A Grand Boulevard for Columbia: Assembly Street Improvements

[Hybrid0NE]

A good friend of mine lives in Vinings off Paces Ferry, so I've gotten familiar with the area. Before, I had no idea there were that many towers out that way. Too bad Vinings is the only thing urban about the area.

Vinings has been there since the Civil War (I think), the majority of the area sprouted around 30 years ago after I-75 and 285 were completed and sprawlanta leaped across the Chattahoochee.

Funny thing about Atlanta is, that if all the highrises that are spread out in the Big3 Edge Cities (Perimeter, Cumberland, Buckhead) were centralized in the Downtown/Midtown area, our core would be majorly dense. With an even more killer skyline.

[mr. chips]

Pedestrian bridges are really not the answer for a downtown that wants to be

[krazeeboi]

Who cares about the price

[Spartan]

If Columbia had acres upon acres of waterfront rail lines I would agree

I think that its important to look at the larger picture too, and I agree that creating a pedestrian zone of sorts is the way to go. But it has to be achieved through good development practices. Much of what makes a good pedestrian environment is the built environment adjacent to the streets.

You would have to look at the impacts of burying Assembly Street too. By doing that, you would channelize cars, making cars drive much faster, which would ruin the already poor pedestrian environment on either end of that supposed tunnel.

The best way would be to do much more than bulb-outs. What they should do is remove parking as well as the outside lane or 2 in each direction and covert that to pedestrian space. This would still leave 2 travel lanes in each direction for traffic if you also remove parking in the center, plus we would have space for monuments of any sort, other art work, etc. I think that regardless of what happens, Assembly does not need 6 lanes of traffic except maybe for peak traffic hours.

[waccamatt]

Millennium Park is gorgeous, but something like that would take some major money. Let's look at some other cities with wide boulevards that still have a lot of pedestrian activity. Washington, DC is an example that we could look at. How do they make their wide streets more pedestrian friendly? Same with NYC, lots of people cross 5th Avenue and Broadway on foot and live to tell about it. What is we put a very large, park-like median on Assembly Street with benches and monuments (as suggested earlier) so that people only feel like they have to cross half the street at a time? is the center parking really that important on Assembly? We could put angle parking on the sides, which would increase the number of spaces on the sides and only slightly decrease the total parking places. Imagine fountains, statues and park land stretching the length of Assembly Street.

[krazeeboi]

I agree that the center parking needs to be eliminated, and I also think spacious, park-like medians is a great idea as well. However, I think that with Assembly, you need to be looking at future transit needs of the city, including bicycle lanes and even possibly a fixed streetcar route.

[BrasilnSC]

Mr. Chips, that park is amazing and I like your ideas. We need more people thinking outside the box in this city. But, I think the most realistic solution to fix Assembly St's pedestrian problems are curb bulbsouts and other measures to slow down traffic and increase pedestrian refuge.

Like we've all metioned, the median parking needs to go (the new parking garages will more than offset the loss of those spaces). The median would then be large enough for people to be protected from traffic and shorten the crossing distance. They could place call buttons in the medians, in case someone didn't make it across during one light phase, they can call for the walk signal from there. I like the idea of benches and sculptures, and some really nice landscaping would be great too.

I would love it if Assembly St had only 2 lanes in each direction. That would pretty much solve the connectivity problem between Main and the river. However, decreasing the capacity we already have on this major road would cause some serious traffic headaches. 3 lanes should be kept in each direction for future growth since Columbia is steadly growing and traffic continues to increase. I do think the lanes could be narrower. That would slow traffic further and make room for bike lanes.

The curb parking next to the side walks should remain parallel or be taken out completely (i don't think the latter would ever happen though). Angled parking requires more space width wise and can be very dangerous, as those backing out cannot see oncoming traffic.

Brighter and bigger pavement markings showing pedestrians paths is also an inexpensive fix. I like the large stripped crosswalks like the ones in NYC or Tokyo. I want to see this kind of pedestrian activity on Assembly

[krazeeboi]

Even with three lanes (which I would agree with), a lot more space could be opened up on Assembly with narrower lanes. I don't think I've ever driven along such wide lanes before anywhere.

[johnpro318]

i love the idea of getting rid of the parking! its not need and it's a hassle to get in and out of it with the speed of traffic on the road. (imo) i think that brasilnsc has a GREAT idea. i think that it should be made obvious that there are actual crosswalks there. these things would not cost that much at all and would probably solve a great deal in terms of connectivity. why not try it at one intersection ... say by the carolina coliseum to see if it works and go from there. i mean ONE intersection and bit of road tried like this wouldn't be a horrible amount of money. it would just be a headache during construction but the good thing is our city is a grid...

intersection idea at harvard university

maybe something like this...

this is more visible than the regular crosswalk

haha i'm such a nerd.

[Spartan]

Mr. Chips, that park is amazing and I like your ideas. We need more people thinking outside the box in this city. But, I think the most realistic solution to fix Assembly St's pedestrian problems are curb bulbsouts and other measures to slow down traffic and increase pedestrian refuge.

Like we've all metioned, the median parking needs to go (the new parking garages will more than offset the loss of those spaces). The median would then be large enough for people to be protected from traffic and shorten the crossing distance. They could place call buttons in the medians, in case someone didn't make it across during one light phase, they can call for the walk signal from there. I like the idea of benches and sculptures, and some really nice landscaping would be great too.

I would love it if Assembly St had only 2 lanes in each direction. That would pretty much solve the connectivity problem between Main and the river. However, decreasing the capacity we already have on this major road would cause some serious traffic headaches. 3 lanes should be kept in each direction for future growth since Columbia is steadly growing and traffic continues to increase. I do think the lanes could be narrower. That would slow traffic further and make room for bike lanes.

The curb parking next to the side walks should remain parallel or be taken out completely (i don't think the latter would ever happen though). Angled parking requires more space width wise and can be very dangerous, as those backing out cannot see oncoming traffic.

Brighter and bigger pavement markings showing pedestrians paths is also an inexpensive fix. I like the large stripped crosswalks like the ones in NYC or Tokyo. I want to see this kind of pedestrian activity on Assembly

The thing about Assembly is that its a major thoroughfare because we've designed it to be one. If you can redirect some of the traffic to the other streets like Sumter and Marion, you would not need the capacity on Assembly. Also, I can tell you that as a bike commuter, bike lanes on Assembly will be wasted effort. Anyone who has any sense will take Main Street because its flat and traffic is much more calm.

[scguy88]

There is no way that Assembly can be lowered to just two lanes, something needs to be done, but not that. Can you imagine Carolina football games with only two lanes on Assembly??? Ha, even if that is only eight days a year. I think a crosswalk can be tastefully done and could really enhance the intersection of Gervais and Assembly - have it going up the Capital Center/Mellow Mushroom side and this would allow pedestrians to continue up the vista to the great new street level activity Main St "will" have after the new Holder Highrise is built.

[Spartan]

You should never design a road for something that happens 6 or 7 times a year.

[Hybrid0NE]

Even with three lanes (which I would agree with), a lot more space could be opened up on Assembly with narrower lanes. I don't think I've ever driven along such wide lanes before anywhere.

Columbians can't drive? I remember a couple years ago, there was a study or something in a mag. showing Columbia has a high percentage of vehicular accidents. Not sure, if it's still revelant.

Spartan, pointed out that if capacity on Assembly were lessened Sumter and Marion could become redirects. Does anyone feel Columbia should designate a pair of streets for one-way (both north/south and east/west) travel through the extent of Downtown?

[krazeeboi]

^Not sure where driving abilities came into play here, LOL.

And I don't think any streets should be designated one-way. As a matter of fact, the one-way streets downtown should be converted to two-way.

[Captain Worley]

I usually drive up Assembly or Huger on my way to work in the mornings. Every so often, just to be different, I'll cut up Main instead. Because of the light timing on Main, it is really an unacceptable diversion from Assembly for regular commuters. It easliy takes three times the amount of time to go from Gervais to Elmwood on Main.

[BrasilnSC]

^ Exactly. The same can be said for Sumter and Park too.

Taking away the capacity we already have on Assembly St would be a mistake IMO. We have to think about future growth and if downtown continues to get built up and Innovista takes off, that's just going to bring more traffic.

I crossed Assembly yesterday and tried to get a rough measurement of how much asphalt pedestrians have to cross. At Assembly and College, from one side to the very small median , I measured about 19 yards or roughly 60 ft. So that means about 120' of asphalt from sidewalk to sidewalk. If the lanes can be reduced to 11' including one left turn lane at each crossing and 4' bike lanes, that gives us about 85' of asphalt to cross. That's 35' less and with a larger median.

[krazeeboi]

^ Exactly. The same can be said for Sumter and Park too.

Taking away the capacity we already have on Assembly St would be a mistake IMO. We have to think about future growth and if downtown continues to get built up and Innovista takes off, that's just going to bring more traffic.

I'm no traffic engineer, but I would think that adjusting the timing of the lights should take care of that. Even then, if you kept the same number of lanes on Assembly (although I would advocate eliminating at least one in each direction), you could still open up more space by narrowing the lanes. There was another post somewhere on here that showed that even with less lanes, capacity would not be hindered.

I crossed Assembly yesterday and tried to get a rough measurement of how much asphalt pedestrians have to cross. At Assembly and College, from one side to the very small median , I measured about 19 yards or roughly 60 ft. So that means about 120' of asphalt from sidewalk to sidewalk. If the lanes can be reduced to 11' including one left turn lane at each crossing and 4' bike lanes, that gives us about 85' of asphalt to cross. That's 35' less and with a larger median.

That is a LOT of space opened up, and you could have planted medians like this one in NYC:

[Captain Worley]

"I'm no traffic engineer, but I would think that adjusting the timing of the lights should take care of that."

Yeah, but they are timed that way for a reason. There is a lot more E-W and W-E traffic than N-S and S-N through traffic through downtown. The lights slow trafic on all N-S streets so the more heavily trafficked E-W routes can move more efficiently. The only exceptions to this are Huger, Assembly, Bull, and (I think) Harden.

I hope that makes sense...

[BrasilnSC]

That median would be just about perfect for Assembly. Wow, what a difference that would make.

Captain, it does make sense. Like you said Huger, Assembly, Bull, and Harden are the major N-S corridors, while Elmwood, Gervais, Hampton/Taylor and Blossom are the major E-W corridors. The signal timing on these streets seems to be pretty good most of the time. Timing signals is a tricky science. You can time lights so you get very little delays on one street, but then you're adding delays to anothers. So it's really quite difficult to have a lot streets in one area timed well.

[krazeeboi]

That does make sense, Cap'n. Maybe converting some of the one-way streets into two-way streets could help.

[Captain Worley]

Glad I explained it well, I was kinda worried about my ability to do so.

My dad was an engineer at SCDOT for over thirty years, so although I'm a mechanical engineer, I did manage to pick up a few tidbits on traffic and road engineering.

[Spartan]

But their timing also causes people to use those roads more. Sumter Street would be more heavily used if it were timed appropriately, and you had some right turn only lanes on Gervais.

[Captain Worley]

You have it backwards. The lights weren't timed until a few years ago and they based the timing on the way the traffic flows. Generally speaking, you can't force people to change their driving patterns by altering the light timing; you really just end up with a bunch of angry motorists.

Complaints about through traffic in Colatown are down drastically after the new system was installed. It probably halved the amount of time it took me to get from Cayce to North Main.

[BrasilnSC]

But their timing also causes people to use those roads more. Sumter Street would be more heavily used if it were timed appropriately, and you had some right turn only lanes on Gervais.

Sumter St isn't really a direct route. South of Gervais, it's narrow and goes right through campus where it dead ends (wouldn't want more cars in this area). Assembly goes all the way down to the stadium and has a high capacity intersection with Elmwood. Bull St will take you directly to 277 as well as Harden St, which also connects with Rosewood. Like Captain said, people are not going to change their driving patterns and will try and take the most direct route.

After thinking about it for a while and pulling up some data, I think that Assembly St would be ok being 4 lanes instead of 6 (this is for you Spartan ). But that's with the current traffic and not taking future growth into consideration. You have to also consider that the major roads with only 4 lanes get quite backed up during rush hour (aka. Gervais and Blossom)

Traffic Counts - these figures are from 2006 - numbers are in AADT (annual average daily traffic):

East-West Corridors

Gervais St (4 lanes, for the most part):

- Lex. Co. to Huger - 26,400

- Huger to Assembly - 24,600

- Assembly to Bull - 25,600

- Bull to Harden - 27,700

- Harden to Milwood - 28,700

Blossom St. (4 lanes)

- Lex. Co. to Huger - 27,700

- Huger to Assembly - 24,300

- Assembly to Saluda (5-points) - 20,300

North-South Corridors

Assembly St (6 lanes)

- Blossom to Gervais - 21,900

- Gervais to Taylor - 25,800

- Taylor to Elmwood - 20,700

Bull St

- Gervais to Elmwood (4 lanes) - 20,400

- Elmwood to 277 (4-6 lanes here) - 31,500

Huger St

- Blossom to Gervais (4 lanes) - 22,600

- Gervais to I-126 (6 lanes) - 33,600

Harden St (4 lanes)

- Blossom to Taylor - 20,600

- Taylor to Colonial Dr - 20,800

Sumter St (4 lanes)

- Gervais to Elmwood - 11,000

[CarolinaSouth]

I wouldn't say that....the thing is Assembly is the only one of those streets that cut straight thru downtown. Bull St abruptly comes to an end at Pendelton St. Park St goes a nice distance...but couldn't be viable IMO b/c it doesn't have the capacity nor the E/W accessbility coming from Elmwood [via I-126] considering it's cut off by Finlay Park. Sumter St could be used as an access street, but how will you convince people coming to that Assembly/ Elmwood intersection that riding down 2 more blocks will be the best route for them. And while Sumter st is the only and most likely compliment street to Assembly...once you pass Gervias on that road...USCville takes over and slows that traffic to a crawl.

I'm not saying that a change isn't possible...but it's more difficult than we think. I personally like the parking in the median...it's different and helps not having to cross that whole street at one sitting. I know it's side parking and parking garages...but in the area of Assembly [the expection being by the Koger Center and Coliseum] with the median parking...some of those are needed. Who parks in a deck to go pay a loan? Then the city will also lose money from parking meters if they make the first "20min" free for decks to attract parking. I saying...if i'm going to pay on a loan or something...i'm not parking in a garage.