The purpose of this chapter is to establish a policy of the Village of Manchester to provide safe, convenient, and comfortable routes for walking, bicycling, and public transportation that encourages increased use of these modes of transportation, enables convenient non-motorized travel routes for daily use, improves the public welfare by addressing a wide array of health and environmental problems, and meets the needs of all users including children, older adults, and people with disabilities.
(Ord. 284, passed 6-18-2012)
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
COMPLETE STREETS. Streets planned, designed, and constructed to provide appropriate access to all legal users in a manner that promotes safe and efficient movement of people and goods and that incorporates complete streets infrastructure.
COMPLETE STREETS INFRASTRUCTURE. Design features that contribute to a safe, convenient, and comfortable travel experience for all users, including features such as, but not limited to, sidewalks, shared use paths, bicycle lanes, vehicle lanes, paved shoulders, street trees and landscaping, curbs, curb ramps, crosswalks, pedestrian refuge islands, pedestrian and traffic signals, signage, street furnishings, bicycle parking facilities, public transportation facilities, traffic calming devices, and parking lanes.
STREET. Any right-of-way, public or private, including arterials, connectors, alleys, ways, lanes, and roadways by any other designation, as well as bridges and any other portions of the transportation network.
STREET PROJECT. The construction, reconstruction, retrofit, maintenance, alteration, or repair of any street, and includes the planning, design, approval, and implementation processes, except that it does not include minor routine upkeep such as cleaning, sweeping, mowing, or spot repair.
USER. Individuals that use streets, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motor vehicle drivers, public transportation riders and drivers, and people of all ages and abilities, including children, youths, families, older adults, and individuals with disabilities.
(Ord. 284, passed 6-18-2012)
(A) The Village of Manchester shall make complete streets practices a routine part of everyday operations, shall approach every street project as an opportunity to improve the village public and private streets and the non-motorized transportation network for all users, and shall work in coordination with other agencies and jurisdictions to achieve complete streets.
(B) If the safety and convenience of users can be improved within the scope of paving, resurfacing, restriping, or signalization operations on public or private street projects, such street projects shall implement complete streets infrastructure to increase comfort, convenience and safety for all users.
(C) The Village Council shall adopt a non-motorized transportation or Complete Streets Plan as part of the Village Parks and Recreation Master Plan. The Complete Streets Plan shall be referenced in the Village Master Plan and the Capital Improvements Plan. This Plan shall be approved by the Planning Commission and the Parks Commission, in consultation with village staff (Village Manager, Public Works, and the like).
(D) The Complete Streets Plan shall include, at a minimum, accommodations for handicap accessibility, sidewalks, crosswalks, shared use pathways, and bicycle facilities, and shall incorporate complete streets infrastructure to maximize walkable and bikeable streets within the village. The Plan shall set forth long-range strategies for providing complete streets in the village. The Plan shall be reviewed every five years from the date of its initial adoption.
(E) The complete streets infrastructure shall be designed and built using guidance from the most recent editions of the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), and the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). Methods for providing flexibility within safe design parameters, such as context sensitive solutions and design, will be considered.
(F) Every street project on public or private streets shall incorporate complete streets infrastructure sufficient to enable reasonably safe travel along and across the right-of-way for each category of user, except that such infrastructure may be excluded upon recommendation by the Village Manager and granted by the Village Council based upon a finding of one or more of the following or similar conditions:
(1) Where the non-motorized use is prohibited by law;
(2) Where public transportation operation is not present or likely to occur in the foreseeable future;
(3) Where the infrastructure would be contrary to public health and safety;
(4) When the cost would be excessively disproportionate to the need or probable future use;
(5) Where there is no identified current or future need;
(6) When the cost of the infrastructure would result in an unacceptable diminishing of other village services;
(7) Where the length of the street project does not permit a meaningful addition to the non-motorized transportation network; or
(8) Where reconstruction of the right-of-way is due to an emergency.
(G) It will be a goal of the village to fund the implementation of the Complete Streets Plan, which shall include expending State Act 51 funds received by the village annually in accordance with Public Act 135 of 2010, as amended.
(Ord. 284, passed 6-18-2012)