CIP Oversight Committee Meets on Monday Evening; Project Plan: Add Shade Trees, Calm Auto Traffic, Promote Neighbothood Mobility for Pedestrians and Bicyclists

We urge you to attend the Capital Improvements Projects Oversight Committee (the CIP OC) meeting this Monday, July 12, 2010, 5:30pm, in Commission Chambers at City Hall.

 CIP OC will receive a report on the current status of Flamingo Projects, including projects in Flamingo Park and in the Neighborhood – water distribution, stormwater drainage and streetscape projects.

 Substantial controversy has arisen with respect to Euclid Avenue Improvements due to a conflict between the Basis of Design Report (BODR) for Flamingo and the Bicycle Masterplan – both documents adopted by vote of the City Commission. The Flamingo Neighborhood Association has called for the implementation of Euclid Avenue Improvements as specified in the BODR – with 12’ travel lane, adequate swale for planting shade trees, and enlarged sidewalks, but without an additional 5’ bicycle lane as specified in the Bicycle Masterplan.

 In a meeting Friday with City Officials representatives of Flamingo made the point that proposed streetscape projects for Euclid were intended to serve as a model for reducing the asphalt throughout the neighborhood, increasing shade trees and landscaping, and enhancing pedestrian and bicycle mobility. City Officials expressed concern with removing the bike lane or even moving it to another street. Representatives of Flamingo expressed support for a Neighborhood Bicycle Network providing a hierarchy of bike facilities – including bike paths, lanes, boulevards and routes or sharrows where bikes and autos shared the roadway.

 Flamingo representatives made the point that if Euclid were to become a wide Avenue with separated 5’ bike lane and 10’ auto lane, then a commitment should be made to reduce the width of the roadways on all  other north/south Avenues and then they should be designated as sharrows and a part of the Flamingo Mobility Network.—providing adequate circulation for pedestrians, bicyclists and autos in that order of priority.

1. In this first section of the Flamingo CIP project, narrow the roadway on Pennsylvania Avenue to 10’ to 12’ providing increased sidewalk and swale.
2. Make the commitment to continue this narrowing treatment for Pennsylvania as the project moves northward in later stages.
3. Use the narrowing of Pennsylvania as a model and make a commitment to similarly narrow all of the other north / south Avenues in later states of the Flamingo CIP program.
4. Embrace the policy of a Flamingo Neighborhood Mobility Network that provides adequate circulation for pedestrians, bicyclists and autos in that order of priority, implement Euclid Avenue Bicycle Lane, and mark all other streets in Flamingo as Bicycle Routes with shared space for bikes and autos.

 Join us at Monday’s meeting to see just how this way of looking at the Neighborhood is developed and further presented.