Global Street Design Guide

Download caret-down

Download for Free

Thank you for your interest! The guide is available for free indefinitely. To help us track the impact and geographical reach of the download numbers, we kindly ask you not to redistribute this guide other than by sharing this link. Your email will be added to our newsletter; you may unsubscribe at any time.

 

"*" indicates required fields

Name
Address
Purchase
Table of Contents
gdci-stacked-color copy
Table of Contents

Global Street Design Guide

Notes

1 Defining Streets

  1. Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (New York: Vintage Books, 1961).
  2. CABE, Paved with Gold: The Real Value of Street Design Briefing. Publication (London: Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, 2007).
  3. World Health Organization, Global status report on road safety (Geneva: WHO, 2013).
  4. A modeling study of Portland, Oregon (USA) estimated that by 2040, investments in bike facilities (costing from $138 to $605 million) will result in healthcare-cost savings of $388 million to $594 million, fuel savings of $143 million to $218 million, and savings in the value of statistical lives of $7 million to $12 billion. Thomas Gotschi, “Costs & Benefits of Bicycling Investments in Portland, Oregon”. Journal of Physical Activity & Health 8 (2011), 49–58.
  5. In America the average cost of congestion to a car-owning household is estimated to be $1,700 a year; in France it is $2,500. But traffic is so bad in Los Angeles that each resident loses around $6,000 a year twiddling their thumbs in traffic—at a total cost of $23 billion, the costs are estimated to exceed that of the whole of Britain. But these costs do not take account of the price of carbon-dioxide emissions. In total, over 15,000 kilotons of needless CO2 fumes were expelled last year—which would cost an additional $350m to offset at current market prices. In choked-up Los Angeles $50m alone would have to be set aside. “The cost of traffic jams”, The Economist, accessed June 7, 2016 http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/11/economist-explains-1.
  6. L. J. Blincoe et al., The economic and societal impact of motor vehicle crashes (Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2010).
  7. Chung Yim Yiu, “The Impact of a Pedestrianisation Scheme on Retail Rent-an Empirical Study in Hong Kong.” Journal of Place Management and Development 4, No.3 (2011).
  8. New York City Department of Transportation, Measuring the Street: New Metrics for 21st Century Streets (New York, NY: NYC DOT, 2012).
  9. Foster Josh, Lowe Ashley and Winkelman Steve. The Value of Green Infrastructure for Urban Climate Adaptation (Washington, DC: Center for Clean Air Policy, 2011)
  10. Foster, The Value of Green Infrastructure for Urban Climate Adaptation
  11. Michael Alabi et al., “Street Tree Canopy Cover Variation Effects on Temperature in Lokoja, Nigeria.” Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences 2 No. 2 (2013): 25.
  12. David Nowalk et al., Understanding the Benefits and Costs of Urban Forest Ecosystems: Handbook of urban and Community Forestry in the Northeast New York (New York, NY: Klumer Academic/Plenum, 2007).
  13. Robert J. Shapiro, Kevin A. Hassett, and Frank S. Arnold, Conserving Energy and Preserving the Environment: The Role of Public Transportation (Washington, DC: American Public Transportation Association, 2002).
  1. Kathleen L. Wolf, “Urban Nature Benefits: Psycho-Social Dimensions of People and plants” (Fact Sheet No. 1, Center for Urban Horticulture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 1998)
  2. Foster Josh, Lowe Ashley and Winkelman Steve. The Value of Green Infrastructure for Urban Climate Adaptation (Washington, DC: Center for Clean Air Policy, 2011)
  3. Ralf Hansmann, Stella-Maria Hug, and Klaus Seeland, “Restoration and Stress Relief through Physical Activities in Forests and Parks” Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 6, no. 4 (2007): 213-25.
  4. Frances, Kuo and W. C. Sullivan, “Environment and Crime in the Inner City: Does Vegetation Reduce Crime?” Environment and Behavior 33, no. 3 (2001): 343-67.
  5. World Health Organization, Road Traffic Injuries (Geneva: WHO, 2015).
  6. World Health Organization, Global status report on road safety (Geneva: WHO, 2015), 9.
  7. Ben Welle et al. Cities Safer by Design: Guidance and Examples to Promote Traffic Safety through Urban and Street Design (Washington, DC: World Ressource Institute, 2015). Erik Rosén and Ulrich Sander, “Pedestrian fatality risk as a function of car impact speed,” Accident Analysis and Prevention 41, No. 3 (2009).
  8. “Stopping distances,” Department of Transport and Main Roads, Government of Queensland, accessed June 7, 2016, http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Safety/Driver-guide/Speeding/Stopping-distances.aspx.
  9. New York City Department of Transportation, NYC Pedestrian Safety Study & Action Plan (New York, NY: NYCDOT, 2010), accessed June 7, 2016, http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/nyc_ped_safety_study_action_plan.pdf. Transportation for London, Safe Streets for London (London: TFL, 2014), accessed June 7, 2016, https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/safety-and-security/road-safety/safe-streets-forlondon. February 2014
  10. I. York, The Manual for Streets: Evidence and Research (Crowthorne: Transport Research Laboratory, 2007).
  11. World Health Organization, Road Traffic Injuries (Geneva: WHO, 2015).
  12. World Health Organization, “Ambient (outdoor) air quality and health.” Fact sheet No. 313, World Health Agency, March 2014.
  13. World Health Organization, “Physical Activity.” Fact sheet No. 385, World Health Agency, January 2015.
  14. New York City Department of Transportation, The Economic Benefits of Sustainable Streets (New York, NY: NYC DOT, 2014).
  15. Jacques K. and Levinson H., “Operational Analysis of Bus Lanes on Arterials,” TCRP report 26 (2001): 25. Ryus Paul et al., “Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual,” TCRP Report 165 (2013). National Association of City Transportation Officials, Transit Streets Design Guide (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2016).
  16. Ibid.

2 Shaping Streets

  1. Kim, Patricia and Elisa Dumitrescu, Share the Road: Investment in Walking and Cycling Road Infrastructure (Nairobi: UNEP Transport, November 2010).
  2. New York City Department of Transportation, Street Design Manual (New York, NY: NYC DOT, 2009).
  3. Drew,Meisel, Bike Corrals: Local Business Impacts, Benefits,and Attitudes (Portland: Portland State University, 2010), accessed June 7, 2016, http://nacto.org/docs/usdg/bike_corrals_miesel.pdf
  4. Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories, New Road Construction Concepts: Toward Reliable, Green, Safe, Smart, And Human Infrastructure (Brussels: FEHRL, 2008)
  5. Mike Pinard, “Alternative Materials and Pavement Design Low-Volume Sealed Roads” (Paper presented at the SSATP International Workshop, Bamako, January 2006).
  1. University of Maryland, “Permeable Pavement Fact Sheet” (Fact Sheet, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 2011)
  2. C. Michau and M.T. Seager, “The Use of Precast Concrete Blocks for the Construction of Strip Roads in Third World Countries” Concor Technicrete, http://www.icpi.org/sites/default/files/techpapers/7.pdf
  3. Susan, Kocher et al., “Rural Roads: A Construction and Maintenance Guide,” accessed June 7, 2016, http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8262.pdf Delhi Development Authority, “Street Design Guidelines for Equitable Distribution of Road Space (New Delhi: DDA, 2010), accessed June 7, 2016, http://uttipec.nic.in/writereaddata/linkimages/7554441800.pdf. Ria Sulinda Hutabarat Lo, “Walkability Planning in Jakarta” (PhD diss., University of Califronia, Berkeley 2011), accessed June 7, 2016, http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/etd/ucb/text/Lo_berkeley_0028E_11844.pdf.

3 Measuring and Evaluating Streets

  1. AARP, Evaluating Complete Streets Projects: A guide for practitioners (Washington, DC: AARP, 2015), accessed June 7, 2016, http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/evaluating-complete-streets-projects.pdf.
  1. New York City Department of Transportation. Measuring the Street: New Metrics for 21st Century Streets (New York, NY: NYC DOT, 2012). US Environmental Protection Agency. Guide to Sustainable Transportation Performance Measures (Washington, DC: EPA, 2011).

4 Designing Streets for Great Cities

  1. Richard Campbell and Margaret Wittgens, “The Business Case for Active Transportation: The Economic Benefits of Walking and Cycling,” (Gloucester, ON: Go For Green, 2004).

6 Designing Streets for People

  1. NYC Department of City Planning, Active Design: Shaping the Sidewalk Experience (New York, NY: NYC DCP, 2013).
  2. As an example, Washington, D.C.’s Design Engineering Manual states that a sidewalk should exist on both sides of every street or roadway. District Department of Transportation, Design and Engineering Manual (Washington, DC:
  3. Jure Kostanjsek and Lipar,Peter, “Pedestrian crossings priority for pedestrian safety” (Paper presented at the 3rd Urban Street Symposium, Seattle, June 2007).
  4. Flusche Darren, Bicycling Means Business – The Economic Benefits of Bicycle Infrastructure. Advocacy Advance. New York City Department of Transportation. Measuring the Street: New Metrics for 21st Century Streets (New York, NY: NYC DOT, 2012). Rachel Aldred, Benefits of Investing in Cycling (Manchester: British Cycling, 2014).
  5. Geller Roger, “Four Types of Cyclists,” Portland Office of Transportation, 2015, accessed June 7, 2016, https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/264746.
  6. Anne C. Lusk , Peter G. Furth, Patrick Morency, Luis F. Miranda-Moreno, Walter C. Willett, and Jack T Dennerlein. “Risk of Injury for Bicycling on Cycle Tracks Versus in the Street.” Injury Prevention 17, No. 2 (2010) 131–135.
  7. National Association of City Transportation Officials, Bikeway Design Guide (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2012).
  8. Cara Seiderman, “Contraflow Bicycle Lanes on Urban Streets,” accessed June 7, 2016, http://www.pedbikesafe.org/BIKESAFE/case_studies/casestudy.cfm?CS_NUM=209.
  9. Steve Vance, “Divvy Releases Trove of Bike-Share Trip Data”. Streetsblog (blog) February 20, 2014, accessed June 6, 2016 http://chi.streetsblog.org/2014/02/20/divvy-releases-trove-of-bike-share-trip-data/
  10. National Association of City Transportation Officials, Transit Streets Design Guide (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2016).
  11. Theo Petrisch, “The Truth about Lane Widths,” The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, accessed June 6, 2016, http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/data/library/details.cfm?id=4348
  1. Research suggests that lane widths of less than 12 feet on urban and suburban arterials do not increase crash frequencies.Ingrid Potts, Douglas W. Harwood, and Karen R. Richard, “Relationship of Lane Width to Safety on Urban and Suburban Arterials,” (paper presented at the TRB 86th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, January 21–25, 2007): 1–6.
  2. Eric Dumbaugh and Wenhao Li, “Designing for the Safety of Pedestrians, Cyclists, and Motorists in Urban Environments.” Journal of the American Planning Association 77 (2011): 70.
  3. Previous research has shown various estimates of relationship between lane width and travel speed. One account estimated that each additional foot (0.3 m) of lane width related to a 2.9 mph (4.7 km/h) increase in driver speed.
    Kay Fitzpatrick, Paul Carlson, Marcus Brewer, and Mark Wooldridge, “Design Factors That Affect Driver Speed on Suburban Arterials,” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 1751 (2000):18–25.
    Other Refrences include:
    Joe Cortright, Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities (Chicago: CEOs for Cities, 2009).
    Paul D. Thompson et al., NCHRP Report 713: Estimating Life Expectancies of Highway Assets (Washington, D.C.: Transportation Research Board, 2012).
    Federal Highway Administration, Sidewalk Corridor Width: Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access (Washington, D.C.: US DOT, 2001).
    Ingrid B. Potts, John F. Ringert, Douglas W. Harwood, and Karin M. Bauer, “Operational and Safety Effects of Right-Turn Deceleration Lanes on Urban and Suburban Arterials,” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2023 (2007).
    Elizabeth Macdonald, Rebecca Sanders and Paul Supawanich. The Effects of Transportation Corridors’ Roadside Design Features on User Behavior and Safety, and Their Contributions to Health, Environmental Quality, and Community Economic Vitality: a Literature Review. Working Paper prepared for the University of California Transportation Center, University of California, Berkeley, 2008.

7 Utilities and Infrastructure

  1. Doick Kieron and Hutchings Tony, “Air temperature reduction by urban trees and green infrastructure” (Research Note, Forestry Commission, February 2013), accessed June 6, 2016, http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/FCRN012.pdf/$FILE/FCRN012.pdf.
    Tara Zupancic, Westmacott Claire, and Bulthuis Mike, Impact of Green Space on Heat and Air Pollution (Vancouver, BC: David Suzuki Foundation, March 2015).
  1. Dan Burden, “Urban Street Trees, 22 Benefits Specific Application,” accessed June 6, 2016, http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/22_benefits_208084_7.pdf.2006.

8 Operational and Management Strategies

  1. Vikash V. Gayah, “Two-Way Street Networks: More Efficient than Previously Thought?” Access Magazine, University of California Transportation Center, No. 41 (2012), 10–12.

9 Design Controls

  1. “Pedestrian Safety Review: Risk Factors and Countermeasures,” (Salt Lake City: Department of City and Metropolitan Planning, University of Utah, School of Public Health and Community Development, Maseno University, 2012)
  2. A. Bartmann, W. Spijkers and M. Hess, “Street Environment, Driving Speed and Field of Vision,” Vision in Vehicles III (1991). W. A. Leaf and David F. Preusser, Literature review on vehicle travel speeds and pedestrian injuries (Washington, D.C: US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1999).
  1. World Health Organization. World Report on road traffic injury prevention. (Geneva: WHO, 2004).
  2. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (Washington, DC: AASHTO , 2011).
  3. National Association of City Transportation Officials, Urban Street Design Guide (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2013)
  4. Stephen Atkins et al. “Disappearing Traffic? The story so far,” Municipal Engineer 151, No.1 (2002): 13-22.

10 Streets

  1. New York City Department of Transportation. Measuring the Street: New Metrics for 21st Century Streets (New York, NY: NYC DOT, 2012).
  2. Times Square, Broadway model, NYC, USA. Closed for one year, before and after metric were collected, showing a range of benefits of the closure.
  3. Bate, Weston, Essential but unplanned: the story of Melbourne’s lanes (Melbourne: City of Melbourne and State Library of Victoria, 1994)
  4. Boffa Miskell Limited, Central City Lanes Report: Lanes Design Guide (Christchurch: Christchurch City Council, 2006).
  5. The San Francisco Better Streets Plan considers raised crosswalks at alleyways and shared public ways a standard treatment.
    Varat, Adam, & Cristina Olea, San Francisco Better Streets Plan (San Francisco, CA: SF Planning Department and Municipal Transportation Agency: 2012), 53.
  6. History Program at the City of Sydney, “Sydney’s Little Laneways Historical Walking Tour” September 2011.
  7. Madeline Brozen et al., Reclaiming the Right-of-Way: Best Practices for Implementing and Designing Parklets. (Los Angeles: UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, University of California Los Angeles, 2012), 109.
  8. Brozen, Reclaiming the Right-of-Way: Best Practices for Implementing and Designing Parklets, 87.
  9. The Great Streets Project conducted a study in 2011 about the impacts of San Francisco parklets that found generally positive results relating to economics.
    Liza Pratt, Parklet Impact Study (San Francisco: SF Great Streets Project, 2011).
  10. New York City Department of Transportation. Measuring the Street: New Metrics for 21st Century Streets (New York, NY: NYC DOT, 2012).
  11. New York City Department of Transportation, Street Design Manual (New York, NY: NYC DOT, 2009).
  12. The Madison Square public plaza in New York City is maintained by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership and the Madison Square Conservancy. Staff removes tables and chairs each night to prevent theft and clean the space.
    Sabina Mollot, “Flatiron street to become pedestrian plaza,” Flatiron 23rd Street Partnership, accessed February 3, 2016, http://www.flatironbid.org/documents/flatiron_triangles.pdf.
    NYC Department of Transportation’s Plaza Program is a key part of City’s effort to ensure that all New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of quality, open space. New York City Department of Transportation, “Plaza Program,” accessed June 6, 2016 http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/nyc-plaza-program.shtml
  1. A Journal of Urban Health study examined the costs and health benefits of four ciclovía events. The study found that benefits—in terms of economy and health—far outweigh the cost of the event. This is mostly because such events utilize existing infrastructure and are often the result of partnerships between public and private agencies.
    Felipe Montes et al., “Do Health Benefits Outweigh the Costs of Mass Recreational Programs? An Economic Analysis of Four ciclovía Programs,” Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York City Academy of Medicine 89, No.11 (2011).
  2. Many health care providers have sponsored open street events. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota sponsored Open Streets events in seven communities.
    For a compendium of case studies on open streets programs, see:
    Street PLans, “The Open Streets Guide” (New York, NY: Street Plans and Alliance for Biking & Walking, 2012), accessed June 6, 2016, http://www.bikewalkalliance.org/storage/documents/reports/OpenStreetsGuide.pdf
  3. UN Habitat, Streets as Public Spaces and Drivers of Urban Prosperity (Nairobi: UN Habitat, 2012).
  4. UN Habitat, Streets as Public Spaces and Drivers of Urban Prosperity (Nairobi: UN Habitat, 2012).
  5. UN Habitat, Streets as Public Spaces and Drivers of Urban Prosperity (Nairobi: UN Habitat, 2012).

Adapted by Global Street Design Guide published by Island Press.

References

Next Section —

References