18.115.030 Pedestrian access and circulation.
To ensure safe, direct, and convenient pedestrian circulation, all developments, except residential development of four or fewer units on a single lot, shall provide a continuous pedestrian and/or multi-use pathway system. (Pathways only provide for pedestrian circulation. Multi-use pathways accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists.) The system of pathways shall be designed based on the standards in subsections (A) through (E) of this section:
A. Continuous Pathways. The pathway system shall extend throughout the development site, and connect to all future phases of development, adjacent trails, public parks and open space areas whenever possible. The developer may also be required to connect or stub pathway(s) to adjacent streets and private property, in accordance with the provisions of this section.
Figure 18.115.030-1. Pedestrian Pathway System for Multiple-Family Development (Typical)
B. Safe, Direct, and Convenient Pathways. Pathways within developments shall provide safe, reasonably direct and convenient connections between primary building entrances and all adjacent streets, based on the following definitions:
1. Reasonably Direct. A route that does not deviate unnecessarily from a straight line or a route that does not involve a significant amount of out-of-direction travel for likely users.
2. Safe and Convenient. Bicycle and pedestrian routes that are reasonably free from hazards and provide a reasonably direct route of travel between destinations.
3. For commercial, industrial, mixed use, as well as public and institutional buildings, the primary entrance is the main public entrance to the building. In the case where no public entrance exists, street connections shall be provided to the main employee entrance.
4. For residential buildings, the primary entrance is the front door (i.e., facing the street). For multifamily buildings in which each unit does not have its own exterior entrance, the primary entrance may be a lobby, courtyard, or breezeway that serves as a common entrance for more than one dwelling.
5. Walkways shall be constructed with a hard-surfaced material and shall be no less than five feet wide. If adjacent to a parking area where vehicles will overhang the walkway, a seven-foot-wide walkway shall be provided. The walkways shall be separated from parking areas and internal driveways using curbing, landscaping, bollards, or distinctive paving materials.
C. Connections Within Development. For all developments subject to site development plan review (Chapter 18.150 TMC), pathways shall connect all building entrances to one another. In addition, pathways shall connect all parking areas, storage areas, recreational facilities and common areas, and adjacent developments to the site, as applicable.
D. Street Connectivity. Pathways (for pedestrians and bicycles) shall be provided at or near mid-block where the block length exceeds the length required by TMC 18.115.050(J)(1) through (J)(5). Pathways shall also be provided where cul-de-sacs or permanent dead-end streets are planned, to connect the ends of the streets together, to other streets, and/or to other existing or future developments. Pathways used to comply with these standards shall conform to all of the following criteria:
1. All pathways shall be not less than 10 feet and not more than a 20-foot-wide right-of-way or easement that allows access for emergency vehicles;
2. Pathways within subdivisions shall be lighted;
3. Stairs or switchback paths using a narrower right-of-way/easement may be required in lieu of a multi-use pathway where grades are steep;
4. The city may require landscaping and/or fencing within the pathway easement/right-of-way for screening and the privacy of adjoining properties;
5. The community development director or planning commission (for Type III reviews) may determine, based upon facts in the record, that a pathway is impracticable due to: physical or topographic conditions (e.g., freeways, railroads, extremely steep slopes, sensitive lands, and similar physical constraints); buildings or other existing development on adjacent properties that physically prevent a connection now or in the future, considering the potential for redevelopment; and sites where the provisions of recorded leases, easements, covenants, restrictions, or other agreements recorded prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter prohibit the pathway connection.
Figure 18.115.030-2. Pathway Standards (Typical)
E. Design and Construction. Pathways shall conform to all of the standards in subsections (E)(1) through (E)(5) of this section:
1. Vehicle/Pathway Separation. Where pathways are parallel and adjacent to a driveway or street (public or private), they shall be raised six inches and curbed, or separated from the driveway/street by a five-foot-minimum strip with bollards, a landscape berm, or other physical barrier. If a raised path is used, the ends of the raised portions must be equipped with curb ramps that comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
2. Housing/Pathway Separation. Pedestrian pathways for public use shall be separated a minimum of five feet from all residential living areas on the ground floor, except at building entrances. Separation is measured from the pathway edge to the closest dwelling unit. The separation area shall be landscaped in conformance with the provisions of Chapter 18.105 TMC. No pathway/building separation is required for commercial, industrial, public, or institutional uses, except as required for mixed uses when a residential use is on the ground floor.
3. Crosswalks. Where pathways cross a parking area, driveway, or street (“crosswalk”), they shall be clearly marked with contrasting paving materials, humps/raised crossings, or painted striping. An example of contrasting paving material is the use of a concrete crosswalk through an asphalt driveway. If painted striping is used, it shall consist of thermoplastic striping or similar type of durable application. Striping, because of ongoing maintenance costs, is not the city’s preferred alternative.
4. Pathway Surface. Pathway surfaces shall be concrete, asphalt, brick/masonry pavers, or other surface as approved by the city, at least six feet wide or as approved by the city and shall conform to ADA requirements. Multi-use paths (i.e., for bicycles and pedestrians) shall be the same materials, at least 10 feet wide. (See also TMC 18.115.050, Transportation facility standards, for public, multi-use pathway standard.) Pathway right-of-way shall be no less than 15 feet to provide emergency vehicle access. Right-of-way of less than 15 feet may be used where a path could not otherwise be provided, but in no case may a right-of-way less than 12 feet be approved for a public path.
5. Accessible Routes. Pathways shall comply with the ADA, which requires accessible routes of travel. [Ord. 966 § 2 (Exh. B), 2021.]