NORFOLK, VA – If you walk, drive, or bike along Granby Street between Willow Wood Drive and Admiral Taussig Boulevard (just south of the I-564 overpass), the City of Norfolk wants to hear from you. The Department of Transit is hosting a virtual workshop on March 11, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m., to explore possible bike lane options along this portion of Granby Street. Workshop participants will view a short presentation then join breakout sessions and give their input. To RSVP for the event and learn more about the project visit norfolk.gov/granbybike.
This virtual workshop is the first of two public engagement sessions planned as part of a project development effort for bike lanes along this section of Granby Street. During this workshop, participants will learn about the goals and timeline of the project development effort, review case studies, and explore a variety of bike facility types, such as bike lanes, buffered bike lanes or cycle tracks. The workshop will include small group breakout sessions with members of the project development team, where participants will have the opportunity to share how they currently use Granby Street and challenges relative to walking, biking and driving along the corridor. The City will also collect public input until 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 13 through an online survey and comment map, available at norfolk.gov/granbybike.
The Norfolk Department of Transit will use the input collected through the March virtual workshop and the online survey to produce concept plans for bike lanes along the corridor, illustrating multiple conceptual design options where feasible. The overall project development process also includes a traffic study of the proposed bike lane impacts on traffic patterns. At the second public engagement session tentatively planned for June 2021, participants will have the opportunity to provide input on the concept plans and traffic study results. The goal of the project development process is to produce a recommended concept plan by the end of Summer 2021.
As a key north-south corridor with commercial, residential and recreational centers, Granby Street is identified in Norfolk’s Draft Multimodal Transportation Master Plan as a bicycle, transit and pedestrian emphasis area. A proposed design for Granby Street between Willow Wood Drive and Admiral Taussig Boulevard (just south of the I-564 overpass) was featured in the 2015 Strategic Bike Plan. That proposed design illustrates repurposing of a single vehicle lane in the north- and south-bound directions to buffered bike lanes. In 2016, the City applied for SMART SCALE state transportation funding to complete the detailed design and construction of the proposed bike lanes along this portion of Granby Street. The funding application was successful and the funds became available in 2020. Prior to accepting state funds, the Norfolk Department of Transit is conducting this project development effort to refine the design concept in the Strategic Bike Plan and confirm public support through these public engagement workshops.
Given the documented safety benefits of well-designed lane repurposing and bike lane projects, this potential project is consistent with Norfolk's Vision Zero Initiative, which aims to eliminate all roadway fatalities and serious injuries by providing safe ways for residents to travel. The Virginia SMART SCALE transportation funding program provides support for bicycle and pedestrian facility implementation and is scored by safety, congestion mitigation, accessibility, environmental quality, economic development and land use.