[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Troy 6-5-2014 by Ord. No.
35. Amendments noted where applicable.]
"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.
