the corridor and address their designs to reflect these concerns. 6. In these case studies, the context section boundaries occurred at major intersections and the transition from one section to the next was smooth. Designers should pay attention to these transition points and provide roadway users with adequate information to reach the target operating speeds by the time they enter the next context section. 7. Planning documents were critical to the identification of the network roles and future contexts of the study corridors.