1300 South (State St to 700 E) Community Livability Project

Responsive Margin

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Overview

The 1300 South Community Livability Project was completed in 2013 to increase livability, safety, and mobility for all roadway users. The project transformed 1300 South between State Street and 700 East into a complete street with one vehicle lane in each direction, a continuous two-way left-turn lane, and bike lanes. The project supports the community’s desire for a bike route on 1300 South and to improve crosswalk safety as outlined in the 2005 Central City Community Master Plan.

A picture of 1300 South before and after a lane reconfiguration project.

Traffic volume and speed data

When traffic volumes are within a certain range, converting a road from four lanes to three generally has little impact on how much traffic it carries. Traffic on 1300 South fell within this range, so we expected minimal change. This type of conversion often lowers travel speeds, as drivers must follow the pace of the lead vehicle without an extra lane to pass slower traffic.

More data

Crash analysis

A simple before-and-after crash study was conducted for 1300 South between State Street and 700 East, comparing crash data from the four years before and after the project. Crashes during construction (August–September 2013) were excluded, as they don’t reflect normal conditions.

Overall, the average number of crashes in the four years after the project was 27% lower than in the four years before.

Before and after years for the study are as follows:

“Year -4” = August 1, 2009 – July 31, 2010
“Year -3” = August 1, 2010 – July 31, 2011
“Year -2” = August 1, 2011 – July 31, 2012
“Year -1” = August 1, 2012 – July 31, 2013
“Year +1” = October 1, 2013 – September 30, 2014
“Year +2” = October 1, 2014 – September 30, 2015
“Year +3” = October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016
“Year +4” = October 1, 2016 – September 30, 2017