Transportation System Plan 2018-2038

of the street and absent on the other, or partial sidewalks m ay be in place sporadically throughout the block, lacking continuity . In an attem pt to address the lack of sidewalk facilities within the city , Medford uses Com munity Developm ent Block Grant (CBDG) m oney to construct or reconstruct sidewalks in portions of the city eligible for these funds. In addition, the City has initiated a program to construct critical sidewalk connections near City schools. The City has inventoried m issing sidewalk segm ents (see Appendix D) and allocates funding each y ear to construct the m issing segm ents. The prim ary intent of this program is to provide safe walking conditions for children attendi ng school. An anticipated secondary benefit will be reduced traffic near schools as students will not require a ride and will be able to travel by foot. As noted above, ORS 366.514 also requires construction of pedestrian facilities as part of all roadway construction, reconstruction or relocation projects on arterials and m ajor collectors where conditions perm it, and will require expenditure of at least one percent of road im provem ent funds on bicy cle and pedestrian projects. In addition, the City ’s Land Development Code now requires sidewalk construction as part of residential subdivisions and in conjunc tion with nearly all new street construction or reconstruction within the city . Recently , the City Public Works Departm ent developed guidance for crosswalk location focusing developm ent of these fac ilities only at locations where active traffic control devices such as traffic signals, flashing beacons, or sc hool crossing guards are in place. The City will no longer install crosswalks in m id-block locations or at stop sign-controlled intersections due to safety concerns. The City has also increased enforcem ent of crosswalk violations to im prove pedestrian safety . It should also be noted that the city is developi ng street, sidewalk and streetscape standards for the downtown area to enhance the pedestrian environm ent of this area. The existing Pedestrian Facilities m ap in Figure 3-7 depi cts the location of sidewalks within the City of Medford including the presence of accessway s. Accessway s provide for pedestrian and or bicy cle passage either between streets or from a street to a bu ilding or other destination such as a school, park, or transit stop. Accessway s provide a valuable link for non-m otorized transportation where use of the street system would result in a longer or m ore indirect trip. The street inventory tables in Appendix A also catalog the presence of sidewalks for each street segm ent, while Appendix D sum marizes the existing arterial and collector street segm ents within Me dford that do not have sidewalks on either side. Multi-Use Paths The Bear Creek Path is the longest m ulti-use path in Medford. The path is located along the Bear Creek Greenway east and west of I-5 in the Medford area. The southern section of the path currently term inates at Barnett Road. The path runs through Bear Creek Park paralleling Biddle Road to Highway 62, and continues northward to Pine Street/Biddle Road in Central Point near the Jackson County Expo Park. South of Barnett Road, the path is anticipated to parallel Bear Creek through the City’s proposed Sports Park to South Stage Road. Construction of this segm ent will likely be combined with the pending m ajor reconstructi on of the South Medford interchange, and is expected to be com plete by 2010. Construction of this section will complete the path through Medford. When fully constructed, the Bear Creek path will stretch from Ashland to Central Point. Multi-use paths also exist along Biddle Road betw een Jackson Street and Morrow Road, and along the recently com pleted and under construc tion portions of McAndrews Road in east Medford. Several other short m ulti-use paths located along creeks provide conn ections between subdivisions. A tem porary path Medford Transportatio n System Plan 3-43 Existing Conditions