REPORT TO BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SUBJECT
Title
Reduce Width of Lane Number One on Multi-lane Streets (Shariat/Puyehgar)
Report
BACKGROUND
In August 2023, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Member Kratz requested a discussion on reducing the width of lane number one on multi-lane streets (Attachment 1).
DISCUSSION
The City's roadway network enables the movement of people and goods. These roadways accommodate a mix of industrial, office, commercial, retail, and residential land uses, facilitating both local and regional auto, transit, truck, and emergency vehicle traffic, as well as pedestrian and bicyclist travel.
The City has over 590 lane miles of roadways, which are classified as principal arterials, minor arterials, collector streets, and local streets. The roadway functional classification system categorizes roads into different classes based on the type of service they provide. Each class of roadway follows specific guidelines established by federal and state regulations regarding aspects such as lane widths, shoulder widths, curve radii, and other design features. Existing lane widths typically range from 10 to 12 feet, with some exceeding 12 feet. The City references the Caltrans Highway Design Manual (HDM) as a baseline and current guidance generally supports narrower urban lanes. The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) identifies 10 foot lanes as appropriate in urban settings and 11 foot lanes on designated transit or truck routes. The Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) typically requests the outside travel lane (slow lane) to be a minimum of 11 feet where there is a transit route along a corridor.
The City evaluates vehicle lane widths primarily on a case-by-case basis, considering the dimensions that best support multimodal circulation and the needs of the surrounding land uses. This evaluation considers factors such as posted speed limits, truck and transit routes, emergency access, ...
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