The City of Cambridge converted Harvard Square’s Winthrop Street into a shared street in 2007, and Palmer Street shortly after. Previously, each travel mode had a designated space, and the street was cramped and poorly maintained. Conversion to a shared street allowed for more efficient use of space on a small street, accommodating pedestrians, bicyclists,…
Unveiled in 2010 as part of a series of major reconfigurations along Manhattan’s Broadway corridor, Union Square embodies the key principles used by NYC DOT in redesigning complex intersections. As part of the redesign, multi-phase traffic signals were simplified, pedestrians plazas created at undefined or underused locations, and bikeways and turn lanes added to better…
In 2012, Chicago’s Department of Transportation redesigned Dearborn Street, a high-profile, one-way downtown street in Chicago’s central business district, the Loop. Formerly a busy north-south thoroughfare with three vehicle travel lanes, Dearborn Street now has two vehicle travel lanes and a barrier-protected two-way cycle track. Prioritizing Complete Streets Upon his election as Mayor in 2011,…
New York City’s Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, a historic street in Harlem that suffered from rampant speeding and frequent vehicle crashes, spans 2.2 miles between 110th and 153rd Streets. Prior to its redesign, this downtown thoroughfare posed a significant danger to public safety, with more serious injuries and fatalities than 88 percent of Manhattan…
Fell Street is a high-volume, three-lane, one-way arterial heading west. A Class II bike facility (bike lane) exists to the left of the left-most through vehicle lane on Fell Street. An Arco gas station popular for its low prices is located at the southeast intersection of Fell and Divisadero Streets and has two driveways on…
In 2009, the city of Phoenix installed bike boxes at three locations. These included the west side of Jefferson St. at 7th and 24th Streets and the east side of Washington St. at 24th Street. The use of the bike box at these sites is non-traditional, and is meant to facilitate a crossing movement from…
Market Street is a busy commercial corridor that is vital to multiple modes of surface transportation. Diesel buses, trolley coaches, and light rail vehicles share the roadway with delivery trucks, taxis, private automobiles, and bicycles. While competing demands for roadway use have been addressed by providing transit only lanes and bike lanes, commercial vehicles, taxis,…
Reseda Boulevard is a major north-south highway in Los Angeles which crosses the West San Fernando Valley. As part of continued efforts by the city of Los Angeles and local advocacy groups to create safer corridors for non-motorized transportation, bike lanes have been installed along nearly the entire length of the 11-mile roadway, though two…
Michigan Avenue is a major surface route that runs through downtown Detroit. In 2010, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) received American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to resurface a portion of the roadway. At public meetings held before construction, the community and the Greater Corktown Development Corporation of Detroit voiced a strong desire…
The South Huntington Avenue Bike Lanes, installed by the city of Boston in 2010, create a safe, designated route for cyclists along a problematic traffic corridor and a main bicycle route leading to and from the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. Before construction of the bike lane, the roadway had been difficult for cyclists to…