Main Street Lane Configuration Test Results and Discussion

1. Main Street Lane Configuration Test Results and Discussion September 17, 2019

2. Laura Dalles WYDOT Public Involvement Specialist Hanns Mercer COS City Engineer Brian Craig COS Community Development Director Michelle EdwardsWYDOT District Traffic Engineer Welcome and Introductions

3. Scope of Work Scheduled for resurfacing in the 2023 STIP (State Transportation Improvement Program) The purpose of the project is to resurface Main Street and includes rehabilitating the bridge crossing Little Goose Creek. The project starts just north of the Little Goose Creek Bridge and extends south for approximately ½ mile through the intersection of Main Street and Coffeen and Burkitt Streets. The City of Sheridan will take advantage of this rehabilitation project to upgrade utilities throughout the corridor. Updating existing ADA ramps that do not currently meet ADA guidelines. Estimated cost $3.9M Content Sensitive Amenities (CSA) funds equal to 3% of estimated project cost (~$117,000) Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funds (potential) Background on 2023 Resurfacing Project

4. Streetscape Action Plan

5. Streetscape Action Community Goals Main Street is safe, comfortable, and accessible for all modes of travel and all ages Main Street is economically vibrant Main Street functions as a gathering place for community members Main Street is connected to natural areas and parks Thru traffic is mitigated on Main Street What people love about Main Street is maintained Streetscape Action Plan

6. Streetscape Action Plan

7. First time WYDOT and a community have tested a new configuration prior to construction Test accomplished without obtrusive cones, flags, or other vertical traffic controls Opportunity to collect both qualitative and quantitative data concurrently on a system Public outreach process and participation exceeded expectations Our Collaboration, Why This Test is Unique

8. The purpose of the test was to evaluate whether a reconfiguration of lanes on Sheridan’s Main Street would enhance safety, economic development, and placemaking in Downtown Council approved the award for the test on August 5, 2019 Staff coordinated design ideas and monitoring plans with a local traffic engineer In addition to using traffic counters, opinions and insights were gathered from citizens and business owners Establishing the Study

9. Logistics and Implementation

10. Logistics and Implementation

11. Logistics and Implementation

12. Logistics and Implementation

13. Logistics and Implementation

14. Total Responses: 981638 Positive (65%)270 Negative (28%) 73 Neutral (7%) Online Survey Results

15. Merchants Survey Results

16. The Final Results Traffic Volumes • July 16-18, 2019 – Taken prior the test as a baseline • August 13-15, 2019 – Taken during the first week of the test • August 27-29, 2019 – Taken during the third week of the test - start of school • Count locations included the signalized intersections on • Main St. between Burkitt and Dow • Coffeen Ave. & Gould St. • Sheridan Ave. & 5th St. • The counts off of Main St. were intended to determine what alternate routes drivers were taking if they avoided Main.

17. The Final Results Main Street Volumes • Little change overall in the number of vehicles utilizing Main Street • The midday hour from 11:00 to 12:00 had a slight drop during first week • ~ 10% (125 vehicles) during 1st week • ~ 6% (70 vehicles) during 3rd week • The PM peak hour, the busiest of the day, saw only minor changes Off - Main Street Volumes • Did not show trends that would clearly indicate higher usage of alternate routes. • The AM peak hour from 8:00 to 9:00 had a slight increase on Sheridan Ave. • ~ 20% increase (65 vehicles) during 1st week • Noon and PM peak hour volumes on Sheridan Ave. remained essentially the same • No discernible increase in westbound vehicles making right turns onto Gould from Coffeen

18. The Final Results Traffic Throughput and Queueing • Few left turns from Main Street during 3-lane test • Few drivers have changed driving habits • Due to all traffic in one lane, there are shorter gaps for left turners. If more drivers begin to make lefts from Main, that movement may struggle. • Mitigating this with left turn phases (green arrows) is likely a poor option as this would degrade progression and result in inefficient traffic flow on Main Street. • The 3-lane appeared to function adequately at peak periods. • Adjusted traffic signal timings ensured good progression and for the most part queues were not excessive. • Queue spillback through intersections was rare and only appeared to occur due to parking maneuvers.

19. Parking Maneuvers Parallel parking maneuvers were observed to cause the greatest disruption to traffic flow Especially problematic near the ends of a block Causes the queue to spill back through the intersection Some instances where drivers chose to pass the parking vehicle using the center turn lane Not a safe or legal maneuver. The 4 foot outside buffer zone was beneficial Provides additional space for parking and for drivers to safely exit their vehicle Parking turnover ~15 parallel parking maneuvers occur per block, per hour The Final Results

20. Bicycle Usage Bicycles were observed using the 4 foot buffer zone as a bike lane Creates unnecessary conflict between vehicles and bikes Puts vulnerable cyclists at risk “Dooring” incidents Cyclists abruptly swerving into traveled way If 3-lane is implemented, WYDOT recommends buffer zone be striped differently to not resemble a bike lane Cyclists should be encouraged to utilize Travel lane of Main Street or Brooks and Gould Lower volumes No traffic signals The Final Results

21. The Final Results Traffic Modeling • 3-lane configuration performs adequately in the near term • Model growth was assumed at 1% per year for 20 years • As traffic volumes continue to grow, 3-lane configuration may struggle • Main & Burkitt is estimated to have poor levels of service at this 20-year horizon • Little to no opportunity to add capacity in future years. • Queue spillback may be an issue in the future due to the closely spaced signals.

22. Transitions If 3-lane is implemented, southbound transition from the 4-lane to 3-lane at the north end should be modified. The taper and lane reduction initially used for the test resulted in many late merges indicating poor recognition of the transition. The Final Results

23. The Final Results Summary • Not a large number of drivers avoiding Main St. during test. • 3-lane configuration is viable with existing volumes and traffic patterns • Models indicate performance is likely to degrade as volumes increase or driving patterns change. • WYDOT is cautiously optimistic 3-lane configuration will work in the short term • Some areas may experience traffic operational problems during spikes in traffic volumes. • Adding left turn phasing (green arrows) on Main Street will result in unacceptable levels of traffic progression. • Bike lanes will not be allowed on Main Street for safety reasons • High traffic volumes • Numerous traffic signals • High parallel parking turnover

24. Next Steps • Test ends on Saturday, September 28 at 9:00 pm • WYDOT traffic will restripe Main Street back to its original 4-lane configuration Sunday morning· • There are no added costs to restriping Main Street to the original 4-lane configuration. WYDOT postponed the re-striping of Main Street to accommodate the study. • WYDOT will evaluate the existing traffic signal mast arms and poles for compliance to determine if they will meet design specs required for relocating traffic signal heads and signage. • take 5 to 6 months to determine. • Preliminary estimated costs range from $50,000 to $205,000. • The City will review data and cost estimates and make a final determination. WYDOT will need to know the final decision by March 1, 2020 in order to meet design deadlines for the 2023 project. • If the City recommends the change, WYDOT will submit these changes to Project Development Program to incorporate the 3-lane configuration into the existing plan sets if warranted.

25. Next Steps IF we move forward with the 3-Lane Configuration... • Bike lanes will not be allowed on Main Street. • WYDOT feels strongly that implementing bike lanes on Main Street with the high traffic volumes, numerous traffic signals, and high parking turnover creates a significant safety concern. • Per Wyoming State Statute, drivers are required to provide a 3 foot buffer between their vehicle and a bicycle. Main Street is not wide enough for a vehicle to legally complete this maneuver. • The “buffer zone” received strong support and therefore may be incorporated into the proposed configuration. Survey responses indicated the additional space for entering and exiting vehicles felt safer when parallel parking and less stressful to drivers. • to prevent the “buffer zone from looking like a bike lane, WYDOT and the City will investigate different pavement markings to delineate the buffer zone. • The southbound transition on Main Street at 1st St./Dow St. on the north end will be designed slightly different to lessen confusion and improve the traffic flow and safety.

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