Madera County commissioned 4Creeks to conduct a mobility study of the La Vina and Parkwood communities. Infrastructure updates to the transportation network[1] in these neighborhoods would help improve community mobility, access, and safety. With strong community input, 4Creeks identified the areas that would have the greatest impact in terms of meeting these goals.

To gather community input, 4Creeks organized 3 meetings in each location. Using a mix of formal presentations, small group discussions, and survey boards, the team was able to understand the areas’ major concerns regarding transportation and mobility. After combining this information with data on existing conditions, 4Creeks created design options uniquely suited to the specific communities.

In La Vina the primary mobility concerns were improving the safety of pedestrians and increasing walkable access to the nearby elementary school. 4Creeks created a plan that would extend sidewalks, in order to decrease the length of intersections for pedestrians, and construct a gravel path protected by a physical barrier to separate children from vehicular traffic. Additionally, the team proposed raised crosswalks with in-pavement lights, painted bicycle lanes, and increased signage to enhance the visibility of pedestrians and cyclists.

For the Parkwood community, the 4Creeks plan included the creation of new bicycle lanes and marked crosswalks, as well as general road improvements and the construction of new sidewalks that connect to those that already exist. Building bulb-outs that extend sidewalks into the intersections would help increase pedestrian visibility and decrease the time it takes to cross the street.

4Creeks’ plans for both locations included implementation schedules and detailed design illustrations so communities could envision the potential projects. Additionally, the plans included cost estimates for each design element and sources of possible funding.