{"id":64,"date":"2022-02-05T22:48:48","date_gmt":"2022-02-05T22:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sass-somerville.org\/?page_id=64"},"modified":"2022-02-05T18:05:44","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T23:05:44","slug":"sass-safe-streets-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sass-somerville.org\/index.php\/sass-safe-streets-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Safe Streets Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Commonly supported safe street design tools
That we want to see everywhere in Somerville<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

We recognize that achieving all of these principles can be challenging in constrained projects, but we believe these should be the bar for all future streetscape projects. This guide is a living document that SASS will update from time to time based on broad safe street advocacy input.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the <\/em>SASS Declaration<\/em><\/a> and sign the <\/em>Call to Action<\/em><\/a> today<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safe street design tools<\/strong><\/td>Why SASS backs it<\/strong><\/td>Representative pictures<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Pedestrian refuge island<\/strong> \/ Median island<\/td>Slows turning traffic at intersections; makes turning vehicles more predictable by limiting where they can drive over the crosswalks; protects people walking with enough space to allow them to comfortably wait while crossing a street in two stages; can work well with bike and bus lanes
Preferable to bump outs on streets with two or more total travel lanes in any direction. Where built on streets without adequate bike lanes or bus lanes, ensure adequate width or flexibility for future improvements.<\/td>		\"People\"Raised\"Diagram<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Speed humps and speed cushions<\/strong> (humps with fire truck\/bus as well as bike wheel cutouts)<\/td>Meaningfully slow down motor vehicles to safer speeds (15 mph) for people walking and biking. Speed cushions can work on major streets without causing bus or bicycle riders to suffer a bumpy ride. Work year-round, are permanent, and don\u2019t depend on there being enough cars on the road to do their job.<\/td>\"Example\"Example <\/td><\/tr>
Raised crosswalks <\/strong>(and where present, crossbikes<\/strong>) at all side street crossings<\/td>More accessible than up\/down ramps (especially in winter snow), slow down turning traffic, increase visibility of pedestrians, and reinforce that people walking have the right of way.
Preferable to: Up\/down ramps<\/td>		\"Example\"Example\"Diagram\"Diagram<\/td><\/tr>
Separated bike lanes<\/strong> (also called  protected bike lanes)<\/td>Give people on bike a safe space that keeps cars out with durable separation (not just paint and flexposts) so that people on bikes don\u2019t need to seek refuge on sidewalks with associated bike-ped conflict; calms traffic by narrowing the car portion of roadway; makes crossing streets as a pedestrian more predictable because one knows where to expect cars and where to expect bikes. Integrates with accessible parking spaces.<\/a>
Preferable to: Sharrows, painted \u201cdoor zone\u201d bike lanes.<\/td>		\"Example\"Another\"Example\"Illustration\"Illustration\"Example<\/td><\/tr>
In-lane bus stops<\/strong> (also called bus bulbs)<\/td>Buses can pull up completely to the curb, making access easier and safer for PWD, children, and all transit riders; makes buses run faster because they don\u2019t have to reenter traffic; works with bus and bike lanes (behind the bus stop)
Preferable to: Straight-curbed bus stops at which buses must pull out of traffic to curb. <\/td>		\"Example\"Example\"Example<\/td><\/tr>
Protected intersections<\/strong><\/td>Gives vehicles, people on foot, and people on bikes their own safe spaces at intersections (reduces conflict), reduces traffic turning speeds, improves sightlines<\/td>\"Diagram\"Illustration\"Diagram<\/td><\/tr>
Concurrent automatic crosswalk signals with leading pedestrian and bicycle intervals (LPIs)<\/strong> at most intersections (at least 5 seconds of head start)
At certain high-traffic intersections, add an automatic all-walk phase in addition to concurrent with LPI.<\/td>		Gives all people walking (and where bike signals exist, people biking) a head start and gives people frequent chances to safely and legally cross the street, ideally no more than 30 seconds to wait for a walk signal in either direction; no pushing a beg button that may not work or be sanitary.
Where turning volumes are high, combine with raised crosswalks or raised intersections to slow turning traffic and increase pedestrian (especially child) visibility.<\/td>		\"Example<\/td><\/tr>
Wide, high-visibility crosswalks<\/strong><\/td>Recognizable, easy for drivers to see, remains accessible because no brick pavers will fall out over time
Preferable to: Decorative brick crosswalks, parallel line painted crosswalks
Additionally: Incorporate bollards, jersey barriers, or other physical protection from vehicles and where it does not impede pedestrian travel<\/td>		\"Example<\/td><\/tr>
Street tree bumpouts<\/strong> and sidewalks that bump out around large sidewalk trees instead of creating inaccessible pinch points, while providing green infrastructure<\/strong> allowing stormwater to drain into a rain garden and infiltrate the soil
Permeable flexible pavement to maximize clear width <\/strong>where there is already enough clear width without constructing a tree bumpout<\/td>		Accessibility for wheelchairs, strollers; priority for people walking over private vehicle storage while growing the tree canopy; stormwater management through green infrastructure, especially where curbside parking is already not permitted; healthier, larger trees that do not block sightlines at intersections.
Low vegetation bumpouts at fire hydrants both improve stormwater management and fire department access, by preventing illegal parking.<\/td>		\"Example\"Example\"Diagram\"Example\"Example<\/td><\/tr>
Daylighting <\/strong>(providing safe, open sightlines at) intersections to at least the currently required 20 feet (without precluding bus or bike lanes)<\/td>People on foot can see vehicles coming when they cross; eliminate dangerous blind spots at intersections. 
Can combine well with green infrastructure like bioswales.<\/td>		\"Diagram\"Example<\/td><\/tr>
Bus priority infrastructure<\/strong> including: bus lanes, queue jumps, TSP (transit signal priority)<\/td>Buses run faster, more reliably and potentially more frequently. Riders get where they\u2019re going efficiently and with dignity instead of being stuck behind single-occupancy vehicles.<\/td>\"Example\"shared\"Diagram\"Example<\/td><\/tr>
Quality bus stops<\/strong> that include shelters, benches, trash cans, appropriate sidewalk width<\/td>Accessible and comfortable to wait at. Including to allow users past and to board\/unload from the bus, and that are fully and quickly cleared of snow in the winter. Maybe also include more fun things like art.<\/td>\"Example\"Illustration\"Example<\/td><\/tr>
Green and subsurface infrastructure<\/strong>: bioretention areas are similar to rain gardens, but are more highly engineered to include an underdrain, overflow inlet, gravel bed, and engineered soils to promote infiltration. (Mass DEP Clean Water Toolkit); Fixing gas leaks; <\/td>Address climate change, tree health, air quality and public health, flooding prevention and mitigation, addressing subsurface priorities every time a street is opened up.
As of 2019, there were 168 identified and unrepaired gas leaks in Somerville. (Source: HEET) Gas is a potent greenhouse gas, is explosive and dangerous, and it kills street trees when it satures the soil. Photo below taken in East Somerville, in July 2019.<\/td>		\"Diagram\"Illustration\"A\"Photo<\/td><\/tr>
Accessible and smooth brick alternative walkway materials<\/strong> such as stamped concrete<\/td>Smooth and long-lived, without the accessibility and tripping dangers of conventional and even wire-cut bricks that fall out, heave from tree roots, and otherwise deteriorate.
Also: continuous tactile pavement features along walkways for people with visual impairment.<\/td>		\"Accessible\"Stamped<\/td><\/tr>
Properly Designed Crosswalk Lighting<\/strong><\/td>Crosswalks should be well lit at night for the entire length so that motorists can see and safely stop for people entering or in the crosswalk. A single overhead light above the crosswalk does not <\/em>adequately illuminate the pedestrian for the approaching motorist. A FHWA-funded study<\/a> found that 20 lx (a unit of illuminance) at a height of 1.5 m (5 feet) was necessary for motorists to detect a pedestrian in a midblock crosswalk. To achieve 20 lx, the luminaire should be placed 10 feet before the crosswalk, in between the approaching vehicles and the crosswalk. At intersections, the luminaires should similarly be placed before, not above or behind, each crosswalk.<\/td>\"Schematic<\/td><\/tr>
Mini Roundabout<\/strong> and Neighbor- hood Traffic Circle<\/strong><\/td>Mini roundabouts can lower speeds at neighborhood intersection crossings that do not have all-way stops or traffic signals; neighborhood traffic circles can do the same at two-way or all-way stop intersections. Crashes are less frequent and less severe in these small circular intersections than in signalized intersections.Fuel consumption and vehicle emissions from idling are reduced with mini-roundabouts where everyone yields on entering.Shrubs or trees in the mini roundabout can increase traffic calming and beautify the street.<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Quick-build versions of the SASS toolkit for immediate safety improvements<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRoll these out to calm speeding traffic and save lives within days or weeks, not months or years\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n