Rick's Urban Design & Planning was hired to provide urban planning and preliminary engineering services to National City, California in the form of the National City Bikeway Master Plan. National City is over 100 years old and is relatively level, compact and temperate. But National City is not a blank canvas. It is highly urbanized, and is home to an active port, small manufacturers, a major military installation, a vertical downtown, modest residences, two freeways, a trolley system and several busy highways.
For the most part, bikeways had to be retrofitted into this complex and diverse cityscape. The plan emphasizes retaining and enhancing the existing infrastructure to accommodate bicycle use, ever mindful that bikeways will often need to adjust and adapt to economic, engineering, land use and safety priorities. Rick worked closely with City staff and citizens to address tight urban settings, limited rights-of-way, concerns for the need to retain on-street parking, the presence of railroads and major highways in this industrial city, and the use of the bikeways for both recreation and as an attractive and practical option for daily commuting and shopping. National City had severe funding constraints and the Rick team was resourceful in developing unprecedented efficiencies, clever dual usage ideas, and a list of potential funding sources for the ultimate implementation of the project. The bikeway was envisioned as a community-building exercise and a potential matter of civic pride.
Innovations included the most contemporary bicycle and pedestrian practices and designs, emphasis on an active and alluring public realm, and design nuances that attract a variety of users within an urban community setting.
KEY COMPONENTS
A review of state bike design standards
Citizen outreach
Bike rider group outreach
Fieldwork
Survey questionnaire
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis
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