Project Abstract
Bridgeport Way is a major urban arterial and it could be considered as a "Main Street" of University Place. The project involved reconstruction of an existing five-lane road into a four-lane divided roadway over a distance of approximately 1.5 miles. The purpose of this project was to address the safety concerns due to the high number of crashes over the past years. At the same time it was viewed essential to the vision statement of the City Council that aimed in improving the quality of life in the community by creating a town center. The goal of the project is to develop Bridgeport Way as a corridor that will improve traffic safety, increase the mobility and cohesiveness of the community, enhance the appearance of the corridor, and control traffic growth.
Project Description
Bridgeport Way is a major urban arterial and it could be considered as a "Main Street" of University Place. The project involved reconstruction of an existing five-lane road into a four-lane divided roadway over a distance of approximately 1.5 miles. The route serves local traffic and regional commuters, it is the highest transit volume corridor for Pierce County, and it is often used as a bypass of the I-5 freeway (when congestion is heavy). There were three construction phases included in the project.
Purpose and Need
The purpose of this project was to address the safety concerns due to the high number of crashes over the past years. At the same time it was viewed essential to the vision statement of the City Council that aimed in improving the quality of life in the community by creating a town center. The goal of the project is to develop Bridgeport Way as a corridor that will improve traffic safety, increase the mobility and cohesiveness of the community, enhance the appearance of the corridor, and control traffic growth.
Context-Sensitive Factors
A number of issues dealing with aesthetics, public involvement, and promotion of multi-modalism were central to this process. Context-sensitive design issues implemented as part of the Bridgeport Way project included the following:
- An extensive public involvement process was initiated to solicit input on how the street should be redesigned. The process utilized design charrettes, public meetings, open houses, meetings with neighborhood groups, and one-to-one meetings.
- A design charrette was completed with citizen participation to develop potential design alternatives for Bridgeport Way. There were two sessions, one for adults and a second for high school students.
- The use of flared intersections to accommodate U-turns for long vehicles at signalized intersections due to the use of the divided median to improve access management and reduce traffic crashes.
- Landscaped median with specially designed streetlights.
Planter strips along the entire corridor with streetlights matching the median lights.
- Bike lanes along the entire corridor.
- Mid-block pedestrian crossings with in- pavement flashing lights at two mid-block crosswalks along Phase 1A. Because of reduced driver compliance over time and five vehicle-pedestrian collisions, the in-pavement lights are being replaced in Summer 2002 with pedestrian traffic signals. The signals will be interconnected with other signals along the corridor to optimize traffic progression and minimize vehicle-pedestrian conflicts.
- Undergrounding utility wires to enhance aesthetic appearance of the roadway.
- Use of a single corridor for all modes of transportation, i.e. passenger cars, public transportation, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
History of Project
University Place is a recently incorporated city (8/31/95) but it has been inhabited continuously for the past 130 years. Bridgeport Way has been the main street running though the City and it is used both by local residents and commuters residing in neighboring communities. The City Council adopted a vision statement that indicated that the goal was to make University Place a "safe, attractive city that provides a supportive environment for all citizens to work, play, get an education, and raise families." To achieve this objective, land use, transportation, and economic development goals were established to promote walking, biking, use of aesthetic treatments for roadways and development, and infill development. Central to this goal was the creation of a town center and a main street. Both of these concepts were considered essential in improving the quality of life in the community.
Further Reading:
Bridgeport Way - University Place, Washington PDF
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