Greenways

Greenways are neighborhood streets designed to calm traffic, moderate vehicle speeds and enhance safety for people driving, walking, biking, and rolling. The aim is to create safer, more livable streets to give people options to get around the city without needing a car. They have been designated on north-south streets that cross the I-210 freeway, but do not have freeway on-ramps or oƯ-ramps. By reducing speed along Greenways not only is the roadway safer for residents, motorists, and people walking, but it also creates a low stress environment for bicyclists of all ages and abilities to connect to the existing bicycle network.

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No. Greenways are mainly on smaller neighborhood streets and use shared-lane, painted bike markings (sharrows) and traffic calming treatments rather than continuous striped bike lanes. Greenways are intended not just to improve conditions for biking but also to moderate vehicle speeds to improve safety for people driving and walking in the area. There are short street segments leading to and crossing the I-210 freeway that have the width to add bike lanes, which can help to better manage and delineate travel modes, but a determination on the type of treatments to be implemented will be made following a robust community engagement process.

No. Parking removal is not planned along the entire corridor. Some safety upgrades may require removing a small number of parking spaces on a particular block to allow treatments such as small, raised median islands before an intersection, or shifting parking from one side of the street to the other (also known as a parking chicane). These treatments would help to reduce speeds. Any changes to parking will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and discussed with the community during outreach.

Green paint is typically used for bike lanes at specific locations including conflict points (e.g., intersections or driveways) to increase attention. Since the vast majority of theGreenway corridors will not have a dedicated bike lane, the use of green paint will be minimal, if any.

No. Greenways already have fewer travel lanes with only one lane in each direction and are typically on low-volume residential streets. The short street segments that cross the I-210 freeway can be wide with multiple lanes and will be evaluated to determine if removing a vehicle travel lane is needed to improve safety and create space for people biking and walking.

Yes. The City is committed to extensive community engagement throughout the initial conceptual design process. This includes numerous public meetings that will target each of the corridors, hosting a Community Advisory Committee, and opportunities to provide feedback at key milestones. The objective of the Greenways is to improve safety and moderate vehicle speeds, but the treatments to achieve these outcomes are not predetermined. The purpose of the engagement will be to get feedback from residents and build community consensus on the most appropriate traffic calming treatments for each neighborhood area. Once potential treatments are selected, outreach will also continuethrough the final design process and construction period.

No. The City is still in the conceptual design phase. We have identified potential treatments and features to consider helping calm traffic, improve wayfinding, and create safer crossings at intersections, which will be further developed in collaboration with the community.

Yes. The City plans to deploy Demonstration Projects on corridors like Craig Avenue and El Molino Avenue where appropriate to test treatments and temporary installations using paint and plastic posts and gather community feedback before finalizing designs and installing permanent features. A Demonstration Project is a useful community engagement tool to allow the community to see, use, and experience different options and provide feedback before implementing permanent designs.

Large roundabouts like the one on Ave 64 will not be installed on these narrow streets. Mini roundabouts are being considered as part of the traffic calming toolkit but will be discussed as part of the community outreach process and will only be recommended if they fit within the selected environment. They are effective at reducing speeds and improving safety at intersections. The benefits include keeping traffic moving more efficiently than intersections controlled by stop signs.

We work closely with Pasadena Fire Department to explore safety enhancements that help emergency vehicles respond swiftly and without additional delays. All designs will be reviewed in collaboration with City emergency service providers to ensure no adverse impacts to response times.

These corridors were selected because they are on low-volume, north-south streets that cross the I-210 Freeway without freeway ramps, making them ideal for safe bike and pedestrian travel that help connect and expand the multimodal network throughout the City. They were identified in Pasadena’s 2015 Bicycle Transportation Action Plan as part of the Mobility Element of the City’s adopted General Plan. The purpose of designating them as Greenways is to identify treatments that calm traffic, lower vehicle speeds and enhance safety for people driving, walking, biking, and rolling.

Yes. Speed humps and cushions can now be considered for use on Greenways according to the City’s updated Speed Hump Policies and Procedures. The Greenway must still meet all other physical and operation requirements along the corridor according to the policy before moving forward to a vote.

Traffic diverters are part of the toolkit that includes barriers, curbs, or other treatments that limit cut through-traffic while allowing local access for people walking and biking, as well as allowing access by emergency vehicles. They help reduce cut-through driving and keep through-traffic on main roads. Traffic diverters could typically be installed at locations where a Greenway crosses a street with much higher traffic volumes to help manage cutthrough traffic through a residential neighborhood with narrow streets. The determination of the location of traffic diverters and decision whether or not to include traffic diverters would be made through the public engagement process. This type of treatment would only proceed with the support of the residents along that section of street. Existing examples ofthis treatment in the City of Pasadena include the intersections of Orange Grove Boulevard at Marengo Avenue and El Molino Avenue at Washington Boulevard.

Traffic diversion is a valid concern. The City has already conducted some analysis and will continue to study this during the conceptual design phase prior to recommending any permanent improvements. The project aims to reduce cut-through traffic on Greenway streets and keep through traffic on main roads, without creating spillover traffic to other narrow residential streets.

A majority of the projects are funded through regional transportation grant funds awarded through Measure R Metro Mobility Improvement Project (MIP) funding. In addition, state grant funds were awarded for a quick-build demonstration project on Craig Ave. The City is also awaiting direction for a grant recommendation award by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) through the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) to deploy a quickbuild on El Molino Avenue. These funds have specific eligibility uses that support active transportation and safety improvements. The funds can only be spent on new infrastructure improvements and cannot be used for roadway maintenance or other nontransportation projects or programs.

The City will partner with community-based organizations, offering materials in multiple languages, and hold meetings at accessible times and locations to ensure broad participation.

The use of signs is already part of the existing toolkit. Additional signage may be added where appropriate as part of a solution. Traffic calming treatments such as speed humps, cushions, raised islands, etc. are physical treatments that help slow vehicle speeds that signs alone can’t do. The City will provide the community as part of the engagement process information on the effectiveness of different treatments in moderating vehicle speeds and reducing crashes. The City is balancing effectiveness, cost, and community input to help choose the right mix of solutions.

Yes. Baseline data will be collected and compared with post-implementation data to evaluate the effectiveness of the Greenways in improving safety, reducing speeds, and managing traffic volumes.

Success will be measured using metrics such as reduced vehicle speeds, before and after data, improved safety outcomes, and community feedback. Community feedback will be especially critical as the purpose of the Greenways is to create safe low-stress streets that people feel comfortable walking, biking, rolling, and driving on. While the overall goals are to improve walking and biking access, reduce crashes, and moderate speeds, there are multiple ways to accomplish these goals. Each neighborhood along the Greenways is unique, and the local community will be able to select the most appropriate traffic calming treatments for their neighborhood.