Focus Area: Garvey Corridor

Garvey Avenue represents a critical component of the downtown revitalization plan discussed in the Land Use Element. In addition to its function as a Minor Arterial, Garvey Avenue also supports a great deal of pedestrian traffic. The city's vision for downtown includes creating a safer and more inviting pedestrian environment and encouraging a "park once and shop" strategy for downtown use. The key issues to address toward this end are reducing vehicle speed, managing traffic volumes, and providing street improvements that enhance the downtown experience for pedestrians.

"Traffic calming" approaches are often used to reduce vehicle speed and discourage through traffic work, thereby creating a safer environment for pedestrians. Common physical roadway changes used to slow traffic include sidewalk "bulbs" at intersections, traffic circles, textured pavement, and speed humps. Traffic signal timing can be adjusted to slow traffic, particularly with pedestrian-actuated signals at crosswalks. On-street parking slows traffic and creates a buffer between the travel lanes and sidewalks.

Travel Control Approaches for Peak Hours

During peak travel hours, Garvey Avenue will serve as a Minor Arterial. However, as part of the overall downtown strategy, the city will pursue traffic-calming improvements along Garvey Avenue between McPherin Avenue and Alhambra Avenue. Approaches to the strategy will include:

• Widening of sidewalks
• Reducing travel lanes during non-peak periods
• Installing detailed crosswalk paving
• Reworking traffic signal timing to allow safe and easy crossings for pedestrians

The preferred configuration of Garvey Avenue is one lane in each direction with parallel parking and increased sidewalk widths, as illustrated in Figure LU-8 (PDF) in the Land Use Element. During the a.m. and p.m. peak weekday travel hours, on-street parking will be prohibited to increase the capacity of Garvey Avenue and allow the road to serve its important arterial function during the weekday commute. The city has adopted a Downtown Parking Management Plan that promulgates a variety of parking strategies for commercial businesses in the downtown area.

Goal Three

Create a downtown circulation system that accommodates the needs of commuters and pedestrians.

• Policy 3.1
  Maintain Garvey Avenue as a functional Minor Arterial roadway during peak weekday travel hours.
• Policy 3.2
  Prepare a comprehensive strategy for Garvey Avenue that includes traffic-calming improvements.
• Policy 3.3
  Implement the redesign plan for Garvey Avenue illustrated in Figure LU-8 (PDF) of the Land Use Element.