Urban Renewal Paris and Laguna

Major urban developments are anticipated for Laguna Beach, the planners could really mess this up or they could develop liveable streets.

Frontage road along Seine river, Paris France

Cleo Street development: hidden from view 3-level parking for 223 cars, and red Martians.

Parking Minimum Requirements Removed

These US cities have modified their minimum parking requirements, Mo-Town should do the same.

Credit: Strong Towns

Legend:

• Green pins = parking minimums ended
• Blue pins = parking minimums lowered or removed
• Orange pins = currently discussing their parking minimum laws

Some cities pay people (35 cents/mile) to lure them out of their cars, no parking required.

-LS

A Laguna Creek Opportunity

In October 2011 the resort city of Cinque Terre Italy flooded, the city rebuilt placing flood control measures underground with pedestrian access on top.

December 23 2010 Laguna Beach flooded, Laguna Creek was cleared.

February 14 2019 the Laguna Creek culvert collapsed into itself. What will replace it?

Photo of 1.5-mile ADA approved ped and bike path atop flood control, San Antonio TX. 

Credit: HDR Design Group

-LS

Electric Scooters Israel's Mobility Experiment

Electrifying Transportation Sector is Key IPCC

As the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meets in Poland it is instructive to review the carbon emissions targets proposed in the Paris agreement of 2015. A global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius represents the threshold to avoid extreme heat and weather events, sustained damage to planet ecosystems, and to avert a run-away condition caused by methane released when polar permafrost melts.  

The report found that holding warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius could save an Alaska-size area of the Arctic from permafrost thaw, muting a feedback loop that could lead to still more global emissions.

We have a decade to meet the 1.5 degree target:

1. Increase renewable energy production from presently 24% to 60%
2. Retrofit operating coal plants with Carbon Capture Systems CCS
3. By 2050 most coal plants must shut down 
4. Transportation sector must strongly electrify 
5. 4% of transportation is electric, a 1% increase by 2022 is projected.
6. To meet 1.5 C Emissions rather than fuel must be the coal industry focus.

To meet the 1.5C scenario, the transportation sector must electrify and carbon capture CCS is essential -  Washington Post.  Some institutions have taken note of the goal, universities religious institutions and some cities have divested their pension funds from big oil - The Guardian.

2/10/19 UPDATE:  It’s official: Last year was the fourth-hottest year on record, after only the previous three, according to separate figures released Wednesday morning by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. Read billion-dollar weather and climate related disasters there. 

-LS

Laguna's Mobility Solution in Five Slides

Credit: giphy.com

Those 177 cars must be parked somewhere, maybe in your neighborhood.
Vote for Complete Streets Policy election day November 6.

-LS

Why Parking Rules Must Change

The High Cost of Free Parking (What Steve Jobs didn't say)

Parking price not time encourages parking turnover and transit use

We drive like monkeys so tech can help? Right.

A Forest Pedzone could make trips quicker

Village Entrance Pedestrian Bridge

Better ideas by Colossal.

BaNa Hills Mountain Resort, Da Nang, Vietnam

Pedestrian Bridge Ba Na Hills Mountain Resort

This out-of-the-box thinking brought to you by Colossal.   -LS

Fake Village Entrance Traffic Study

When cities propose urban re-development projects such as the Laguna Beach Village Entrance, an Environmental Impact Report and a Traffic Study are required documents in the planning package. The traffic study performed for the Village Entrance appears in Appendix E of the EIR and begins like this:

Traffic Impact Study

for:

Laguna Beach

Village Entrance Project

In the City of Laguna Beach

Prepared for:

The City of Laguna Beach

February, 2010

       © Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc

Apendix 'E' 292 pages

The finished plan (4-18-17) for the Village Entrance provides parking for 312 parking stalls with an urban linear park with multi-use path and decorative landscaping throughout: 

Yet the final plan drawing is missing the most important provisions recommended by the Traffic Study. From the study:
 

Summary of Findings and  Recommendations (partial list)
x

A project alternative proposes the Village Entrance Project incorporate a transit center and a visitor drop-off area into a transportation plaza outside the entry to the structure.

x

Laguna Beach Transit routes would be modified to include a stop at the Village Entrance Transportation Plaza under the Transit Alternative.

x

The uncontrolled crosswalk on Forest Avenue near Ocean Avenue should monitored after the opening of the parking structures, and if found necessary, pedestrian enhancements may be needed to facilitate pedestrian movement and safety

The California Coastal Commission offers alternatives to parking replacement when transit and other mobility modes are substituted for parking spaces. In the Village Entrance parking was removed but no transit provisions provided.

The methodology for traffic analysis is decades old and serves a car-centric mobility system, not a balanced mobility system addressing all four modes. Technical terms used in the methodology show this car bias without resorting to high-level mathematics. Some examples from the Level of Service Analysis:

   Conflicting Pedestrians (!!!!!!)

   Percent blockage (by pedestrians)

   Bus blockages

   Cars: Ideal Flow

   Saturated Flow

   Volume: vehicles per hour 

   Level of Service (to cars)

   Approach Delay (for cars)

   Approach LOS (for cars)

   Frpb: Ped/Bikes (effect of bikes and peds on lane flow)

   HCM Average Control Delay (of cars)

   HCM Volume to Capacity Ratio (of cars)

These terms show the bias placed on traffic analysis favoring the private vehicles over all other mobility modes. A modern treatment of traffic analysis for Laguna Beach should count people traffic not car traffic alone.        -LS

Village Entrance Roundabouts

Did you hear about the roundabout concept for the Village Entrance? A Laguna Beach resident and Architect presented plans to LB City Council at no obligation. The city of Laguna sat on it and approved a consultant's plan instead.  Here is a roundabout in Holland, it's just for bikes. Now that's a roundabout.

-LS