Beverly Street demo halved vehicle speeds in loading zones but drew mixed survey responses, staff says

Josh Knight presented final findings from a one-month Beverly Street demonstration on July 23, describing surveys, field observations, and operations during the pilot. "We had nearly 1,100 responses to this 2nd survey," Knight said, and staff also received over 400 responses to an earlier pre-project questionnaire. He told council that midday pedestrian counts on June 25 showed 226 pedestrians in one hour on the block between Augusta and New Streets.

Knight reported that informal speed estimates showed average vehicle speeds of "approximately 21 miles per hour when vehicles were not present in the delivery zone. If there was someone in the delivery zone, that speed dropped down closer to about 13 miles per hour." He said those narrower travel conditions and loading activity encouraged drivers to slow.

Knight acknowledged mixed public sentiment in the survey data: "For those that didn't visit that top bar, 85% opposed the project and wanted to see the lane return to traffic," he said, while those who lingered or sat in the space were more likely to support a permanent change. Staff described operational steps taken during the pilot, including temporary delineators, a 60-foot active delivery zone on each block, daily maintenance by the bike/ped committee, and coordination with police and fire, which reported no significant delays to emergency response during the month.

Councilors praised the staff effort and asked questions about stakeholder outreach, business deliveries, and how the demonstration tied to the HSIP intersection improvements. Staff said the project's visible period ran through June and the raw survey data and slideshow are posted online. Council asked staff to consider better pre-implementation engagement with downtown businesses and aesthetic refinements if the city pursues a permanent project.