STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: March 15, 2022
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Daren Grilley, Assistant Director Public Works/City Engineer Jessie Holzer, Transportation Planner
Subject: Proposed Doheny Drive Bike Lanes
Attachments: 1. Holistic Bikeway Network Map
2. Bikeway Implementation Process
3. Proposed Doheny Drive Bike Lanes Conceptual Design
4. Public Comment
INTRODUCTION
This report presents proposed conceptual design of Class II Bike Lanes without removal of vehicle travel lanes or parking spaces on Doheny Drive between Burton Way and the southern City limit at Whitworth Drive.
FISCAL IMPACT
Installation of the bikeway on Doheny Drive is estimated to cost approximately $5,000.
Funding is available in the approved budgets for the Annual Street Sign and Striping CIP (No. 00863) and Complete Streets CIP (No. 00100).
DISCUSSION
On April 20, 2021, City Council adopted the Complete Streets Plan that outlines a longrange vision for improving mobility in the City. The Complete Streets Plan (available on the City’s website: www.beverlyhills.org/completestreets) includes a Holistic Bikeways Network Map (Attachment A) to serve as a blueprint for new bikeways in Beverly Hills.
Doheny Drive is identified as a proposed bikeway in the City’s Complete Streets Plan.
This bikeway would connect with other in-progress bikeways from the Minimum Grid Network (www.beverlyhills.org/minimumgrid) on Clifton Way, Charleville Boulevard and Gregory Way, along with existing bike lanes on Burton Way. Doheny Drive south of Burton Way is identified as a high priority project in the Complete Streets Action Plan. •
BEVERLY
HILLS
:i!I
'
Meeting Date: March 15, 2022
Proposed Conceptual Design
Doheny Drive between Burton Way and Whitworth Drive is predominantly a residential street with on-street parking and one travel lane in each direction throughout the majority of the segment. The street width varies along the corridor. Proposed bike lanes on Doheny Drive would not result in any reduction in the number of vehicle travel lanes, turn lanes or on-street parking spaces.
Whitworth Drive to Charleville Boulevard
This section of Doheny Drive is 46 feet wide with one 23-foot shared travel and on-street parking lane in each direction. This segment effectively creates one 16-foot travel lane in each direction when on-street parking is utilized, which is considered by industry best practices to be too wide for local streets because wide lanes can encourage speeding. Bike lanes can be installed by narrowing travel lanes to 10-feet wide to accommodate 6- foot bike lanes in each direction.
At the Doheny Drive/Olympic Boulevard intersection, additional travel lanes and turn pockets are provided. In order to maintain these lanes, bike lanes approaching the intersection would convert to combined bike lanes/right turn pockets, similar to the configuration of eastbound North Santa Monica Boulevard at Beverly Boulevard. This treatment has proven to be successful on North Santa Monica Boulevard and is recommended by NACTO as a way to maintain bike lanes in constrained rights-of-way.
At the southwest corner of Doheny Drive/Olympic Boulevard, the southbound curb- adjacent travel lane is proposed to be converted to a combined bike lane/right turn lane into the Hillel Academy student loading zone. This would help organize the traffic by separating drivers traveling south on Doheny Drive from those accessing the school, which staff has observed is the primary use of this lane and specifically during school drop-off and pick-up times. It would also provide a bike lane leading to the school’s bike parking south of the loading zone. Staff reviewed this proposal with the Hillel Academy and they did not oppose the changes, but requested that a dedicated bike lane be provided instead of the combined bike lane/right turn lane if determined feasible; this would be explored as part of the final design phase if approved by City Council.
Charleville Boulevard to Wilshire Boulevard
This block of Doheny Drive is a 46-foot wide commercial street with two travel lanes in each direction and a center turn lane to facilitate access to parking garages. The outside travel lanes are peak hour lanes Monday through Friday from 7-9 AM and 4-6 PM. Parking is metered Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM. All travel/parking lanes range from approximately 9 to 9.5 feet wide.
Due to the fact that bike lanes cannot be installed without impacts to peak hour travel lanes and/or the center turn lane, this block is proposed to have sharrow markings in-lieu of bike lanes. Based on a review of similar configurations in other cities, the proposal recommends sharrows be installed in both travel lanes with accompanying signage to educate drivers and bicyclists on how to use the configuration during varying times of the day.
Wilshire Boulevard to Burton Way
This segment of Doheny Drive is 42 feet wide with one 21-foot shared travel and on- street parking lane in each direction. This effectively creates one 14-foot travel lane in each direction when on-street parking is utilized.
Meeting Date: March 15, 2022
The available street width is too narrow to add standard bike lanes in both directions while also maintaining both travel lanes and on-street parking. Therefore, this segment is proposed to have a 6-foot bike lane in the northbound direction and sharrow markings in the southbound direction. The bike lane is proposed in the northbound direction because it is uphill and thus more likely to create a greater speed differential between bicyclists and moving vehicles, which could result in increased conflicts between the two modes. The southbound direction is downhill, meaning bicyclists are more likely to travel closer to the speed of traffic, which could result in fewer conflicts between the two modes. The uphill bike lane/downhill sharrows combination is recommended by NACTO as a way to maintain bike lanes in constrained rights-of-way. There are local examples of successful implementation, such as in Santa Monica on Arizona Avenue east of 26th Street.
Community Engagement
Notices advising of this item on the February 3, 2022, Traffic and Parking Commission meeting agenda were mailed to properties within 500 feet of Doheny Drive. Additionally, as noted above, staff reviewed the proposal with the Hillel Academy and incorporated their comments into the conceptual design in advance of the Traffic and Parking Commission meeting.
Twenty-one community members provided public comment, the majority of which supported the project but encouraged the City to go further by providing more dedicated bike lanes. Community members in opposition to the project expressed concerns over potential conflicts between bicyclists and drivers, such as drivers exiting their driveways, drivers speeding and emergency responders accessing the Beverly Hill Fire Station at Doheny Drive/Charleville Boulevard.
The Traffic and Parking Commission expressed their support for the project, stating reasons such as Doheny Drive offers signalized crossings of major streets, the project would help further the City’s environmental sustainability goals and the project would implement the Complete Streets Plan.
Notices advising of this item on the March 15, 2022, City Council Study Session meeting agenda were also mailed to properties within 500 feet of Doheny Drive.
Environmental Review
This project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c), Existing Facilities, which exempts minor alterations to existing highways and streets that do not create additional automobile lanes on existing highways and streets. If City Council approves installation, staff would proceed with filing the Notice of Exemption with Los Angeles County and the State.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council consider approval of Class II Bike Lanes without removal of vehicle travel lanes or parking spaces on Doheny Drive between Burton Way and Whitworth Drive.
Shana Epstein, Director of Public Works
Approved By
Attachment 1
City of Beverly Hills
Complete Streets
1 2
°
0 0.4 0.80.2
Miles
Proposed Bike Enhanced Network
n£
n£
n£
n£
n£
n£
n£
n£
n£
n£
n£
n£
n£ n£
n£
n£ n£
n£
n£
n£
n£
n£
n£
$+
$+
$+
Æó
Æó
Æó
Æó
Æó
Æó Æó
Æó
Æó
Æó
#
*
#
*#
*
#
*#
*
#
*#
*
#
*
#
*#
*#
*#
*
#
* #
*
#
*#
*#
*#
*
#
*#
*
#
*
#
*
#
*
#
*
#
*
#
*
#
*
#
*#
*
#
*
#
*
#
*
#
*
#
* #
*
#
*
#
*#
*
#
*
#
*
#
*
#
* #
*
#
*
#
*
#
* #
* #
*
#
*
#
*
#
*
#
* #
*#
*#*
#
*#
*
#
*#
*
#
*
#
*
#
*
#
*
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5
GF
GF
GF
GF
GF
GF
GF
GF
GF
GF
GF
GF
GF
GF GF
GF
GF GF
GF
GF
GF
GF GF
GF
GF
GF
GF GF
GF
Carmelita Ave
Charleville Blvd
Santa Monica Blvd
3rd St
Beverly Blvd
Melrose Ave
Sunset Blvd
Burton Way
Roxbury Dr
Reeves Dr
Elm Dr
Rexford Dr
Lasky Dr
Le Doux Rd
Civic Center Dr Beverly Dr
Crescent Dr
Robertson Blvd
San
Vicente
Blvd
Wilshire Blvd
C
Doheny Dr
rescent Dr
Canon Dr
Beverly Dr
Rodeo Dr
Gregory Way
Olympic Blvd
Elevado Av
L
e
omitas Ave
Sunset Blvd
La Cienega Blvd
Benedict Canyon Dr
Rexford Dr
Palm Dr
Pico Blvd
Whittier
Dr
La Peer Dr
Clifton Way
Brighton Way
Camden Dr
Beverly Dr
Crescent Dr
Palm
Dr
Roxbury Dr
Doheny Dr
°
Legend
Existing Bike Facilities
Existing Bike Lanes (Class II)
Existing Bike Routes (Class III)
City of LA & City of West Hollywood Future Bike Facility #
* Existing bike parking
Æó Existing bike share station
Proposed Bike Facilities
Proposed Bike Lanes (Class II)
Proposed Bike Boulevard (Class III)
Proposed Protected Bike Lane (Class IV)
GF Proposed Intersection Crossing Treatment
$+ Purple Line Station
Transit Stop/Station
n£ Metro Rapid Bus Stop
0 0.50.25
Miles
Moreno Dr
Whitworth Dr
Spalding Dr
Phyllis St
Complete Streets Plan
Holistic Bikeway Network Map
BEVERLYHILLS.ORG/COMPLETESTREETS
I
(.
..,.,A
' '
• ' ' \
'
' '
'
• I
'
,-----+--+-+-+--+-I
i
'
I
Attachment 2
Bikeway Implementation Process
On April 20, 2021, the City Council adopted the Complete Streets Plan, which is broken into two standalone documents: (1) Complete Streets Plan and Technical Appendices and (2) Complete Streets Action Plan. Both documents are available on the City’s Complete Streets website:
www.beverlyhills.org/completestreets
The Complete Streets Plan is a long-range document with three main components. First, it includes multi-modal goals and polices that describe the overall vision for transportation in Beverly Hills and guide decision makers as they make decisions about mobility in the City. Second, each modal chapter includes a high-level network map that identifies streets where improvements are proposed; the maps do not dictate how to improve the streets, just generally that they are identified as streets to explore further. Third, the modal chapters include a menu of design options to explore the feasibility of during Plan implementation. The Complete Streets Action Plan prioritizes recommended and ongoing projects from the Plan for implementation in the first six years after plan adoption.
In the bicycling chapter, the Complete Streets Plan features a Holistic Bikeways Network Map (Attachment A), which serves as a blueprint for pursuing new bikeways in Beverly Hills. Based on feedback received from the Traffic and Parking Commission, staff intends to implement the bikeways shown on the network map as quickly as possible, while also ensuring that the implementation process approved by the City Council (outlined below) is followed for each individual street:
Identify bikeway design concepts to explore
Gather data, such as traffic volumes, roadway geometrics, parking utilization, and traffic speeds
Discuss tradeoffs in design concepts, such as level of separation between bicycle and vehicle traffic versus parking removal
Meet with the community and the Traffic and Parking Commission to present information Refine design concepts
Present concept recommendations to the Traffic and Parking Commission and City Council
Develop engineering drawings
Install bikeways
Monitor and evaluate projects based on baseline traffic safety analysis and performance metrics
Adjust designs as needed
The purpose of following this process is to provide adequate opportunities for stakeholder input and to consider the unique conditions and design considerations of every street. Though each street is pursued individually, they all are part of the Holistic Bikeways Network Map and therefore are not being implemented in isolation from the big picture.
The City is pursuing bikeway projects on two parallel tracks: (1) High priority projects identified in the Action Plan that are likely to have significant tradeoffs with vehicle/parking lanes and/or include construction of traffic calming elements and (2) projects with minimal or no tradeoffs therefore could be implemented during ongoing street maintenance.
High Priority Projects
The first year of the Bicycle Action Plan lists high priority bikeway projects the City will pursue before moving onto other projects from the Holistic Bikeways Network Map, including:
Charleville Boulevard-Gregory Way Class IV Protected Bike Lanes Roxbury Drive Class II Bike Lanes
Clifton Way-Le Doux Road Class III Bike Boulevard (with traffic calming) Doheny Drive Class II Bike Lanes
These projects were selected based on community feedback indicating a strong desire for projects south of North Santa Monica Boulevard that provide first/last mile connections to the future Purple Line stations, as well as projects that would provide a backbone network of key eastwest and north-south bikeways. Staff has started to collect data for some of these streets to determine the range of design options that can be discussed with the community. These projects are anticipated to go through robust community engagement processes to discuss the tradeoffs with stakeholders.
Street Maintenance Projects
Each year of the Bicycle Action Plan states that the City will pursue opportunities to install or enhance bikeways through ongoing maintenance, like street restriping and repaving. With regards to the first year of the Action Plan, this includes “low hanging fruit” bikeways as they would require few if any tradeoffs with vehicle/parking lanes and do not include physical elements like traffic calming. None of the high priority bikeway projects identified above meet this criteria.
Any bikeways pursued through ongoing maintenance are in addition to the high priority projects identified above. Bikeway projects the City is currently pursuing as part of Fiscal Year 2021-2022 ongoing street maintenance include:
San Vicente Boulevard Class II Bike Lanes (southbound from north of Clifton Way to north of Wilshire Boulevard)
Burton Way Class II Buffered Bike Lanes (Crescent Drive to eastern City limits) Spalding Drive Class II Bike Lanes (Wilshire Boulevard to Olympic Boulevard) North Beverly Drive Class II Bike Lanes (Sunset Boulevard to North Santa Monica Boulevard)
Streets identified as Class III Bike Boulevards to receive sharrows as a first step, including Clifton Way-Le Doux Road
Attachment 3
Proposed Doheny Drive Bike
Lanes Conceptual Design
Cross-section: Charleville Blvd – Whitworth Dr
Existing:
Proposed:
- - • - · • • - · •
- - - · •
' Parking Ian!!
- ·
f'arbng ' lane a,u ' lane
,. r
BU lane Parking lane
Plan View: Charleville Blvd – Whitworth Dr
Proposed Bike
Lanes
Intersection: Doheny Dr / Olympic Blvd
Proposed Bike
Lanes
Oly
m
pic
Blv
d
Proposed
Shared Bike Lane/
Right Turn Lane
Loading Zone
Intersection: Doheny Dr / Charleville Blvd Ch
a
rleville
Blv
d
Proposed Bike
Lanes
Cross-section: Wilshire Blvd – Charleville Blvd
Existing:
Proposed:
Peak hour lane Peak hour lane
Peak hour lane Peak hour lane
I I I I I I
• • • •
...... ......
9'
Parking lane
9Y,'
Drive lane
9'
Center turn lane
9Y,'
Drive lane
9'
Parking lane
I I I I I I
• • • •
...... ......
9'
Parking lane
9Y,'
Drive lane
9'
Center turn lane
9Y,'
Drive lane
9'
Parking lane
Plan View: Wilshire Blvd – Charleville Blvd
C
h
a
rleville Bl
v
d
Wils
hire
Blv
d
Cross-section: Burton Way – Wilshire Blvd
Existing:
Proposed:
.....
- - • • • •
I I
7'
Parking lane
14'
Orive lane
14'
Drive lane
7'
Parking lane
- -
.....
• •
.....
• •
I I I I
8'
Parking lane
10'
Drive lane
10'
Drive lane
6'
Bike lane
8'
Parking lane
Plan View: Burton Way – Wilshire Blvd
Proposed Uphill
Bike Lane
Intersection: Doheny Dr / Wilshire Blvd
Wils
hire
Blv
d
Proposed Uphill
Bike Lane
Intersection: Doheny Dr / Burton Way
B
u
r
t
o
n
W
a
y
Proposed Uphill
Bike Lane
Attachment 4
1 Jessie Holzer
From: Jessie Holzer
Sent: Tuesday, March 8, 2022 7:57 AM
To: Jessie Holzer
Subject: FW: Bicycle lane on Doheny
From: Susan Cukier < >
Sent: Saturday, March 5, 2022 4:23 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Bicycle lane on doheny
CAUTION: External Sender
Use caution when clicking links or opening attachments
________________________________
Hello. I am resident on Doheny Drive between Wilshire and Burton Way. Living here for over 40 years I can tell you that there is no room for a bike lane. Cars are getting side swiped all the time. People think this is the Indy 500 and speed in excess of 50-60 mph going up or down Doheny. I think you ar asking for trouble in implementing this on a residential street. Why not put it on a wide street such as Robertson or Beverly Drive or Wilshire? You are asking for trouble by implementing a bike lane as we already have the Indy 500 coming thru here. Big boo boo.