7th street in San Pedro: A pedestrian street at heart of Slow Zone case study area.
Pedestrian streets at the heart of areas termed Slow Zones are the smallest scale of the network. The project team carried out walk-audits on these select pedestrian thoroughfares to recommend improvements in multi-modal pedestrian infrastructure.
A continuous sub-regional slow speed network, using mostly residential streets, provides safe and efficient access to Slow Zones and adjacent regional destinations for bikes, NEVs and other non-car modes. The network is differentiated from other streets by signage, and features multi-modal signals at intersections.
The largest scale of network calls for multi-use paths shared by NEVs, bikes, pedestrians and all other slow modes. These Slow Speed Thruways traverse the South Bay along the 16-mile length of the Dominguez Channel as well as along a portion of the Harbor Subdivision, providing efficient access to employment centers, colleges and other destinations, as well as to the sub-regional slow-mode network.
Beyond highlighting the untapped potential of existing low speed roadways, the project points to future roles for data, and way-finding/decision-making in supporting high-res Complete Streets. The slow-mode network would benefit from multi-modal traffic control, as well as from crowd-sourced mode-specific user data feeding back quickly into navigation. This shortened feedback loop promises to fulfill the significant unmet data needs required for planning for a wider range of sustainable modes. Hypothetical scenarios set in 2025 are the basis for an Evaluation Framework for analyzing the potential broad-based sustainability benefits of the interconnected slow-speed network.
Civic Projects strategy for LA Metro calls for three interconnected networks to make the South Bay accessible by all modes traveling 25 MPH and less, and for high-resolution Complete Streets to serve slow modes beyond bikes and pedestrians. Civic Projects led a team in planning a network of routes in the South Bay for all low-speed on-street and sidewalk modes. A South Bay-wide system of three interconnected routes – local (Slow Zones), sub-regional and regional (Slow Mode Thruways) – links destinations throughout the sub-region. The network of routes is distinguished from other streets by signage and wayfinding. Our goal was for more complete Complete Streets to support a diversity of modes such as wheelchairs, mobility scooters, bicycles, skateboards and neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs). Project partners were DCR Design (GIS and mapping), MR+E (funding) and UCR CE-CERT (sustainability evaluation framework).