Global Street Design Guide Streets Pedestrian-Priority Spaces Pedestrian-Only Streets Example 2: 10 m

Global Street Design Guide

Example 2: 10 m

Additional Considerations

In some cases, a complete pedestrianization may be appropriate only for a few blocks where pedestrian traffic is the highest.

The types of businesses and land uses that occupy the pedestrian corridor and its side streets will affect the street’s function and character at different times of day.

Temporary pedestrianization, using bollards, posts, and diverters, can provide an opportunity to collect comparative data and determine the impacts of closing the street to traffic permanently.¹

Shared streets or other pedestrianpriority streets can be implemented in streets with lower pedestrian volumes to complement pedestrian-only streets or transit. See: Shared Streets.

Provide signs that encourage cyclists to disembark and walk with their cycles, especially in high pedestrian-volume corridors.

Depending on pedestrian density and street width, it may be appropriate to allow cycles in the street if they travel close to walking speeds.

Istanbul, Turkey. Istiklal Avenue is one of the most famous avenues in the city, stretching 1.4 km and lined with a mix of cultural and commercial uses in historic buildings. Measuring approximately 15 m wide, this avenue was pedestrianized in the late 1980s and still runs an occasional historic tram down the center.

LIUYUN XIAOQU; GUANGZHOU, CHINA

Located in the city’s central commercial area, Liuyun Xiaoqu is a dense, mixed-use neighborhood with mid-rise buildings set into small blocks, constraining the amount of street space available. Because the street space is so limited, most of it is dedicated to pedestrians, and motor vehicles are prohibited from entering. Parking provision is very limited and controlled at the perimeter.

Initially, Liuyun Xiaoqu was a gated, single-use residential block, typical of the housing estates built in the late 1980s. Since 2000, when the tenants in the buildings gained the titles to their apartments, the owners started converting their premises to commercial uses, at first for local shops and later for designer clothes and cafés. The ground floor conversions began in 2003, starting near Tianhe Plaza, and eventually expanded until nearly all the ground floors was converted to commercial use, turning the area into an open, mixed-use neighborhood. Leading up to the 2010 Asia Games, which were held in close proximity to the neighborhood, the municipality improved the utilities and infrastructure, invested in the pedestrian areas and landscaping, and added some architectural ornamentation.

The district is well-served by nearby BRT and Metro rail stations, which makes it an accessible destination regionally and connects residents and visitors to the larger transit network.

Liuyun Xiaoqu; Guangzhou, China

Footnotes

^{1. Times Square, Broadway model, NYC, USA. Closed for one year, before and after metric were collected, showing a range of benefits of the closure.}

Adapted by Global Street Design Guide published by Island Press.