Date of Award

6-9-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2016.

Department

Civil Engineering

First Advisor

Rachel He

Abstract

In 2012, the segment of Pruneridge Avenue from Lawrence Expressway to Pomeroy Avenue saw a project called a Road Diet. A Road Diet refers to the replacement of vehicle lanes with bicycle lanes and a center turning lane, in order to create safe zones for cyclists and drivers on the same street. While the Road Diet sufficiently addressed the safety issues of the corridor, it severely worsened its traffic capacity, creating long queues along Pruneridge and on Lawrence Expressway during peak traffic hours as residents around the area commute to and from work. The queues are so long that many drivers decide to run red lights to avoid waiting additional cycles, introducing a new set of safety concerns. Pedestrians also had to deal with cars speeding through righthand turns between Pruneridge and Lawrence, because the visibility on the curb is very low at night. Finally, the center turn lane that was implemented on Pruneridge is very underutilized during peak hours, and that space could be used for something more efficient or useful than a suicide lane. This project aims to address the problems that the Road Diet introduced and some preexisting issues while maintaining the bike lanes to provide safety and encourage cycling in the area.

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