MTG. DATE: OCTOBER 25, 2022
RECEIVED
2022 OCT 25 PM 2:22
TO: Cin COUNCIL MUNICIPAL SERVICES COMMITTEE ,, ^
Vice Mayor Andy Wilson, Chair; Councilmember Felic^-Wit(iamSrC9i)%t(raember Tyron Hampton and CouncilmemberJustin Jones
SUBJECT: COMMENTS ON ITEM # 1. DRAFT PASADENA PEDESTRIAN ACTION PLAN UPDATE FROM:MARSHA V. ROOD, FAICP; CENTRAL DISTRICT RESIDENT
1. PasadenaWalks! must be renamed to better describe what it is. PasadenaWalks!\s the third in a series of City Department of Transportation plans aimed at improving pedestrian safety at pedestrian crossings along major traffic corridors. "City of Pasadena Pedestrian Safety Study at Signalized Intersections, (2011), and "Pedestrian Crossing Treatment Guidance" ^2017) were the first two.
2. A pedestrian plan must directly involve pedestrians in order to develop successful and effective integrated pedestrian networks. The fine-grained nature of pedestrian problems require fine-grained pedestrian solutions. Successful pedestrian improvements knit together destinations with walkways and urban green spaces without the need for a car. This creates a strong and reinforced a sense of place.
3. PasadenaWalks! is not based on the pedestrian experience; rather, it is based on computer-generated statistics placed on a "Dashboard" to show the locations of pedestrian injuries and deaths at traffic corridor crossings.
4. Labeling PasadenaWalks! a "pedestrian plan" is misleading and diverts attention and resources away from on-the-ground issues and needed improvements for pedestrians, especially in Pasadena's denser mixed use areas.
5. PasadenaWalks! found that the Central District has a pedestrian-rich environment with the "Highest Trip Potential'; the "Highest Population Density", the "Highest Destination Density, and the "Highest Job Density. However, the plan recommends only minimal pedestrian improvements for the Central District. The district is expected to have upwards of 30,000 residents in the next two years - more than the population of South Pasadena.
6. The City goal for the past 30 years has been to "circulate without cars" But the city has made only a</^oc improvements to address specific pedestrian problems. There have been no significant investments in developing and enhancing integrated pedestrian networks since 1998 in Old Pasadena.. Many pedestrian improvements can be implemented in the very near term, are of modest cost, have short lead times and can be phased in to match funding availability.
1 7. The City continues to invest in a car-centric, suburban transportation system reflecting Pasadena in the 1940s. But adopted goal of the City is to "circulate without cars". •The City's Adopted Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Fiscal Year 2023 - 2027 allocates only 1.4% of the $250 million for Transportation, and Streets and Streetscapes for three (3) pedestrian improvement projects in the Central District.
The City's Traffic Reduction and Transportation Improvement Fees ordinance was amended in July 2017 to include pedestrian and bicycle improvements. But,to date, only 15% of the $5.5 million generated in the Central District has been allocated to the Central District.
For the health and economic well-being of the city, /"/ is critical that the City develop a pedestrian plan with a spending schedule for the Central District and other pedestrian-oriented areas of the city to accommodate its growing population and to fulfill the City's three- decades- old plans for walkability in the Central District. Pasadena should "walk the talk" \o "circulate without cars" by putting its money where its plans are. 2