Street Design by Place-Type

Designers of the built street environment must work to address the functionality of the space to ensure compatibility with surrounding land uses as well as transportation network connections. True multimodal street designs must acknowledge how adjacent land uses and building forms influence user perceptions, needs, and safety. Understanding these contextual relationships leads to improved street design. When designing or modifying a street, it is crucial to consider the current and potential future adjacent land uses for the site and block.

Different land uses generate varying amounts of vehicular traffic and on-street parking, and have different frontage and multimodal needs. The land uses adjoining a street are integral to predicting the volume of multimodal demand and the best allocation of right-of-way to support those needs. Consideration should be given to both existing and potential future land uses. Although many neighborhoods and corridors currently have auto-oriented land use patterns and site designs, the development of multimodal street networks is intended to change the city’s transportation system and travel patterns over time. That focus on multimodal transportation is designed to work in conjunction with infill and redevelopment efforts that emphasize a greater mix of uses, walkabilty, transit-oriented development and community centers with proximity to destinations. As neighborhoods and corridors evolve over time, emphasis should be placed on creating opportunities for walkability, even in areas where the full potential has yet to be realized.

Streets should be not be singularly designed for automobile efficiency, but should give due consideration to the surrounding context, and the goals for the place-type where it is located. They should add to an area’s sense of place and promote desired development patterns, rather than discourage them with designs that are out of scale and counterproductive to the preferred result.