Feb 24, 2017 - Parking utilization. ⢠Before & After Economic Impact Study. 9. PUBLIC PERCEPTION. ⢠Level of sup
UPDATE BLOOR STREET BIKE LANE PILOT PROJECT Shaw Street to Avenue Road
February 24, 2017
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WHY BLOOR STREET?
WHY BLOOR STREET? Longstanding pressure to review bike lanes on Bloor Street - 3,000 cyclists per day pre-pilot
Connects vibrant neighborhoods - serves businesses and residents
Identified as a major corridor in the Ten Year Cycling Network Plan
Many destinations along the corridor
10% cycling mode share in this part of the city (2011)
Downtown east-west arterial free of streetcar tracks
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A DOCUMENTED NEED TO IMPROVE SAFETY FOR CYCLISTS Dedicated lanes for cycling makes the corridor safer for all Documented safety issue - average of 22 collisions involving cyclists annually in pilot area (2008-2012) caused by: • Dooring: 32% • Motorist overtaking a cyclist: 17% • Motorist accessing on-street parking: 8%
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THIS PILOT PROJECT ALLOWS THE CITY TO STUDY THE BENEFITS AND IMPACTS OF BIKE LANES ON BLOOR STREET
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THE BLOOR STREET BIKE LANE PILOT PROJECT
BLOOR PILOT AREA
WEST SECTION
12.8 m
EAST SECTION
12.2 m
16.2 m
TYPICAL CROSS SECTION WIDTH
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PROJECT MILESTONES
DESIGN FEASIBILITY STUDY JULY 2015 Study Initiated Assessment of Existing Conditions OCTOBER 2015 Development of Design Options & Evaluation of Options
FEBRUARY 2016 Detail Design of Preferred Options and Project Costing
CONSULTATION
APPROVAL, IMPLEMENTATION & EVALUATION
OCTOBER 29, 2015 Stakeholder Charrette
MARCH 2016 Report to PWIC seeking approval to install pilot
DECEMBER 2, 2016 Public Open House
AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2016 Installation of Pilot
JANUARY 2016 Stakeholder Charrette
OCT 2016 - JUNE 2017 Monitoring & Evaluation
MARCH 2016 Public Open House
FEBRUARY / MARCH 2017 Operational Improvements based on Preliminary Monitoring
DECEMBER 2015 - SPRING 2016 Online Survey
FALL 2017 Report to PWIC on Evaluation of Pilot
WINTER 2017 – SPRING 2017 Online Survey ONGOING STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION
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HOW WE ARE MEASURING SUCCESS PUBLIC PERCEPTION • Level of support and feedback from businesses, BIAs and the public through: • Online surveys • Stakeholder engagement
EFFECT ON THE CYCLING ENVIRONMENT • Bicycle volumes • Stated preference survey • Safety - Road user conflict “near-miss” study in partnership with the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Toronto and Miovision
EFFECTS ON BUSINESS • Curbside demands • Parking utilization • Before & After Economic Impact Study
EFFECT ON THE MOTORING ENVIRONMENT • Motor vehicle volume counts • Motor vehicle travel time • Left turn queue studies
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CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT WITH STAKEHOLDERS PRE-INSTALLATION:
STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS • October 29, 2015 • January 28, 2016 • 20+ stakeholders engaged face-to-face
PUBLIC CONSULTATION • December 2, 2016 - Presentation of multiple design concepts for feedback (229 attendees) • March 9, 2016 - Presentation of preferred design concept for feedback (271 attendees)
ONLINE SURVEY • Feedback on level of support for the pilot, preliminary design options • Over 2,100 responses
DOOR-TO-DOOR VISITS TO BUSINESSES TO SEEK INPUT • 600 addressed letters • Hundreds of notices handdelivered by staff who spoke with businesses
POST-INSTALLATION: DISCUSSION AND SITE VISITS • Ongoing discussion and site visits with local Councillors and the BIAs to address operational concerns • Changes made to commercial and accessible vehicle loading areas
CUSTOMER OUTREACH Worked with BIAs to create and distribute a customer handout with: • Project FAQ • Green P parking map • $4.00 parking discount code
ONLINE SURVEY • Feedback on level of support for the pilot, impacts to area residents and businesses. • Over 10,800 responses since pilot installation 10
EVALUATION PLAN: BEFORE, INTERIM AND AFTER GUIDES THE PROJECT AND ITS ASSESSMENT • Best practice for comprehensive performance evaluation • Data will be used to: • Identify specific locations for operational improvements • Evaluate the pilot performance (Report to PWIC in Fall 2017) MEASUREMENTS AND COUNTS COLLECTED: • June 2016 - Baseline prior to pilot installation • Twice during the pilot: • October 2016 – 6 weeks after installation to inform operational improvements • June 2017 – 10 months after to inform performance evaluation of pilot • Feedback from public and stakeholders • Before & after online feedback survey (over 12,000 responses to date) • Active & ongoing feedback from BIA stakeholders MONITORING THROUGH: • Video traffic counts and GPS tracked travel time analysis • Data collection (from TPA and other city sources) 11
KEY MESSAGES
BROAD LEVEL OF PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR BIKE LANES
64%
OF THE 1,530 LOCAL RESIDENT AND BUSINESS SURVEY RESPONDENTS AGREE THE BIKE LANES ON BLOOR STREET PROVIDE A SAFE, COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR CYCLISTS, WITH ACCEPTABLE TRADE-OFFS IN TRAFFIC FLOW AND PARKING CONVENIENCE
63%
OF MOTORISTS SURVEYED NOW FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING NEXT TO CYCLISTS ALONG BLOOR STREET, COMPARED TO 14% SURVEYED IN 2015
53%
OF 150 LOCAL BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES SURVEYED AGREE THE BIKE LANES ON BLOOR STREET ARE WORTH THE TRADE-OFFS
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SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN CYCLING
36%
SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN CYCLISTS USING BLOOR STREET, WITH APPROX. 25% OF THESE BEING NEW CYCLING TRIPS
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INITIAL INSTALLATION DATA WAS INTENDED TO INFORM OPERATIONAL CHANGES • It appears that vehicular travel times on Bloor St. have increased • Locations for operational improvements identified such as: • AM Peak – Bathurst St. • PM Peak - Avenue Rd.
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KEY PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
KEY PRELIMINARY FINDINGS PUBLIC PERCEPTION – BROAD LEVEL OF SUPPORT • 10,800 online surveys completed since pilot installation • 64% of 1,530 survey respondents who are local residents & businesses support or accept that the bike lanes on Bloor Street provide a safer and more comfortable environment for cyclists, with acceptable trade-offs in motorist traffic flow and parking convenience • Of the 8,100 respondents who bike, 92% agree • Of the 2,300 respondents who drive (and do not bike), about 34% agree and an additional 6% are neutral • Of the 810 respondents who walk (and do not bike or drive), about 73% agree and an additional 4% are neutral
• 63% of motorists surveyed feel comfortable driving next to cyclists along Bloor Street compared to 14% surveyed in 2015 prior to the pilot installation 17
KEY PRELIMINARY FINDINGS EFFECT ON BUSINESS • Of 150 local business representatives, opinions are roughly split in support (53%) and opposition (41%) to the bike lanes from the online survey • Economic Impact Study is underway and provides a deeper dive on the effects on business • Study partners: Bloor Annex BIA, KoreaTown BIA, Metcalf Foundation, Economic Development and Transportation Services, conducted by TCAT • Study Methodology • Pilot area and control area, Korean translation • Door to door merchant surveys of business owners or managers • Pedestrian intercept survey - random selection • Storefront vacancy analysis • Fall 2015 – Pre-pilot data collection completed • Fall 2016 – Post-pilot data collection completed • Spring 2017 – Second post-pilot data collection planned 18
COUNT LOCATION MAP
Cycling Count Locations
Pilot Extents
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KEY PRELIMINARY FINDINGS EFFECTS ON THE CYCLING ENVIRONMENT • Cyclist volumes on Bloor Street have increased from approx. 3,300 to 4,500 (+36%) • Approx. 25% of this increase is new cyclists, and the remainder have re-routed from Harbord St. and Dupont St.
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KEY PRELIMINARY FINDINGS EFFECTS ON MOTORING Traffic volumes on Bloor Street have decreased from approx. 24,500 to 20,000 (-22%) There has been no significant impact to traffic volumes on Dupont St. or Harbord St. Vehicular travel times on Bloor St. (from Bay St. to Ossington Ave.) have increased: • Bloor St. Eastbound • AM Peak - approx. +4 min • Mid-Day – approx. +3 min • Bloor St Westbound • PM Peak - approx. +8.5 min • Mid-Day – approx. +2.5 min • Travel times on Dupont St. and Harbord St. remain relatively unchanged • • •
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DATA COLLECTION UNDERWAY SAFETY
PARKING
• Safety - Road user conflict “nearmiss” study in partnership with the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Toronto and Miovision
• Before and After Parking Utilization study being undertaken by Toronto Parking Authority • TPA is actively pursing options for additional Green P parking in and around the pilot area • As of November 2015, TPA added 19 new off-street parking spaces in the pilot area through a management agreement with 288-292 Brunswick Avenue
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OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS Particular locations have been identified as: Bloor St. Eastbound – AM Peak o Bathurst St. to Brunswick Ave. Bloor St Westbound – PM Peak o Bay St. to Avenue Rd. (east of the pilot) Staff is on site, evaluating these areas
A series of operational improvements will be made, as soon as practicable, over the next two months, such as: • Adjustments to signal timing • Changes to signage, line marking, flexi-posts and rubber curbs • Review of cycle track design at intersection approaches in order to facilitate left and right turning movements • Turn restrictions at key locations • Changes to parking and loading (i.e. time of day restrictions) 23
NEXT STEPS
NEXT STEPS • Operational Adjustments • A series of operational improvements will be made to respond to the interim findings • Ongoing engagement with area stakeholders will continue to inform operational changes
• Data collection continues on: • • • •
Economic Impact Safety Public Perception Parking
• The next round of traffic data collection is scheduled for June 2017 • Report to PWIC on results of the pilot is scheduled for Fall 2017 25
