Transcript Complete Streets Intro by Michael Ronkin

Is there “enough room” for
Complete Streets?
1
There’s room; it needs to be recaptured
2
Are our streets wide enough?
150’?
3
Make optimal use of the right-of-way
150’?
4
Don’t ask “How much ROW do we need?” but
“What’s the highest and best use of this valuable space?”
5
Streets don’t have to be wide to be great
6
Conventional design – from the inside out
16’
12’
16’
12’
16’
Add up (wide) travel lane, run out of ROW
Result: one narrow curbside sidewalk
7
Proposed design – from the outside in
6’ 8’
6’
11’
11’
6’
8’
6’
Add up desirable elements, fit in ROW; result:
nice sidewalks, bike lanes, adequate travel lanes
8
How much of the ROW should be dedicated to cars?
No more that 40%
9
How much of the ROW should be dedicated to cars?
About 30%
10
How much of the ROW should be dedicated to cars?
About 90%
11
Always start with the edges
12
Same principle for sidewalks: the Zone System
The sidewalk corridor extends from the edge of roadway to
the right-of-way and is divided into 4 zones:
 Curb zone
 Furniture zone
 Pedestrian zone
 Frontage zone
13
Curb Zone
14
Why the curb zone matters:
It’s where pedestrians transition from/to the street
15
Furniture Zone
16
All these things go here!
All the “stuff” goes in the furniture zone
17
Sidewalk with furniture zone is pleasant to walk on
18
Furniture zone can be used for bus pads and shelters
Designing Streets for Pedestrians – Sidewalk Design
2-19
Pedestrian Zone
20
It’s where people walk
21
Frontage Zone
22
Pedestrians don’t like blank walls
23
An interesting façade makes people feel better
24
The Zone System - Summary
Street
Parking
Furniture
Zone
Pedestrian
Zone
3rd example: commercial street
Washington DC
Desi
2-25
gnin
With Zone System
Street furniture arranged in zones leaves sidewalk clear
Washington DC
Desi
2-26
gnin
Without Zone System
Randomly placed street furniture clutters sidewalk
Silverton OR
Desi
2-27
gnin
Textured Surfaces
Bricks, cobblestones, textured pavement
create:
Increased rolling resistance
Tripping hazards
Maintenance hassles
Painful vibrations to people
with brittle bones or spinal
cord injuries in wheelchairs
Designing Streets for Pedestrians – Sidewalk Design
2-28
Concrete in the pedestrian zone,
textured surface in furniture and frontage zones
Philadelphia PA
2-29
"Before the American city could be physically reconstructed to
accommodate automobiles, its streets had to be socially
reconstructed as places where cars belong. Until then, streets were
regarded as public spaces, where practices that endangered or
obstructed others (including pedestrians) were disreputable..."
Let’s establish the Green hierarchy:
1. People on foot
2. People on bikes
3. People on transit
4. People delivering goods
5. People driving cars
-- Peter D. Norton, PhD, professor of Science, Technology, & Society, Univ. of Virginia
from "Street Rivals: Jaywalking and the Invention of the Motor Age Street"