[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Troy 6-5-2014 by Ord. No. 35. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 251.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 270.
Zoning — See Ch. 285.
"Complete streets" means streets that are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users, in that pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and public transportation users of all ages and abilities are able to safely move through the transportation network.
A. 
The City shall design, build, operate and maintain a safe, reliable, efficient, integrated and connected multimodal transportation network that will provide access, mobility, safety, and connectivity for all users. In addition, the City will appoint a citizen-run Complete Streets Advisory Board to whom quarterly reports on upcoming projects, and previously awarded exceptions, will be furnished.
B. 
The complete streets design will promote improved health, economic growth, public safety, recreational opportunity, and social equality throughout the City of Troy and will ensure that the safety and convenience of all users of the transportation system are accommodated, including pedestrians, bicyclists, users of mass transit, people of all ages and abilities, motorists, emergency responders, freight providers and adjacent land users.
A. 
All City-owned transportation facilities in the public right-of-way, including, but not limited to, streets, bridges and all other connecting pathways, shall be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained so that users of all ages and abilities can travel safely and independently.
B. 
All privately constructed streets, parking lots, and connecting pathways shall adhere to this policy.
C. 
The City shall foster partnerships with the State of New York, neighboring communities and counties, and business and school districts to develop facilities and accommodations that further the City's complete streets policy and continue such infrastructure beyond the City's borders.
D. 
The City shall approach every phase of every transportation project as an opportunity to create safer, more accessible facilities for all users. These phases include, but are not limited to: planning, programming, design, right-of-way acquisition, construction, construction engineering, reconstruction, operation and maintenance funded by the City of Troy, the State of New York, utility companies and all private development. Other changes to transportation facilities on streets and rights-of-way, including capital improvements, rechannelization projects and maintenance, must also be included.
E. 
A project's compliance with this policy shall be determined based on the filing of a complete streets checklist form.
A. 
All exceptions to this policy must be reviewed by the Complete Streets Advisory Board and approved by the City Departments of Engineering and/or Planning and Development, and/or the Planning Commission, and be documented with supporting data that indicates the basis for the decision. Such documentation shall be made publicly available.
B. 
Exceptions may be considered for approval when:
(1) 
An affected roadway prohibits, by law, use by specified users (such as an interstate freeways or pedestrian malls), in which case a greater effort shall be made to accommodate those specified users elsewhere, including on roadways that cross or otherwise intersect with the affected roadway;
(2) 
The activities are minor maintenance activities designed to keep assets in serviceable condition (e.g., mowing, cleaning, sweeping, spot repair, and surface treatments such as chip seal or interim measures);
(3) 
The City Engineer issues a documented exception concluding that the application of complete streets principles is unnecessary, unduly cost-prohibitive, or inappropriate because it would be contrary to public safety; or
(4) 
Other available means or factors indicate an absence of need, including future need.
C. 
The City Departments of Engineering and/or Planning and Development, and/or the Planning Commission, shall submit quarterly reports to the Complete Streets Advisory Board and the Mayor's office summarizing all exceptions granted in the preceding quarter. These reports shall be submitted after the end of the quarter, and shall be posted online.
A. 
The City shall adopt state transportation design standards as well as adapt, develop, update and adopt interdepartmental policies, urban design guidelines, zoning and performance standards and other guidelines based upon resources identifying best practices in urban design and street design, construction, operations and maintenance. These resources include, but are not limited to: the New York State Department of Transportation Highway Design Manual; the New York State Department of Transportation Specification Book; the AASHTO Green Book; the AASHTO Guide for the Planning, Design, and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities; AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities; the ITE's Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach; the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide; the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices; and the United States Access Board's Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines. When fulfilling this complete streets policy, the City will follow the design manuals, standards and guidelines above, as applicable, but should be not be precluded from considering innovative or nontraditional design options where a comparable level of safety for users is present or provided.
B. 
Designs for all projects will be context-sensitive, considering adjacent land uses and local needs and incorporating the most up-to-date, widely accepted, ADA-compliant design standards for the particular setting, traffic volume and speed and current and projected demand. Each project must be considered both separately and as part of a connected network to determine the level and type of treatment necessary for the street to be complete.
The City of Troy shall view complete streets as integral to everyday transportation decisionmaking practices and processes. To this end:
A. 
One-year outcomes.
(1) 
Complete Streets Advisory Board. The City will establish a Complete Streets Advisory Board made up of citizen appointees and interdepartmental City employees to oversee the implementation of this policy. The Complete Streets Advisory Board will include members of at least three City departments, including Engineering, Public Works, Housing and Community Development, Economic Development, Zoning and Planning, Parks and Recreation, Code Enforcement and the Police Departments from the City of Troy. The committee should include citizen representatives from the bicycling, disabled, transit users, youth and elderly communities and other advocacy organizations, as relevant. This committee will meet quarterly and provide a written report to the Mayor's Office evaluating the City's progress and advise on implementation;
(2) 
Complete streets checklist form. The City and the Complete Streets Advisory board shall adopt or design a complete streets checklist form to be filled out during a project review to determine compliance with this policy;
(3) 
Staff training. The City will train pertinent City staff on the content of the complete streets principles and best practices for implementing the policy;
(4) 
Streets manual. The City will create and/or adopt a Complete Streets Design Manual to support implementation of this policy;
(5) 
Funding. The City will actively seek sources of appropriate funding to implement complete streets;
(6) 
Reporting. The Complete Streets Advisory Board or other relevant departments, agencies, or committees shall report on the annual increase or decrease for each performance measure contained in this ordinance compared to the previous year(s). This report will be presented to the Mayor's office and made available to the public;
(7) 
Coordination. The City will utilize interdepartment project coordination to promote the most responsible and efficient use of fiscal resources for activities that occur within the public right-of-way.
B. 
Three-year outcomes.
(1) 
Inventory. The City and the Complete Streets Advisory Board will maintain a comprehensive inventory of the pedestrian and bicycling facility infrastructure integrated with the City's database and will prioritize projects to eliminate gaps in the sidewalk and bikeways networks;
(2) 
Education. The City shall promote complete streets education in partnership with bicycling, disabled, youth and elderly communities, the school district and the Police Department;
(3) 
Capital improvement project prioritization. The City will reevaluate capital improvement projects prioritization to encourage implementation of bicycle, pedestrian and transit improvements.
C. 
Five-year outcomes.
(1) 
Revisions to existing plans and policies. All relevant departments, agencies, or committees will incorporate complete streets principles into all existing plans, manuals, checklists, decision trees, rules, regulations reviews, approvals and programs as appropriate, including but not limited to Comprehensive Plans, Economic Development Plans, Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans, Transit Plans, Snow Emergency Plans, Sidewalk Maintenance Plans and other appropriate plans, manuals, rules, regulations and programs;
(2) 
Other plans. The City will prepare, implement and maintain a Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, a Safe Routes to School Plan, an Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan and a Street Tree and Landscape Master Plan and a Lighting Master Plan;
(3) 
Stormwater management. The City will prepare and implement a plan to transition to sustainable stormwater management techniques along our streets.
A. 
The City of Troy and the Complete Streets Advisory Board shall measure the success of this complete streets policy using, but not limited to, the following performance measures:
(1) 
Number of people reached through bike/pedestrian education programs.
(2) 
Total miles of bike lanes/bike sharrows.
(3) 
Linear feet of new or repaired pedestrian accommodations.
(4) 
Number of new ADA-compliant curb ramps installed along City streets.
(5) 
Crosswalk and intersection improvements.
(6) 
Percentage of transit stops accessible via sidewalks and curb ramps.
(7) 
Rate of crashes, injuries, and fatalities by mode.
(8) 
Rate of children walking or bicycling to school.
B. 
Unless otherwise noted above, within six months of the adoption of this chapter, the City shall create individual numeric benchmarks for each of the performance measures included, as a means of tracking and measuring the annual performance of the chapter. Quarterly reports shall be posted online for each of the above measures.