(A) System strengths. Summarized below, various characteristics create a positive bicycling and walking environment in the city and surrounding areas.
(1) Land use characteristics. Land use characteristics, particularly along Main Street in downtown Joseph, foster a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly environment. For instance, buildings fronting the sidewalk edge on Main Street create a sense of tight urban form and an inviting pedestrian atmosphere. Walking and bicycling as a means for running errands are also encouraged through the grouping of diverse land uses in the downtown core.
(2) Streetscape treatments. Streetscape treatments on Main Street (as part of the city’s Main Street Beautification Project) create an attractive walking and bicycling environment. Treatments include street trees, benches, trash receptacles and public art celebrating downtown Joseph. The presence of angled on-street parking also buffers foot traffic from adjacent motor vehicle traffic. Other nearby streets (e.g., W.E. Williams Avenue) include planter strips between the sidewalk and curb, providing an additional buffer between pedestrians and benefit from a variety of streetscape motorists. treatments.
(3) System connectivity. The city’s street grid provides generally good system connectivity, especially in areas south and east of downtown. The relatively well-connected grid facilitates convenient and direct bicycle and pedestrian travel.
(4) Presence of intersection treatments for pedestrian crossings.
(a) Curb extensions. Curb extensions slow vehicle traffic by creating a visual “pinch point” for approaching motorists. Typically constructed within the on-street parking lane (e.g., along Main Street between Maple and Third Streets), these devices can calm traffic passing through or turning at an intersection. Curb extensions also reduce the pedestrian crossing distance, while increasing motorists’ visibility of pedestrians waiting to cross the street.
(b) High-visibility crosswalks and signage. High-visibility crosswalks and supplemental warning signage exist at several intersections in the city. High-visibility crosswalks usually include multiple wide stripes oriented perpendicular to the pedestrian’s direction of travel while crossing the street. Some crossings also include warning signage to alert motorists of the presence of foot traffic (e.g., E Wallowa Avenue at N Lake Street).
(5) Signage alerting motorists of bicyclists and pedestrians. Although many streets in and around the city lack sidewalks, bike lanes or other dedicated facilities, the city and ODOT have placed warning signs on some streets to alert motorists to the presence of non-motorized users. For instance, several “BIKES ON ROADWAY” signs exist on Wallowa Lake Highway immediately south of the city where bicyclists must ride on narrow shoulders or share travel lanes with motorists.
(6) Presence of available right-of-way for future bikeways and walkways. Right-of-way widths on many city streets provide sufficient room for future bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Widths range from about 60 feet on most east-west streets to about 100 feet on north-south streets. These right-of-way widths, coupled with relatively narrow existing street widths (typically two travel lanes) provide opportunities to construct bikeways and walkways with minimal or no private property impacts.
(B) System weaknesses. Described below, pedestrians and bicyclists in and around the city face a variety of challenges.
(1) Barriers. City residents cite major roads as barriers to bicycling and walking, particularly due to higher vehicle speeds and volumes which create uncomfortable and potentially unsafe crossing conditions. Examples include S Main Street (south of downtown), E Eighth Street and Wallowa Lake Highway.
(2) Uncomfortable walking and bicycling environment along high-volume roadways. Large vehicles (e.g., trucks, buses and recreational vehicles), high vehicle speeds and volumes create challenging, uncomfortable and potentially unsafe walking and bicycling conditions on major streets. These conditions present additional challenges on major roads with minimal or no bicycle/pedestrian facilities. Example corridors include S Main Street near Seventh Street (narrow shoulders for bicyclists and no sidewalks for pedestrians), Wallowa Lake Highway (narrow bridges forcing foot and bicycle traffic into the roadway), Airport Lane/Hurricane Creek Road and Engleside Avenue/Ski Run Road.
(3) Limited street system connectivity in some areas. Although the city benefits from generally good street system connectivity, limited connectivity in some parts of town provides few bicycle/ pedestrian routing options. Specific locations include areas west of S Main Street and neighborhoods north of Wallowa Avenue. In these areas, bicyclists and walkers must use major roadways to travel longer distances.
(4) Lack of wayfinding tools. Joseph’s walkway and bikeway system could benefit from signage and other wayfinding tools to orient users and direct them to and through major destinations like downtown, surrounding schools, ball fields and parks.
(5) Maintenance issues. Described below, several maintenance issues complicate pedestrian/ bicycle travel in the city.
(a) Marginal/poor pavement conditions on several streets. Bicyclists encounter difficult riding conditions on unpaved streets such as W Fourth Street west of Mill Street (near Joseph City Park), and N Russell Street (near the rodeo grounds). These streets present difficult maneuvering issues, especially for cyclists making tight turns. Paved streets with numerous potholes or other pavement quality issues also complicate riding, especially at night in areas with limited or no lighting. Roadways with marginal or poor pavement include segments of Lake, College and East Streets.
(b) Gravel/debris on roadway shoulders. Gravel and debris on roadway shoulders create difficult bicycling conditions, and typically force bicyclists to ride in adjacent vehicle travel lanes. The project team observed these conditions on E Wallowa Avenue/Imnaha Highway.
(c) Damaged/deteriorated sidewalks. Existing sidewalks in some parts of the city suffer from cracking, heaving and/or vegetation growing between pavement seams (e.g., the west side of S Main Street south of Fourth Street). Uneven pavement joints (often caused by tree roots below the sidewalk) create tripping hazards and complicate travel for wheelchair users. Mobility-impaired pedestrians also experience difficulty on sidewalk surfaces consisting of larger rocks (e.g., the east side of S Main Street near Fifth Street). Water ponding on sidewalk surfaces can further challenge walking, especially when ponding water freezes in cold weather.
(d) Damaged/deteriorated trails. Briefly described earlier, Joseph residents helped construct a soft surface perimeter trail around the Joseph Middle/High School campus in 2004. Approximately one-half mile long, the trail served as a popular walking, jogging and cross-country trail; and included a weed barrier below the ground surface to deter vegetation encroachment. Little to no maintenance has occurred since trail construction, resulting in vegetation overgrowth and surface deterioration.
(6) Obstructed signs. Although the city has posted school speed zone and other advisory signs aimed at motorists, overgrown vegetation obstructs these signs in some locations (e.g., on S College Street north of Joseph Elementary School).
(7) Fragmented sidewalk network in some areas. As discussed earlier, downtown Joseph benefits from a fairly complete sidewalk network while the system is fragmented in other areas. Beyond the downtown core, many streets have sidewalks on one side only (e.g., portions of E Wallowa Avenue) while other streets lack sidewalks altogether. In some locations, sidewalks abruptly end (e.g., on W Alder Street), forcing pedestrians into the roadway shoulder (if one exists) or into the road.
(8) Sight distance issues. Limited sight distance in some locations creates potentially hazardous bicycling and walking conditions. Several tight curves on the Tenth Street/Engleside Avenue/Ski Run Road corridor create an uncomfortable and potentially unsafe walking and riding environment, as motorists maneuvering around curves have little time to react when encountering foot and bicycle traffic on the roadway. Pedestrians and bicyclists crossing E Eighth Street also encounter challenging conditions, as relatively tight curves and overgrown vegetation limit visibility for all roadway users.
(9) Demonstrated need for more bicycle/pedestrian facilities.
(a) The presence of informal paths (also known as “demand paths”) in some areas indicates a demand for pedestrian and bicycle facilities where they currently do not exist, or where formalized facilities require users to follow circuitous routes to overcome relatively short distances.
(b) This is particularly evident along the Wallowa River near Wallowa County Park, where non-motorized users have created a system of informal paths.
(Ord. passed 6- -2009)