A New Vision: From Level of Service for Cars to Level of Mobility for People
In his op/ed article found in the March 2016 issue of ITE Journal, ITE member Bryan Jones states, "Rather than designing and evaluating based on LOS for vehicles, I propose we start considering an evaluation system called Level of Mobility (LOM) for people."
Below are proposed criteria and examples of evaluation scorings to accompany the article, found on page 16-20 and through this link.
These criteria could be modified to meet the community needs and values for your specific street type, neighborhood, or community. They can be easily customized to serve your desired needs to better move and connect people.
Level of Mobility for People – Amenity and Quality of Experience Based
Park benches, bike racks, kiosks, wayfinding signage, landscaping, street lights, pedestrian lighting, and public art are all examples of amenities that improve the quality of a street experience for people.
We could create a 10 point scale for amenities for each category of movement of people; walking, biking and transit. The scale or the value given to amenities could be adjusted based on how progressive a community wants to be or is at the moment, and it could be modified over time.
9.5-10 LOM A
8.5-9.4 LOM B
7.5-8.4 LOM C
6.5-7.4 LOM D
5.5-6.4 LOM E
5.4 and below LOM F
People that Walk
The Criteria could also be established to evaluate the quality of the system for people of all ages and abilities that walk, rollerblade, hover board, skateboard, use walkers or wheelchairs etc. (e.g. number of vehicle lanes that need to be crossed and the speed of adjacent traffic) and the friendliness of the infrastructure at intersections (e.g. pedestrian countdown heads, dedicated pedestrian phases (e.g. a scramble phase, curb extensions, refuge median).
Number of Travel Lanes
- 4 points for roads with two lanes or fewer; or
- 3 points for roads with three lanes; or
- 2 points for roads with four lanes; or
- 1 point for roads with five lanes; or
- 0 points for roads with more than five lanes
Crossing Quality
- 0.5 points for presence of a pedestrian refuge
- 0.5 points for well-marked crossways and mid-block crossings at safe and convenient locations
- 0.5 points for signing, striping, sidewalks, and other elements that suggest the presence of a pedestrian crossing
- 0.5 points for rectangular rapid flashing beacons at an uncontrolled crossing
- 0.5 points for drivers and pedestrians having unobstructed views of each other
- 0.5 points for posted speeds of 25 miles per hour or less
- 0.25 points for posted speeds of 30 miles per hour or less
Other Amenities for Pedestrians
- 1 point for active building frontages (e.g. buildings that front the street)
- 1 point for sidewalks in good maintenance condition (no uprooted sidewalk, ADA Compliance, cracks greater than .5” tall)
- 1 point for Pedestrian Wayfinding
- 0.5 points for pedestrian lighting at night
- 0.5 points for street trees and/or quality street furniture facing the land uses
- 0.5 points for twinkle lights in trees along the corridor
- 0.5 points for sidewalks that are at least 10 feet wide adjacent to retail, at least six feet wide adjacent to residential uses, or at least eight feet wide everywhere else
- 0.5 points for a sense of security by the presence of other people and clear sight lines
- 0.5 points for on-street parking and/or landscaping as a “buffer” from vehicle traffic and pedestrian walkway
People that Ride a Bike
For bicyclists, criteria would evaluate the quality of the system for people that ride a bike (e.g. bicycle route, bicycle lanes, bicycle pathway, separated bikeway/lane; presence of bicycle buffers from the vehicle travel way), the amenities of the system (e.g. presence of bicycle parking), and the friendliness of the infrastructure (e.g. bicycle detection at intersections, pavement conditions, presence of vehicle parking).
Type of Bicycle Facility
- 7 points for separated bikeways/lanes with protected intersections
- 6 points for multiple bicycle facilities (e.g. a bike path and bike lanes or something similar) along the corridor; or
- 5.5 points for separated bikeways/lanes without protected intersections
- 5 points for a off-street path or on-street bicycle lanes with a minimum 3’ buffer (e.g. striped median buffering the bicycles from the vehicles either on the right side or left side of the bike lane depending on if parallel parking exists); or
- 4 points for on street bicycle lanes that incorporates a painted lane that is at least 6 feet wide and signage or a bike route or boulevard designated by signage only that incorporates sharrows and is on a low speed (25 MPH or less)/low stress street; or
- 3 points for bike lanes that are under 6 feet wide or a bike routes with signs only.
Connectivity
- 0.5 points if the street is directly connected to bicycle facilities in all four directions at intersections
Amenities
- 1 point for bicycle wayfinding signage
- 0.5 points if bicycle racks are provided along the street segment corridor
- 0.5 points if signage denoting the bicycle facility is provided
- 0.5 points for bike-friendly intersections (e.g. bicycles are not trapped by right-turn lanes, there is space for bicycles to bypass the vehicle queue, etc.)
- 0.5 points for enhanced bicycle detection or video detection at an intersection
Other Elements
- 0.5 points for posted speed limits of 25 miles per hour or less
- 0.25 points for posted speed limits of 30 miles per hour or less
- 0.5 points for good pavement conditions
Parking
- 1.5 points for no parking along the street or 3’ minimum buffer between parked vehicles and bike facility; or
- 1 point for backed-in angled parking; or
- 0.5 points for parallel parking or front-in angled parking.
People who Use Transit
Transit criteria would evaluate the quality of the system for people that use transit including transit vehicle right-of-way (e.g. dedicated or shared, signal priority), hours and frequency of service (e.g. weekday/weekend hours, peak period headway); performance (e.g. on-time or late); amenities and safety (e.g. lighting, covered stop, bench, on-board bike/surfboard storage); and connectivity (e.g. to other transit routes, employment areas, schools, visitor attractions, and other major destinations).
Service
- 4 points for at least 15 minute headways during the peak hours
- 1.5 point for at least 16-30 minute headways during the peak hours
- 0.5 for at least 31-60 minute headways during the peak hours
- 1.5 points for good on-time performance
- 1.5 points if the route provides for a single transfer to reach one of the regional train stations, Bus Rapid Transit, High Speed Rail, or street cars.
Visual Interest of Adjacent Land Use and Amenities
- 0.5 points for covered bus stops
- 0.5 points for a bench
- 0.25 for a transit schedule posted and/or QR Code available
- 0.5 for real-time next bus arrival notification
- 0.5 points for public art as part of or near the bus stop/station
- 0.5 points for a well-lit stop that provides a sense of security, as observed by analyst
Other Amenities
- 0.5 points for a corridor that has transit preemption to reduce delays
- 0.5 points for routes that have available seats on the bus
- 0.5 points for the availability to directly access multiple routes (e.g. the stop serves more than one bus route)
- 1 point for long-term bike parking availability at the bus stop
- 1 point for buses that provide on-board bike racks
- 0.5 points for buses that provide bike racks on the front of the bus.