City of Breckenridge, MN Complete Streets Policy

The City of Breckenridge will, whenever it is economically feasible, seek to enhance the safety, access, convenience and comfort of all users of all ages and abilities, including pedestrians (including people requiring mobility aids), bicyclists, transit users, motorists and freight drivers, through the design, operation and maintenance of the transportation network so as to create a connected network of facilities accommodating each mode of travel that is consistent with and supportive of the local community, recognizing that all streets are different and that the needs of various users will need to be balanced in a flexible manner.

Transportation improvements will include facilities and amenities that are recognized as contributing to complete streets, which may include street and sidewalk lighting; sidewalks and pedestrian safety improvements such as median refuges or crosswalk improvements; improvements that provide ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compliant accessibility; bicycle accommodations including bicycle parking, bicycle routes, shared-use lanes, wide travel lanes or bike lanes as appropriate; and street trees, boulevard landscaping, street furniture and adequate drainage facilities.

Early consideration of all modes for all users will be important to the success of this policy. Those planning and designing street projects will give due consideration to bicycle, pedestrian, and transit facilities from the very start of planning and design work. This will apply to all roadway projects, including those involving new construction, reconstruction, or changes in the allocation of pavement space on an existing roadway (such as the reduction in the number of travel lanes or removal of on-street parking).

Bicycle, pedestrian and transit facilities will be considered in street construction, reconstruction, repaving, and rehabilitation projects, except under one or more of the following conditions:

(1)

A project involves only ordinary maintenance activities designed to keep assets in serviceable condition, such as mowing, cleaning, sweeping, spot repair, concrete joint repair, or pothole filling, or when interim measures are implemented on temporary detour or haul routes.

(2)

The City Engineer, with Council consultation, determines there are relatively high safety risks.

(3)

The City Council exempts a project due to excessive and disproportionate cost of establishing a bikeway, walkway or transit enhancement as part of a project.

(4)

The Building and Zoning Official determines that the construction is not practically feasible or cost effective because of significant or adverse environmental impacts to streams, floodplains, remnants of native vegetation, wetlands, steep slopes or other critical areas, or due to impacts on neighboring land uses, including impact from right-of-way acquisition.

It will be important to the success of the Complete Streets Policy to ensure that the project development process includes early consideration of the land use and transportation context of the project, the identification of gaps or deficiencies in the network for various user groups that could be addressed by the project, and an assessment of the tradeoffs to balance the needs of all users. The context factors that should be given high priority include the following:

(1)

Whether the corridor provides a primary access to a significant destination such as a community or regional park or recreational area, a school, a shopping/commercial area, or an employment center;

(2)

Whether the corridor provides access across a natural or man-made barrier such as a river or freeway;

(3)

Whether the corridor is in an area where a relatively high number of users of nonmotorized transportation modes can be anticipated;

(4)

Whether a road corridor provides important continuity or connectivity links for an existing trail or path network; or

(5)

Whether nearby routes that provide a similar level of convenience and connectivity already exists.

The design of new or reconstructed facilities should anticipate likely future demand for bicycling, walking and transit facilities and should not preclude the provision of future improvements. (For example, under most circumstances, bridges, which last for 75 years or more, should be built with sufficient width for safe bicycle and pedestrian use in anticipation of a future need for such facilities.)

The City will maintain a comprehensive inventory of the pedestrian and bicycling facility infrastructure integrated with City Street and Utility Maps and will carry out projects to eliminate gaps in the sidewalk and trail networks.

Complete streets may be achieved through single projects or incrementally through a series of smaller improvements or maintenance activities over time.

The City will generally follow accepted or adopted design standards when implementing improvements intended to fulfill this Complete Streets Policy but will consider innovative or nontraditional design options where a comparable level of safety for users is present.

The City will develop implementation strategies that may include evaluating and revising manuals and practices, developing and adopting network plans, identifying goals and targets, and tracking measures such as safety and modal shifts to gauge success.