Transportation System Plan 2018-2038

Table 10-11 Continued New Pedestrian Facilities Along Existing Streets Street From To Multi-Use Paths Cont. Lone Pine Creek Path Keene W ay Drive Springbrook Avenue SE Medford Plan area multi-use paths Various locations as indicated in SE Medford Plan The phy sical im provem ents listed above will enhance c onnections to the City ’s m any activity centers. Adding sidewalks along streets like Highway 62, Hillcr est Road and McAndrews Road will provide safer and m ore attractive opportunities for pedestrians to r each em ployment and retail centers. In addition to adding sidewalks to arterial and collector streets, a num ber of the pedestrian facilities are located in Medford’ s Transit Oriented Districts (TODs). Ma ny of the streets in these areas lack necessary amenities for safe and com fortable pedestrian travel. To prom ote the use of alternative travel m odes (including walking, bicy cling and transit), sidewalks and paths must be provided. Within the Medford TODs, some of the key existing streets that have been targeted for new pedestrian im provem ents include Barnett Road, Jacksonville Highway and Springbrook Road. In the SE Medford TOD, current planning activities have identified an entire pedestrian circulation sy stem including both sidewalks and paths. For the West Medford and Delta Waters TODs, add itional pedestrian facilities bey ond those to be added on the arterial and collector street sy stem will be identified thr ough the developm ent of specific plans for these areas. Overcome Barriers to Pedestrian Circulation The City of Medford should also work to overcom e “barriers” in the pedestrian sy stem that interrupt travel continuity and/or require significant out-of-direction travel to reach popular attractors. Significant barriers include Interstate 5, and Bear Creek. For instance, the Rogue Valley Mall (a generator of high pedestrian volum es) lies within close proxim ity to a sizeable residential area and the Biddle Road com mercial corridor, yet they are separated by Interstate 5. Connections exist only in a few locations and existing facilities for both bicycle and pedestrian circulation are sub-standard. Rather than establish full street connections through these barriers, the City should explore creating m ulti-use paths to reduce land- acquisition and construction costs. Direct passages through natural and construc ted barriers will prom ote increased pedestrian travel while reducing dependence on the autom obile. Other barriers to pedestrian circulation include circ uitous streets that require significant out-of-direction travel to reach destinations that are fairly close as the crow flies. For the past several y ears, the City has implem ented a policy of providing pedestrian accessway s to overcom e this problem . This policy will continue to be im plem ented as required by the City’s Land Development Code . In addition, locations for future accessway s should be evaluated by the City during the land developm ent process, particularly to enhance access to m ajor transit stops and/or ot her m ajor potential pedestrian destinations. Still other barriers include things like power poles that are placed in the center of a 5-foot sidewalk. Getting around these barriers can be a problem for the able-bodied, but the sidewalk would not m eet ADA standards for wheelchair accessibility . Problem s with th ese sorts of barriers m ust be addressed during all construction and/or retrofit projects. The City of Medford should elim inate or relocate im pedim ents to Medford Transportatio n System Plan 10-27 Non-M otorized Transportation Plan