Flood Project Update - "Shared Space" Design

A "shared space" street in England

On Friday, July 22, 2011, the West 12th Road Block Block Association (Mr. John Heaphy, Ms. Sophia Valakis-DiVirgilio and Peter Mahon) met with Queens D.O.T. Commissioner Maura McCarthy and representatives from the RBA design Group at the North Channel Yacht Club to discuss the Flood Mitigation Project here in Broad Channel. The meeting was also attended by residents from West 11th Road and the Broad Channel Civic Association. 


The purpose of this meeting was to address the many complaints raised by  residents of West 11th and 13th Roads during their recent meetings with DOT and the RBA Group regarding the impact of the proposed street raising on individual property "encroachments" (i.e., decks, stairs, fencings, etc.) as well as the projected loss of individual street parking due to "bump outs" for utility poles.

As a result of those complaints, the RBA Group reviewed the entire project to ascertain what, if anything, could be done to minimize the impacts this project would have on individual property owners and the RBA Group has now presented us with an alternate project design which would incorporate a "Shared Space" concept.
"Shared Space"is a term used to describe a particular streetscape design philosophy primarily aimed at changing the impact of motor traffic in public spaces used by pedestrians which includes two main design criteria:

                                              The reduction/removal of traffic control devices

and,

The reduction/removal of barriers between pedestrians and vehicles.

If the "shared space" concept were implemented on West 12th Road, existing utility poles would remain where they are (although they would likely have to be raised to account for the new height of the street) and there would be no need for "bump outs" which would require a marked reduction in the number of available parking spaces on the block, which would remain available on both side of West 12th Road.

Additionally, all existing fire hydrants on West 12th Road would be moved to the opposite side of the street where the existing poles are located.

The north side of West 12th Road would have a 2 foot "sight disabled" zone to allow for "sight disabled" pedestrian movement on the block deleniated by the placement of bollards on that side of the block.

Additionally, because of the width of this innovative "shared space" (29 feet) design there would be fewer encroachment impacts on individual properties as exists with the present street/sidewalk plan which is 32 feet wide.
The use of the "shared space" design would also provide a wider available center of the "shared space" to allow a more unobstructed movement of emergency vehicles and sanitation trucks on the block.

The design philosophy states that these design treatments enable reduced vehicle speeds due to drivers no longer assuming they have priority and being forced to be aware of other road users. The reduced speed and increased awareness results in an "environment of care" where the use of the space is more balanced between all road users.

As an aside, DOT has stated that should the "shared space" design be accepted by the residents of West 12th Road, they would also reconfigure the top end (Cross Bay Boulevard) access to our block in a manner which would ensure all entering vehicles are slowed to an appropriate speed and made aware that they are entering on to a "shared space" street.

The claimed benefits of shared space schemes are wide and varied including improved pedestrian amenity, increased vibrancy of the street environment, increased use of the shared space by pedestrians, reduced vehicle speeds, reduced accident rates and increased property values.

Very simply put, West 12th Road would no longer have a "street" per se, "sidewalks" or "curbs".  In their place would be a "shared space", a single level 29' wide concrete pad which would be "shared" by cars, bicycles and pedestrians alike.

Shared space removes the traditional segregation of motor vehicles, pedestrians and other road users. Conventional road priority management systems and devices such as curbs, lines, signs and signals are replaced with an integrated, people-oriented understanding of public space, such that walking, cycling, shopping and driving cars become integrated activities.
This "shared space" would be "reverse crowned" providing center drainage thus eliminating any ponding near properties. The "shared space" can be designed by "scoring" the concrete and sections of the space can be tinted to deleniate free space adjacent to properties to prevent parking directly next to a property.

Does any of this sound familiar?  Commissioner McCarthy noted that on West 12th Road "...everybody walks in the street and parks their cars on the sidewalk."   We have actually been utilizing the "shared space" concept as a means of accomodating pedestrians, bicyclists, children and cars on our narrow streets for years! Think about it....most large parking lots — for example, those at shopping centers and other stores — effectively function in ways that are very similar to shared spaces on European shopping streets.  We have been operating in shared spaces — if drab ones — for decades, without being aware of it.
Initially, this proposal looks promising, nevertheless, we are still in the process of investigating this "shared space" design concept and we will be attempting to reach out to contact various communities, both in the United States and Europe, who presently live with such a design to obtain their feedback.
Within the next week or so we should have sufficient information at which time we will schedule a meeting of West 12th Road residents when we can sit down and discuss this proposal at length to ascertain if this recommendation is one our block feels comfortable with.