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HomeMy WebLinkAboutChap1_ExecSumm 1.1 Project Background and Goals The trail experience is becoming increasingly desirable, whether the trail users ride bicycles or horses, run, walk or birdwatch. Recent surveys have shown that homeowners along trails experience less crime and have actually experienced disproportionate increases in property values compared to their neighbors whose properties are not adjacent to the trail system. (Discovery Hills, San Marcos, California) This multi-use trail and bikeway master plan is intended to guide trail and bicycle facility planning for the City of Temecula. The process included evaluating existing and proposed trail routes and on-street bicycle facilities using conventional field techniques, computerized geographic information systems analysis, community meetings and both mail-in and Web-based survey questionnaires. The plan recommends revisions to existing facilities, construction of new facilities and an implementation program. The plan also includes general and specific design and engineering guidelines for the development of these facilities. The City of Temecula surveyed its residents in 1991 to determine their desires in the way of City services and to set priorities. Residents expressed strong interest in a well-defined trail system that would serve several functions: • Access key destinations within the City and region • Serve as both recreation and transportation routes • Connect neighborhoods to parks, schools, employment and commercial areas • Form loops that follow creeks and utility easements wherever feasible Based on the 1991 survey results, continued strong community support and the desired functions listed above, the following primary project goal was developed: “An interconnected system of pathways and bike routes is needed to support a variety of recreational uses and non-motorized transportation requirements for Temecula residents.” “This system should be community-wide and should connect a variety of community and regional destinations (such as schools, parks and other areas of interest) and should utilize open space corridors, flood control channels, utility easements, publicly owned lands and roadways most appropriate for non-motorized uses.” “Trails and bike routes should be provided to improve the quality of life for residents of Temecula, offer transportation alternatives, accommodate recreational enjoyment and increase the value and connectiveness of the community.” The scenic Temecula Valley area is well suited to outdoor recreational activities. Chapter One EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.2 Project Scope The master plan process evaluated the community’s need for a city-wide multi-use trail system. The community’s needs analysis included workshops, survey questionnaires and evaluation of potential for connectivity to planned County and regional trail systems. All potential trail segments and all roadway segments with an existing bicycle facility were personally inventoried at least once by the project team, either on foot or by bike. Executive Summary City of Temecula Page 1-2 Chapter 1 The master plan process explored all the opportunities and constraints of the proposed trail and trail-related facilities, including topography, land use, general plan, specific plan, flood plain, ownership and liability considerations. 1.3 Opportunities and Constraints The City of Temecula is unusually blessed with a number of potential trail alignments. Among the reasons for this are the City’s history as an equestrian community that provided for trails in the past, the numerous regional utility easements running through the City limits and the creek corridors that border the City on three sides. Temecula currently has a few Class 1 bicycle routes and some similar trails, but the potential exists for creating a Class 1 bike route and trail system throughout the city. (See Figures 7-1 and 7-5, Proposed Trail System and Proposed On-Street Bikeways.) Since Temecula already has an extensive Class 2 system, most of the new bikeway routes shown on the maps are Class 1 routes and multi-use unpaved trails. This reflects the desires of the City and residents for more routes away from roadways and includes both paved and unpaved facilities. Opportunities exist for the installation of several Class 1 type off-street paved facilities that would not only provide the relaxed recreational atmosphere associated with off-street facilities, but would also improve commuter connections. Normally, Class 2 facilities are preferred for transportation or commuting purposes. However, if no roadways exist through a relatively large area, Class 1 type facilities will be useful to commuters. Together, these facilities would fill in many of the gaps in the current system where topography and lack of facilities currently limit access. Wherever possible, the proposed Class 1 type routes would be paved paths officially designated as Class 1 routes, and designed for multipurpose use versus the generally unpaved surface treatment endorsed for most informal trail facilities. The paths should be wide enough (12 feet minimum) to accommodate multiple user types and should include an unpaved side path (2 to 4 feet) for users who prefer a softer trail. Paving is recommended for these specific routes within the context of the overall trail system to maximize their value for recreational and transportational cycling throughout Temecula. A major opportunity for Class 1 bikeway facility and multi-use trail development is the creek channels running through the City of Temecula. The creeks provide an opportunity for an extensive scenic recreational trail system that could also provide more direct bicycle transportation access than is now possible around Temecula. The naturally gentle grades of the creek corridors are ideal for trail development. A recommendation is made to include rest stops at scenic points along the creeks within Temecula and would be equipped with a number of amenities for cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians. The City of Temecula has an almost complete system of Class 2 bikeways along its major roadways, and plans to install Class 2 facilities on the as-yet unbuilt roadways as well. Implementation of the programmed major roadways will provide greater choice in Class 2 routes between relatively isolated sections of Temecula. Full implementation of the programmed Class 2 facilities would provide a relatively complete Class 2 system. There are scattered existing trail segments in Temecula, such as this one along Murrieta Creek, but numerous potential routes exist throughout the City. Chapter 1 Page 1-3 Multi-Use Trails and Bikeways Master Plan A general improvement to the Class 2 facilities is the provision of more roadway width on freeway and creek bridges and underpasses. It is common for bikeway facilities to end prior to where the roadway crosses a bridge and to have the curb pinch inward, eliminating the previously available space for cyclists. In addition, bridges often have excessively high curbs that could potentially catch a cyclist’s pedals, especially if the cyclist was attempting to stay far to the right to avoid the motor vehicles on a narrow bridge. In general, there are a number of solutions short of the ideal, which would be to actually widen the bridges. In some cases, the lanes could be restriped or the sidewalk width decreased if local, state and federal standards can be met. In other situations where high motor vehicle volumes and limited width create particularly difficult cycling situations, alternative routes could be provided. Several problems consistently constrain non-motorized use in Temecula. The most common constraints result from narrow bridges, lack of crossings over barriers such as highways and creeks, and topography. Especially in the east central portions of the city, there are some long and sometimes steep grades. Also, many of Temecula’s existing Class 2 roadways have relatively high posted motor vehicle speeds. Experienced cyclists are generally not concerned with adjacent motor vehicle speeds, especially when they can rely on the relative safety of their own lane. However, less experienced cyclists are more likely to find such conditions uncomfortable and are therefore less likely to use these roadways. Finally, site-specific problems encountered in Temecula are not numerous, but a few locations have conditions detrimental enough to a safe bicycle facility system to warrant special attention. Though the vast majority of intersections do not pose a threat to competent cyclists in Temecula, one was singled out as particularly difficult for cyclists to negotiate; the Rancho California Road interchange at I-15. Personal field experience and questionnaire responses make it clear this location poses special challenges, even for experienced cyclists. From a cycling viewpoint, the problem with this location is the intersection layout with heavy motor vehicle traffic making numerous types of merging movements, including dual on-ramp lanes. It is a decidedly unpleasant place to be for a cyclist at most times of the day, but especially so during rush hour. The proposed bikeway system would route cyclists away from this intersection. 1.4 Public Input Public input has always been a hallmark of Temecula’s planning methods. Public input was originally sought in 1991 via surveys and community workshops concerning the citizen’s desires for City services. It was then that the demand for non-motorized trails first arose and that citizen input eventually became the springboard for this trails and bikeways master plan. The public input for this master plan included a survey questionnaire mailed out to all residents in the City as an insert in the City’s quarterly newsletter (approximately 24,000), the publishing of the questionnaire on the City’s official web site, two community workshops and several meetings with a Trails Advisory Committee made up of City staff and officials, the consultant team and trails advocates. 1.5 Conclusions The study recommendations are intended to take advantage of trail opportunities, programmed roadways and bicycle facilities to resolve users’ concerns for connectivity and safety. Temecula has only the beginnings of a multi-use trails system. However, the sheer quantity of potentially available trail routes in Temecula makes it likely that full construction of trails from the “ground up” will not be required except in specific locations where connectivity would be enhanced by such construction. Existing dirt roads and “unofficial” trails can be designated as trails to form the backbone of a comprehensive City system. Executive Summary City of Temecula Page 1-4 Chapter 1 The City of Temecula has an almost complete system of Class 2 bikeways along its major roadways, and plans to install Class 2 facilities on the as-yet unbuilt roadways as well. Implementation of the programmed major roadways will provide greater choice in Class 2 routes within Temecula. Full implementation of the programmed Class 2 facilities would provide a relatively complete Class 2 system. However, public meeting comments concerning loss of Class 2 facilities were common. Short, but important, gaps in the bikeway system now occur, especially across I-15 where few crossings occur and where they do occur, they are on bridges with high motor vehicle traffic volumes with a high number of turning movements. On the approaches to the bridges over I-15 and the creeks, the Class 2 lane striping often simply disappears, the roadway narrows going over the bridge and the bike lane then reappears on the far side of the bridges. Temecula currently has just a few Class 1 facilities, but the potential exists for creating a Class 1 trail system throughout the City, along with an unpaved system for which official Caltrans designation would not be sought. Since Temecula already has an extensive Class 2 system on its streets, a still substantial amount of open land and few Class 1 routes or designated trails, many of the new bikeway routes are Class 1 along with a proportional number of unpaved trails. The unpaved multi-use trails are not intended to have Caltrans Class 1 designation. Note that this master plan combines Class 1 bikeways and other trail types and shows them together on Figure 7-1, Proposed Trail System. All on-street bike facilities are shown on Figure 7-5, Proposed On-Street Bikeways. This separation is a logical distinction between the facility types since it divides on-street and off-street facility types. In addition, it is recommended that whenever paved trails are planned, that they be built to Caltrans Class 1 bikeway specifications to be able to take advantage of available bikeway funding. Unless there are overriding circumstances, it is generally inadvisable to designate specific trails as either equestrian, bicycle or pedestrian facilities since consistent enforcement is virtually impossible. Referring to all trails as “multi-use” facilities will probably be sufficient to advise users that they should expect different types of users. This should be the norm so that the City-wide system will be as consistent as possible for the benefit of all potential users. Where paved and unpaved trails are necessary within the same alignment, they can be installed adjacent to each other. Unless congestion reaches unacceptable levels, mixed-use trails generally function quite well and developing a single trail system is far more economical in terms of capital costs and land than a series of parallel trails. However, some community workshop attendees did prefer separate facilities, primarily to separate bicycle use from other user types, especially equestrians. If this develops as a high priority, such separated trails should be provided where feasible. It should also be noted that other equestrian users felt that mixed use trails were acceptable. 1.6 Primary Recommendations The primary recommendation for this study is the addition of a number of non-motorized unpaved trails and paved Class 1 off-street routes throughout Temecula in a loop arrangement. User questionnaire responses indicate there is a considerable demand for this type of route. The second primary recommendation is to provide improved connectivity via increased access points across the creeks and I-15. Though the present conditions make crossing I-15 fairly difficult, more crossings would help to alleviate the connectivity issues between the east and west sides of Temecula split by the freeway. Note: As a graphic complement to the executive summary, a recommended trails and bikeways map can be found inside the document binder’s back cover.