List of Street Purposes - comments please

[Court Smith]

The purposes of streets are listed below. Is this list complete? How would you prioritize it?

  Public Safety (ambulance, fire, police);

  Utility Pathway (water, sewer, storm water, and gas lines)

  Commerce (deliveries, shipments, support a vibrant economy);

· Connectivity (transit, cyclists, service providers, celebrations, visiting);

· Movement (work, school, play, health care, and shopping);

·  Vehicle storage (convenience and accessibility to residents)

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Court Smith, Corvallis OR 541.753.3335

[Jay Thatcher]

My thoughts on priority:

1. movement
2. connectivity
3. public safety
4. commerce
5. utility pathways
6. sheet metal storage

I'm open to discussion, being convinced otherwise and other reflections.

This week 12 young people, Dave, some volunteers and I have been using the streets and paths of Corvallis for education through the Parks & Rec youth bike camp.  So blessed to have a local network of shared lanes--some marked with sharrows; bike lanes; and paved, graded and dirt paths.  We rode all over town, practiced on a dead end section of Avery Park Drive, learned to use all sorts of lanes and sometimes stopped near a curb to discuss how to take on the next challenge.  This use probably fits under connectivity.  It is one of the highest and best uses of our streets, for at least as long as we have a surplus of autos and designs that aren't intuitive and safe for an eight year old.

Jay Thatcher

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From: "Court Smith" <crt...@comcast.net>
To: sustainable-co...@googlegroups.com, sustainable-corval...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2019 7:54:36 AM
Subject: List of Street Purposes - comments please

.....

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Jay Thatcher

Sport Official, Mid-Valley Softball Umpires Association and Mid-Valley Soccer Referees Association
SmartCyclingCorvallis.com League Cycling Instructor #4023 with the League of American Bicyclists

465 SE Bridgeway

Corvallis, OR 97333
(541)758-9333
(541) 602-7541 cell phone when on the road

Stand still in that which is pure, after ye see yourselves; and then mercy comes in. After thou seest thy thoughts, and the temptations, do not think, but submit; and then power comes. Stand still in that which shows and discovers; and there doth strength immediately come.

-George Fox, 1652, Epistle 10

[Keith Barton]

Hello Court,

This is a good start. My additions are in blue below. 

Regarding priority:  As roads, parking places, parking strips, roundabouts are maintained with public funds, all of these uses should be equally supported. For example, if we now consider police access more important than uses that build a strong, civic culture, will we still assign the same priority when a totalitarian, or even a fascist, anti-immigrant state arises?   So, in my opinion, we should assign priority only when required. 

Public Safety (ambulance, fire, police, evacuation of the public during disaster event);

Utility Pathway (water, sewer, stormwater, and gas lines, electricity, data)

Commerce (deliveries, shipments, support a vibrant economy);

Connectivity (transit, cyclists, service providers, celebrations, visiting, walking, jogging, running, scooters (maybe summarize as "human-powered transit));

Movement (work, school, play, health care, and shopping, walking pets);

Electric and fossil-fuel-powered and human-powered vehicle storage (convenience and accessibility to residents)

Artwork (see community-provided art in neighborhoods in Portland and Seattle--both in the streets, at intersections and on associated sidewalks & parking spaces. See also the sculpture in the center of roundabouts which are considered part of roads)

Civic & cultural events  (parades, protests, and also  the food booths and tables/bike corrals during events such as Fall Festival)

Thank you for your work,
Keith Barton   

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——————
Transportation Action Team | Corvallis Sustainability Coalition
 
VISION: Corvallis is a hub in a regional transportation system that includes sustainable transportation modes for people and goods.
 
https://sustainablecorvallis.org/action-teams/transportation/
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--

"...Government subsidies of $500 billion to beef, dairy and other food industries worldwide
should be shifted to sustainable, healthy farming and $5 trillion in fossil fuel subsidies
moved to renewable energy and sustainable transport, the commission said...."  

~ from the Jan 2019 Lancet report by a panel of experts
   in agriculture, economics, human rights and other fields.

[Nick Meltzer]

Hi Court, Jay, Keith, all,

 

I like referring to streets as the type of activity that occurs on them, as opposed to a classification related to their volume and speed. I think this is along the lines of what you’re thinking, but I copied a couple more examples below:

 

The City of Grand Rapids re-classified all their streets according to their use here (http://nelsonnygaard.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/GRAND-RAPIDS-Vital-Streets-Plan.pdf)

 

The National Association of City Transportation Officials, NACTO, has a Global Street Design Guide, which explains more about the various typologies you can use here: https://globaldesigningcities.org/publication/global-street-design-guide/streets/street-typologies/

 

What I like about this is you don’t have to prioritize the uses of the streets as a whole, you select each street for its purpose and how it functions as an overall network.

 

Best,

Nick

 

Nicholas Meltzer, PE

Transportation Planner

Corvallis Area MPO | Cascades West COG

541-758-1911

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sustainable-corvallis-transportation/CACFokcBQ3BKso0hv0nVOpMpmdn1w%2Bp2d9Y%2BDySXZThAkUzO1Bw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Keith Barton]

Thank you Nick. The Grand Rapids document seems mature and comprehensive including forms of evaluation.  ~Keith 

[David Rabinowitz]

Hi,

Many of you have probably heard me propose mobile shops which bring shopping to
currently underserved neighborhoods where a car is needed to buy anything. Such a
program is in operation in Washington DC, in the primarily minority neighborhood of
Anacostia (ward 8) and seems to be working. See

https://dcist.com/story/21/03/24/curbside-groceries-mobile-creates-affordable-food-access-for-ward-8/

Such a program, comparable to the library Bookmobile, could be valuable in areas
like the 'Oaks' neighborhoods, Grand Oaks and Royal Oaks, as well as more rural
areas. First Alternative or another food shop or individual could invest in a
(electric) truck and run a pilot at a relatively low cost, and this could reduce
driving and congestion and the need for parking and even owning a second family car,
while even being profitable.

Dave