Chapter 11.10
COMPLETE STREETS PROGRAM
Sections:
11.10.020 COMPLETE STREETS - DEFINITIONS.
11.10.030 COMPLETE STREETS POLICY STATEMENT.
11.10.040 SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY.
11.10.060 INTERGOVERNMENTAL COOPERATION AND PARTNERSHIPS.
11.10.070 BEST PRACTICE DESIGN CRITERIA.
11.10.090 PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES.
11.10.010 VISION.
The City of Bremerton’s vision for complete streets is of a community in which all residents and visitors, regardless of their age, ability, or financial resources, can have access to an affordable, safe, and accessible transportation system that meets or exceeds their travel needs. The City shall seek to create a well-connected, well-balanced, local and regional transportation system for all modes of travel including, but not limited to, walking, biking, driving, riding public transit, delivering goods and services, and emergency response transportation. The City recognizes that safe, comfortable, convenient travel for users of all ages and abilities encourages the use of public rights-of-way and can improve the environment, encourage physical activity and promote a vibrant, healthy, equitable, and livable community. (Ord. 5354 §2 (part), 2018)
11.10.020 COMPLETE STREETS - DEFINITIONS.
(a) "All users" means transportation facility users of all ages and abilities, including, but not limited to, automobile motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit vehicles and riders, freight providers, people with disabilities, emergency responders, commercial vehicles, delivery/service personnel, and adjacent land users.
(b) "Complete streets" means streets that are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users of all ages and abilities.
(c) "High need area/community of need" means:
(1) Any census tract in which the median household income is less than eighty (80) percent of the statewide average median based on the most current census tract-level data from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey; or
(2) An area that has a high number of pedestrian and/or bicycle collisions; or
(3) Areas with the highest risk factors for and cases of chronic disease, such as but not limited to high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke and obesity. (Ord. 5354 §2 (part), 2018)
11.10.030 COMPLETE STREETS POLICY STATEMENT.
(a) The City of Bremerton will plan for, design, construct, operate and maintain a transportation system that is safe, convenient, and integrated into a network for all users in a balanced, responsible, and equitable manner consistent with and supportive of the surrounding community.
(b) Complete streets are intended to benefit users equitably, particularly vulnerable users and underinvested and underserved communities. Transportation projects will provide safe, convenient, reliable, affordable, accessible, and timely transportation choices regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, income, gender identity, immigration status, age, ability, languages spoken, or level of access to a personal vehicle.
(c) Transportation facilities that support the concept of complete streets include, but are not limited to, pavement markings and signs; street and sidewalk lighting; sidewalk and pedestrian safety improvements; Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VI compliance; on-street parking; transit accommodations; bicycle accommodations including appropriate signage and markings; and appropriate streetscapes, furniture and art that appeal to and promote pedestrian use. (Ord. 5354 §2 (part), 2018)
11.10.040 SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY.
(a) The complete streets program shall apply to all phases of City transportation capital projects. Those involved in the planning and design of new transportation projects, reconstruction projects, and retrofit projects within the public right-of-way shall give consideration to all users and modes of travel from the start of planning and design work though construction. Transportation improvements shall be viewed as opportunities to create safer, more accessible streets for all users.
(b) Those involved in performing construction, repair, maintenance, and routine operations projects shall accommodate, as practical, the needs of all modes of transportation and all users during performance of the work.
(c) To the extent feasible, private development projects that require frontage improvements or installation of new and/or retrofitted road construction should be designed and constructed to the City’s complete streets requirements. (Ord. 5354 §2 (part), 2018)
11.10.050 EXCEPTIONS.
(a) The following activities and projects are exempted from the complete streets program as follows:
(1) Ordinary and routine maintenance activities such as mowing, snowplowing, sweeping, spot repair, joint or crack sealing, pavement patching/potholing, shoulder repair, pavement marking refreshing, and restoration of drainage systems; this exception shall not be applied beyond the scope of that activity;
(2) Emergency utility repair requiring roadway repair or reconstruction;
(b) The Director of Public Works may allow an exception from the complete streets program for transportation projects as follows:
(1) If application of this policy would require the accommodation of street uses prohibited by law;
(2) Requires more space than is physically available;
(3) Significantly increases project costs and equivalent alternatives exist within close proximity;
(4) Has adverse impacts on environment resources such as streams, floodplains, wetlands, or on historic structures or sites above and beyond the impacts of currently existing infrastructure;
(5) The cost of accommodation is disproportionate to the current need or probable future use;
(6) Where complete streets elements are not practical, are contrary to public safety, or are prohibited;
(7) Where other available means or factors indicate an absence of current or future need;
(c) The Director of Public Works will notify the Public Works Committee of project exceptions to the complete streets program set forth in subsection (b) of this section prior to exception being granted to provide the Committee opportunity to give advice. (Ord. 5354 §2 (part), 2018)
11.10.060 INTERGOVERNMENTAL COOPERATION AND PARTNERSHIPS.
(a) The City will cooperate and collaborate with other transportation agencies to encourage those agencies to incorporate the principles and practices of complete streets within those agencies’ activities in the City, and to facilitate seamless transportation connections between jurisdictions.
(b) It is the goal of the City to foster partnerships with Washington State transportation funding agencies, including the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the Federal Highway Administration, tribes, Kitsap County, Kitsap Transit, Bremerton School District, Olympic College, school and college districts, Kitsap Public Health District, residents, businesses, interest groups, neighborhoods and other stakeholders, to implement the complete streets program. (Ord. 5354 §2 (part), 2018)
11.10.070 BEST PRACTICE DESIGN CRITERIA.
The City’s design and construction engineering standards and deviations will be used to implement complete streets best practices as identified in BMC 11.12.080 or as amended hereinafter. Additional design resources to be used in developing complete streets standards shall include, but are not limited to, the latest editions of Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) publications. (Ord. 5354 §2 (part), 2018)
11.10.080 COMMUNITY CONTEXT.
(a) The complete streets program implementation shall take into account the City’s existing planning documents, including the Comprehensive Plan, Nonmotorized Transportation Plan, and subarea plans, in order to identify existing and future community context elements and land use. The surrounding land use and context shall be used to define complete streets projects. Special attention shall be paid to planned buildings, parks and trails, as well as communities’ current and expected transportation needs.
(b) Complete streets should provide walkability and other nonmotorized transportation routes within and between centers, neighborhoods, and key locations.
(c) Complete streets should take into account the goal of enhancing the context and character of the surrounding built and natural environments adjacent to a project.
(d) The City shall make efforts to address unintended consequences, such as involuntary displacement due to transportation projects. (Ord. 5354 §2 (part), 2018)
11.10.090 PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES.
(a) The complete streets program will track the performance measures for the following objectives:
(1) Health.
(i) Improve access to park and recreation facilities;
(ii) Enhance infrastructure supporting bicycling;
(iii) Enhance infrastructure supporting walking;
(iv) Improve access to public transportation;
(2) Access. Enhance access to transportation facilities for those with disabilities.
(3) Safety. Improve the safety of transportation facilities for bikers and pedestrians;
(b) The Director of Public Works and/or designee shall report to the Public Works Committee on a biennial basis on the performance measures listed above and the extent to which the objectives have been met. (Ord. 5354 §2 (part), 2018)
11.10.100 IMPLEMENTATION.
The Public Works and Utilities Department is responsible for implementing the complete streets program with cooperation from other City departments and oversight from the Public Works Committee. The Director of Public Works has the authority to create and modify policy to implement the complete streets program in accordance with this chapter. (Ord. 5354 §2 (part), 2018)