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WEST MAIN STREET PARKING OPPORTUNITIES AND ANALYSIS City of Charlottesville Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 13 CURBSIDE ASSETS AND DEMANDS CURBSIDE AND RIGHT-OF-WAY West Main Street is a vital urban street, a locally designated historic district, and an important connection between the University of Virginia and Downtown Charlottesville, and to its surrounding neighborhoods. In recent years West Main Street has become a vibrant, mixed-use corridor that has a number of competing demands for its curbside space. These demands all need to be met, but should also be prioritized and accommodated accordingly. Transit Access West Main Street is one of the busiest transit corridors in Charlottesville. At present, it carries just two CAT (Charlottesville Area Transit) routes – Route 7 and the Trolley. However, these lines form the backbone of the entire Charlottesville transit system. They connect the two primary transit hubs – one located at the east end of the Pedestrian Mall and the other located at the UVA Hospital, a primary employment center and destination. Additional transit service and increased frequencies are anticipated on the corridor to respond to rising demand. Pedestrian Access Despite the high amount of foot traffic along West Main Street between the University of Virginia and downtown Charlottesville the pedestrian environment on West Main Street is lacking. The sidewalks are narrow, and many intersections lack crosswalks on all approaches. All traffic signals in the study area require pedestrians to push a button to activate the walk signal, allowing them to legally cross the street. Street lighting is poor, which leads to a perceived unsafe environment at night. The notable elements of the current West Main Street Streetscape plan that address the quality of the pedestrian environment include:  Raised crosswalks  Sidewalk widening  Highlighted crosswalks (different materials) Bicycle Access West Main Street is also one of the busiest bicycling corridors in Charlottesville, with the highest bike traffic counts at Ridge McIntire Road, closer to the Downtown Mall. An estimated 237,000 bicycle trips occur here each year. The second highest traffic counts are at Jefferson Park Avenue next to the University of Virginia, where there are an estimated 219,000 bike trips annually. Counts fall in the central portion of the study area; the intersection of West Main and 4 th Street NW has 197,000 bike trips each year, suggesting that bike traffic, like pedestrian traffic, is oriented to destinations at the ends of the study area. However, there are limited bicycle facilities on West Main Street. There are 12 bike racks within a 600 foot walk of the corridor.