A. Purpose: The purpose of this section is to provide transportation options and ensure that new pedestrian and bicycle facilities are designed to be attractive, safe, and convenient to use as well as ADA accessible and supportive of transit use.
B. Pedestrian And Bicycle Accessibility: All projects that are subject to the provisions of this code shall provide for pedestrian and bicycle accessibility. Accessibility shall be from a direct, convenient, and attractive pathway system that conforms to the following standards:
1. Continuous Pathways: A pathway system shall extend through the development site and connect the street sidewalk to all primary building entrances as generally shown in figure 8 of this section. The director may require the developer to connect or stub pathway(s) to adjacent streets, private property, adjacent trails, plazas, future phases of development, and open space areas (when reciprocal access is available or can reasonably be provided).
FIGURE 8
PATHWAY CIRCULATION
2. Pathways Through Parking Lots: For the purpose of pedestrian safety, pathways through parking lots are encouraged to be raised on a six inch (6") high curb with the exception of areas crossing driveways.
C. Pathway Safety, Comfort, And Convenience: All portions of a development shall be accessible by a direct, convenient, attractive, safe, and comfortable system of pedestrian facilities as follows:
1. Direct: Pathways should not deviate unnecessarily from a direct route or involve a significant amount of out of direction travel.
2. Safety, Comfort, And Accessibility: Pathways should be free from hazards, have appropriate lighting levels, i.e., relative to the adjacent uses and considering natural surveillance, be suitable for people in wheelchairs, e.g., traction, not bumpy, etc., and/or people with visual impediments, and provide a reasonable route of travel between destinations. The pathway system shall comply with ADA requirements.
3. Access To Primary Building Entrances And Parking Areas: For commercial, industrial, mixed use, public, and institutional buildings, at least one pedestrian pathway is required to connect the public sidewalk to the primary entrance. A primary entrance is the main public building entrance. In the case where no public entrance exists, pathway connections shall be provided to the main employee entrance.
For multi-family buildings and ground floor residential uses in mixed use buildings, the primary entrance is the front door facing the street except that multi-family buildings or courtyard housing in which each unit does not have its own exterior entrance facing a street, the primary entrance may be a lobby, courtyard, plaza, or breezeway that serves as a common entrance for more than one building.
4. Pedestrian Amenities: Pedestrian amenities such as benches, planters, trees, lighting, etc., are required along sidewalks and pathways to provide defensible space, crime prevention, pedestrian comfort, and accessibility.
D. Design And Construction Standards For Pathways And Accessways: At a minimum, all pathways and accessways shall conform to the following standards:
1. Vehicle Separation From Pathways And Accessways: Pathways and accessways adjacent to a driveway, street (public or private), or parking spaces are encouraged to be raised six inches (6") and curbed, and be separated from the driveway/street by a buffer strip with a minimum width of eleven feet (11') (combined landscaping and meandering walk), utilizing bollards, lighting, landscape berming, or other physical barriers. The ends of the raised portions must be constructed with accessible curb ramps.
2. Housing Separation From Pathways And Accessways: Pedestrian pathways and accessways shall be separated a minimum of ten feet (10') from all residential living areas on the ground floor, except at building and courtyard entrances, to provide for privacy in living areas. Separation is measured from the pathway edge to the closest dwelling unit. The separation area shall be landscaped. Pathway building separation is not required for commercial, industrial, public, or institutional uses except as may be required through site plan review.
3. Crosswalks: Where pathways and accessways cross parking areas, driveways, or private streets, they shall be clearly marked in accordance with ADA standards. Continuous pedestrian pavement materials are encouraged across such areas.
4. Surface Materials: Pathway and accessway surfaces shall be concrete and have a width that is based on their function. Pavers, brick and other ornamental paving may be used if it has a smooth finish. Textured or bumpy materials may be used as an edge treatment provided an accessible route is provided between the edge treatment. Multiuse paths, e.g., bicycles and pedestrians, shall be concrete or asphalt.
E. Shade On Long Accessways And Pathways:
1. When the primary entrance of a building is more than one hundred feet (100') from the nearest point of a public sidewalk, and the entrance is accessed by a pathway traversing a parking lot with more than one hundred (100) parking spaces, an overhead shade structure or tree canopy is encouraged along the pathway.
2. Shade elements may include opaque structures, e.g., arbors, pergolas, porticoes, awnings, canopies, etc., and/or shade trees planted twenty five feet (25') on center or closer.
F. Bicycle Parking:
1. All new nonresidential construction, all new residential construction with a density of eight (8) or more dwelling units per acre, and remodels of the same uses of more than fifty percent (50%) (or expansions or intensification of use) shall provide bicycle parking.
2. The amount of bicycle parking required for new construction and/or remodels is determined by multiplying the total number of automobile parking spaces required by 0.05 (5 percent). If the calculation returns a number less than 0.5 (or 1/2 of a parking space), the installation of bicycle parking is optional. In all other cases the calculated amount is rounded to the nearest whole number.
3. Bicycle parking is only useful to cyclists if it is located properly. Accordingly, bicycle parking shall be located:
a. On the same lot as the principal use;
b. To prevent damage to bicycles by cars;
c. In a convenient, highly visible, active, well lighted area;
d. So as not to interfere with pedestrian movements;
e. As near the principal entrance of the building as practical; and
f. To provide safe access from the parking spaces to the right of way or bicycle lane.
4. Both employees and customers shall be considered when determining locations for bicycle parking. For example, a bike rack located within a parking structure may work for employees but would not work well for customers who would normally access the business from an exterior entrance. A highly visible location is determined from the vantage point of someone inside the building or near the principal pedestrian entrance. Locating bicycle parking under a building overhang, or in another way providing a degree of protection from the weather, will greatly improve its convenience.
5. Appropriate parking facilities include bike racks which allow the bicycle to be supported upright by its frame in two (2) places and should allow the frame and one or both wheels to be secured. For long term employee parking, bike lockers are encouraged. Bicycle parking facilities shall be:
a. Consistent with the surroundings in color and design and incorporated, whenever possible, into buildings or street furniture design;
b. Designed to allow each bicycle to be supported by its frame;
c. Designed to allow the frame and wheels of each bicycle to be secured against theft;
d. Designed to avoid damage to the bicycles;
e. Anchored to resist rust or corrosion, or removal by vandalism; and
f. Designed to accommodate a range of bicycle shapes and sizes and facilitate easy locking without interfering with adjacent bicycles.
FIGURE 9
BICYCLE RACK EXAMPLES
(Ord. 12-15, 7-11-2012)