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HomeMy WebLinkAboutagenda.council.worksession.20080923Memorandum To: Mayor and City Council From: Tim Ware, Director of Parking Date: September 18, 2008 Meeting Date: September 23, 2008 RE: One Way Street Experiment Review REQUEST OF COUNCIL: This is a review of the one way street experiment that was conducted over the summer. The request of Council is to determine if the one way streets stay intact, are modified or eliminated. PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: The CCLC requested an experiment of one way streets in commercial core. The azea identified was 200 & 300 S Galena to 500 E. Cooper. The second part of the request would be to convert both sides of the affected streets to angle parking. Council approved the request with the condition that the experiment be brought back to them for review after the summer season. BACKGROUND: The Pazking Department implemented the one way street experiment on June 8, 2008 for the summer and the one-way configuration is still in operation. For the first week, four staff members were assigned to key intersections fo help with proper traffic flow. There were also several temporary traffic control devices installed to help drivers understand the direction of travel. Staffing levels and traffic control devices were decreased slowly over time once people became familiaz with the change in traffic flow. DISCUSSION: At the start of the experiment there were a few vehicles chat were encountered going the wrong direction, but for the most part the experiment ran very smoothly. Afrer Labor Day, the Parking Department conducted a survey of all the businesses on the one way streets and the results aze attached. A majority (81%) of the businesses gave a favorable response with the main comment being a request to install more and better permanent signage in the area. Staff also solicited comments from the Police and Engineering Departments. The Police Department reported no accidents and no increase in public safety calls that related to the one way experiment. The Engineering Department wanted to note that there was a perceptible increase in traffic on South Hunter and East Hopkins as a result of the one way street configuration. FINANCIALBUDGET IMPACTS: If Council keeps the one way streets intact, $500 in additional signage would be needed. Twenty additional pazking spaces would be added to the commercial core parking inventory. The alternative construction cost to develop twenty underground spaces in the core would be about $1,000,000 (at $50,000): Additional annual revenue from those twenty spaces in the core would be about $52,000 per yeaz (at an estimated $10/space/weekday). ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: This experiment did decrease the amount of traffic circling the azea looking for available pazking spaces in those azeas due to the additional pazking spaces available. RECOMMENDED ACTION: The Pazking Department is recommending that the one way streets in their current layout be retained. ALTERNATIVES: Council could direct staff to terminate the experiment, modify the current layout or look into expansion. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: ATTACHMENTS: Map of the one way area Survey results ONE-WAY STREET BUSINESS SURVEY Here are the results of the One-Way street survey conducted on 09/05/2008. All the businesses located on the blocks of 200 & 300 S.Galena St. and the block of 500 E. Cooper were surveyed to see if they thought that the creation of the one-way street in this azea is considered to be a success. The results aze as follows: 1. Do you view the one-way street as being beneficial? 2. Would you like to see the one-way street stay? 3. Are the current traffic control devices adequate? 4. In your opinion, should there be more one-way streets? 5. If yes, where?: • All North/South one-way - East/West 2-way • North/South one-way • Mill heading north. Comments received from survey participants: Yes No Not Sure 25 4 2 24 5 2 17 10 4 10 16 5 • "You have to make it all or nothing, town is too small for this." • "Nope". • "Would like to gain more pazking". • Coming onto Hyman not good • More signs • You don't want me comments. The one-way is only so Aspen can make more money by issuing more pazking tickets. Pazking sucks. • All angle pazking streets. Would create more pazking spaces. Would like Galena St. shuttle yeaz round. • Awsome • Prefer the old way. • I liked it. More pazking. No bottleneck At Pazadise Bakery. • Easier to cross street. Hard to get used to. Now I like it. • Safer, better flow - signage should be better at Cooper and Hunter. Easier for tourists. • Would like streets lined. Would like no parking in the core. Some concern about creating more spaces when we want less cazs. • Some cazs still turning wrong way. • It's wonderful -more traffic. • Safer -it's great. Doing more streets would be confusing. • Bigger signs at alleys. Safer to cross street. Faster -easier -love it. • Better signage at Hyman & Galina -not confusing and congested as before. • Alleys need more signs. • Bikes going against traffic -too dangerous. Total core should be pedestrian only. • Reflection form caz windows bad. More spaces -good flow. Customers liked it. Bicycles going wrong way. • More traffic going by store. • Yes -yes -love it.