2022 AIA Communities by Design Reimagining Petaluma SDAT - Report - Page 14
Petaluma DAT
Build out paved trail network
Because of their limited points of conflicts with
motorists, their shade, and their relative quiet,
Petaluma's paved trails typically see users that might
not otherwise travel by foot or bike on the city's streets.
However, the existing paved trail system is disconnected
and includes uncomfortable and inconvenient at-grade
crossings with high-volume, high-speed streets.
Implementation
Following the creation and adoption of the Petaluma
Active Transportation Plan (ATP) in 2023, the City
should develop a paved trails plan, advance its
implementation, and upgrade crossings with roadways.
The ATP should prioritize connections to trails and
include recommendations for on-street sidepaths that
embody the same feeling of safety and comfort as paved
trails.
Critical Next Step
Develop a paved trails plan.
Identify pedestrian focus areas
Schools, bus stops, and SMART rail stations present
transportation challenges that are unique to students
and transit users in their vicinity. Street and intersection
design should address these challenges head-on by
leveraging a consistent set of design strategies. The
identification and delineation of pedestrian focus areas
can help the City prioritize transportation investments
and further encourage transportation by walking,
bicycling, and transit.
Implementation
The City should identify pedestrian focus areas and
associated context-sensitive design solutions. This effort
could integrate with and enhance the City's existing
Safe Routes to School efforts. For example, the City
should be more aggressive with traffic calming and
traffic control around schools to more effectively protect
schoolchildren, who are some of our most vulnerable
travelers. Around transit stations and stops, the City
should install more trees and shade structures, secure
bicycle parking, and wayfinding.
Critical Next Step
Determine criteria for defining pedestrian focus areas.
Improve transit reliability and frequency
Only 3 percent of Petaluman commuters use transit to
get to work. Three quarters of Petaluma Transit riders
earn less than $35,000 annually, and over half of
Petaluma Transit riders are Hispanic.
Petaluma's low-income and Hispanic populations are
underrepresented in City leadership and in community
engagement. Their underrepresentation may be due in
part to fear of deportation, mistrust in the government,
and lack of means (time, transportation, information,
childcare, etc.), along with the need for more proactive
and inclusive outreach efforts from City staff and their
partners.
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Expand the Framework
Local policies, programs, and protocols dictate how
transportation projects are planned, designed, operated,
and maintained. Petaluma can optimize mobility
outcomes by expanding its internal processes.
Update street design standards
The latest version of Petaluma's design and construction
standards do not reflect essential elements of Complete
Streets, and its standard street configuration templates
were last updated in 1996. Best practices for street
design in the United States have evolved in profound
ways since then, especially in the arenas of prioritizing
safety for active transportation and incorporating
landscaping and green infrastructure.
Implementation
The City should review, revise, and add to their street
construction standards to align with the City's goals
for reducing vehicle miles traveled, improving safety,
and providing connectivity for people walking and
people bicycling. Preliminary recommendations for the
street configuration templates include lowering design
speeds, defaulting to 10' or 11' widths for travel lanes, and
requiring sidewalks on both sides for all streets.
Implementation
In coordination with Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit,
Sonoma County Transit, and Golden Gate Transit,
the City of Petaluma and Petaluma Transit should
prioritize increasing the reliability and frequency of their
services. In addition to extolling the values of racial and
socioeconomic equity in transportation, better transit
service would further encourage all residents and visitors
to use transit rather than drive.
For transit improvement projects (and all transportation
initiatives), the City should invest time and resources
into more proactively engaging with and involving
Hispanic people and low-income residents, workers, and
visitors.
Critical Next Step
Develop a local short-range transit plan.
Improvements to the reliability and frequency of transit services would ihave positive impacts on underrepresented
populations and potentially reduce the number of cars on the road.
