21029 1 ORDINANCE NO. 21,029
2
3 AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT A COMPLETE STREETS POLICY FOR
4 THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS; AND FOR OTHER
5 PURPOSES.
6
7 WHEREAS, pursuant to Little Rock, Ark. Res.No. 13,675 (April 16, 2013), the Board of Directors
8 stated its desire to adopt a Complete Streets Policy, meaning a policy for all transportation improvement
9 projects within the City of Little Rock, including the construction and reconstruction of public roadways,
10 to accommodate all anticipated users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users,
11 persons with disabilities, freight haulers,and motorists,and
12 WHEREAS, the City Manager was directed to draft revisions to the Master Street Plan and
13 Boundary Street Ordinance that will incorporate a complete streets policy into those ordinances and to
14 present his proposed revisions to the Board of Directors, and
15 WHEREAS, the State of Arkansas is in the process of developing a complete streets policy for
16 State-funded highway projects and over 600 other cities and communities across the United States have
17 adopted a Complete Streets Policy,and
18 WHEREAS, the City has adopted a Master Street Plan that provides standard designs, parameters,
19 and infrastructure requirements for certain specified types of streets and highways used by motorists,
20 including those using automobiles, buses, trucks and commercial vehicles, fire trucks, police vehicles,
21 and ambulances,to travel safely throughout the City,and
22 WHEREAS,the City's adopted Master Street Plan recognizes that well-designed streets also provide
23 for the needs of persons walking along or needing to safely cross the streets and bicyclists using the
24 streets, whether as a safe route to school, commuting to work or on errands, or as a form of healthy
25 recreation, and the City utilizes design standards that address the special needs of persons with
26 disabilities, including persons with visual impairments or in wheelchairs, to safely travel along and
27 across streets,and
28 WHEREAS, the Master Bike Plan, a part of the Master Street Plan, was adopted in its most recent
29 form on December 6, 2011, and its previous heavy emphasis on the development of separate bike paths
30 was changed to the creation of consistent and safe routes throughout the City through signage, sharrows,
31 striping and dedicated bike lanes, thereby both reducing development costs and aiding the development
32 of a more comprehensive bike route system in a shorter period of time, and
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1 WHEREAS, the Board of Directors desires to further advance the development of the City's
2 transportation network to provide streets that are designed and operated to enable safe access and the
3 ability to move safely along and across streets for all users, including motorists, public transportation
4 users,bicyclists and pedestrians,of all ages and abilities,and
5 WHEREAS, by adopting this ordinance, the Board of Directors recognizes the steps the City has
6 already taken to provide for the needs of all users of City streets and highways and affirms its desire for
7 the further advancement of fully integrated active transportation networks within the City.
8 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE
9 CITY OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS:
10 Section 1. Complete Streets Policy. It is the policy of the City to develop a safe, reliable, efficient,
11 integrated and connected multimodal transportation system that will promote access and mobility for all
12 users, and will ensure that the safety and convenience of all users of the transportation system are
13 accommodated, including motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, users of public transportation, emergency
14 responders, freight haulers, people of all ages and abilities, and adjacent land users. Complete streets may
15 be achieved through single large projects or incrementally in a series of smaller improvements or
16 maintenance activities over a period of time, utilizing maximum financial flexibility with the intent that
17 all sources of transportation funding opportunities will be drawn upon to implement complete streets.
18 Section 2. Applicability. Except as provided in Section 5 below, the City will apply this complete
19 streets policy to all street projects for public streets, regardless of funding source, including those
20 involving new construction, reconstruction, retrofit, repaving, rehabilitation, and change in the allocation
21 of pavement space on an existing street. The exceptions will allow the City to remain flexible to the
22 unique circumstances of different streets so that sound engineering and planning judgment will produce
23 context-sensitive designs.
24 Section 3. Complete Streets Infrastructure. As feasible, the City shall incorporate complete streets
25 infrastructure into existing public streets to create a comprehensive, integrated, and connected
26 transportation network that balances access, mobility and safety needs of all users of all ages and abilities
27 and the needs of adjacent land users, thus providing a fully connected, integrated network that provides
28 transportation options throughout the city. "Complete Streets Infrastructure" means design features such
29 as: sidewalks; shared use paths; bicycle lanes; automobile lanes; paved shoulders; street trees and
30 landscaping; planting strips; curbs; accessible curb ramps; bump outs; crosswalks; refuge islands;
31 pedestrian and traffic signals, including countdown and accessible signals; signage; street furniture;
32 bicycle parking facilities; public transportation stops and facilities; priority signalization; narrow vehicle
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1 lanes; raised medians; dedicated bus lanes; traffic calming devices such as traffic circles and traffic
2 bumps;and surface treatments such as paving blocks,textured asphalt and concrete.
3 Section 4. Best Practices Criteria. The Public Works Department shall continue to utilize design
4 criteria and standards for streets infrastructure based upon recognized best practices in street design,
5 construction and operations including but not limited to the latest editions of American Association of
6 State Highway Transportation Officials (ASHTO) and Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), while
7 also taking into account the context and character of the surrounding built and natural environments to
8 enhance the appearance of such environment. The City Manager shall ensure that complete streets design
9 principles are incorporated in City plans, proposed ordinances, regulations and programs as appropriate
10 and that training of City Staff in best practices in regard to design of streets for multimodal transportation
11 occurs.
12 Section 5.Exceptions.
13 (a) Complete streets principles and practices will be included in street construction, reconstruction,
14 repaving, and rehabilitation projects except under one or more of the following conditions as determined
15 by the Public Works Department Director:
16 (1) The project involves a street or highway on which certain users, such as pedestrians or
17 bicyclists,are prohibited by law, such as an interstate highway or a pedestrian mall.
18 (2) Routine maintenance of the transportation network is involved that does not change the
19 roadway geometry or operations, such as sweeping, mowing and spot repair.
20 (3) Where an equivalent project along the same corridor is already programmed to provide
21 the needed infrastructure or facilities.
22 (4) Scarcity of population, travel and attractors, both existing and projected into the
23 foreseeable future, indicate an absence of need for such accommodations, or the street is
24 outside an established existing bus transit route and where it is reasonably determined
25 that a future bus transit route will not exist.
26 (5) The cost of complete streets accommodations is excessively disproportionate to the need
27 or probable use. Construction may not be practically feasible or cost-effective because
28 of significant or adverse environmental impacts to historic resources, streams, flood
29 plains,wetlands, remnants of native vegetation, steep slopes or other critical areas.
30 (b) Public Works Department Director shall employ a checklist to document the complete streets
31 analysis on each street project.
32 Section 6. Performance Standards. The Public Works Department shall develop performance
33 measures to evaluate the progress in developing complete streets. The City Manager shall regularly
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1 evaluate the success and opportunities for improvement regarding the City's efforts to provide complete
2 streets according to measurable benchmarks. Performance standards may include linear-feet of new
3 sidewalks, percentage of streets with low design speeds, and public participation, such as numbers of
4 public transit riders.
5 Section 7. Fostering Partnerships. It is a goal of the City to foster partnerships with Federal, State
6 and other transportation funding agencies, citizens, businesses, interest groups and neighborhoods to
7 implement the complete streets ordinance.
8 Section 8. Severability. In the event any title, section, paragraph, item, sentence, clause, phrase, or
9 word of this ordinance is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration or
10 adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of the ordinance, which shall remain in full force and
11 effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional were not originally a part of
12 the ordinance.
13 Section 9. Repealer. All laws, ordinances and resolutions, or parts of the same, that are
14 inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance, are hereby repealed to the extent of such
15 inconsistency.
16 ADOPTED: April 21,2015
17 ATTE go APPROVED
18 1111111
19 S1':
20 us: i. ey, City Clerk Mark Stodola,Mayor
21 AP AS TO LEGAL FORM:
22
2341111P- 64/11d)z____,
24 Thomas M. Carpenter,City AtbiAtey
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