Park Avenue Redesign Pilot Program
Consultation has concluded
Your Street Should Align with Your Values
Park City is rolling out a series of neighborhood and streetscape improvements that aim to enhance and reimagine the traditional roll of streets and roads in our mountain town. For several decades, cities and towns have prioritized vehicle through-put and parking vehicle storage above all else – streets were designed to park our cars and get us from point a. to point b. quickly.
Park City’s values have evolved over time. The recent Community Visioning process indicated that residents support a reprioritization of our long held values. There is a new desire to create neighborhood-centric streetscapes that elevate pedestrian safety and walkability, increase bicycle and public transit access, and offer a more welcoming environment by way of public art elements, creative crosswalk designs, and a host of natural elements (plants, flowers, trees, etc.). Park Avenue, from the Harvest restaurant to Jans and Cole Sport, has long been considered by the City for a major street reconstruction project. Street reconstruction is expensive and you live with the results for decades.
In fall 2020, Staff conducted extensive public outreach with adjacent Park Avenue residents and community stakeholders, including the Historic Park City Alliance (HPCA). Outreach efforts included this project website, stakeholder survey, door-to-door outreach, and project presentations. The stakeholder survey yielded 191 responses; 50% of responders stated parking was not important, and 90% indicated walkability was important. Survey respondents living on Park Avenue preferred no on-street parking.
Based on stakeholder input, Staff presented five alternatives for Council consideration. Council agreed to move forward with Alternative 1A during the September 17, 2020 meeting (report | minutes). The project was delayed due to weather, and notice was given that the project would resume in spring 2021 as soon as weather permits.
Alternative 1A: Uphill (Southbound) Bike Lane between Traffic Flow and Parking
Pros:
- Designated 6 ft. bike lane for uphill (southbound) bicyclists.
- Parking remains on west side of the street.
- No center line – allows flexibility for motorists to safely shift within roadway to pass cyclists.
- Northbound bikes (traveling downhill) share a lane with vehicles.
- Eliminating some parking increases space and safety for bicycles.
Cons:
- Parking eliminated on east side of street. Remaining parking becomes a residential permit zone with shared parking (residential permits and time limited spots) between 9th and 11th Streets.
- Driver car doors open into bike lane.
- No center line (concern to some).
The selected alternative includes adding a striped parking lane, placement of an advisory bike lane (ABL) on the west side of the roadway for southbound bikes, and markings for “sharrows” on the east side of the road. An ABL is a dashed line placed in the roadway to delineate the segment of the road set aside for cyclists. Given the relatively narrow section of this roadway dedicated for vehicles along Park Avenue, the dashed line allows motorists to use the ABL, after yielding to cyclists, to pass by vehicles coming in the opposite direction. The east side of the road will be designated as no parking.
Parking was tracked and analyzed on Park Avenue, between 9th Street and Deer Valley Drive, from December 2020 – March 2021. There are a total of 193 parking stalls on this stretch of the corridor, with an average daily use of 60 cars - a high of 78 and a low of 23 cars. With the new configuration, there will be a total of 91 parking stalls.
Park Avenue Restriping Plan:
- Restriping begin will begin north of 9th Street. Time zone parking will remain on both sides of the street south of 9th Street (from 9th Street to Heber Ave)
- North side of 9th Street, all parking on the east side of the Street will be removed
- North side of 9th Street to 12th Street, parking on the west side of the Street will be shared between residential permits and a 2-hour time limit for short-term visitor parking
- North of 12th Street, parking on the west side of the street will be residential permits only.
Project Schedule:
- May 11 – Live message boards were activated at the start of the project and remained as needed. Parking was removed temporarily from both sides of Park Avenue from Deer Valley Drive to 9th Street;
- May 12 – Striping began and the majority of work was completed by end of day;
- May 12 - 15 – Bike lane painting; intersections were closed intermittently to vehicles accessing Park Avenue; and
- May 15 - Pilot Project completed
Who’s listening?
Michelle Downard, Resident Advocate | michelle.downard@parkcity.org | 435.615.5109
Lynn Ware Peek, Community Liaison | lwp@parkcity.org | 435.615.5201