Abstract:
This paper presents concepts on street systems to support Smart Growth that are being developed through a joint project of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Congress for the New Urbanism. The intent of the joint project is to encourage the practice of context sensitive street and network design to create and strengthen multi-modal places, to emphasize walkability, and to support compact, mixed use environments. Within the current practice of street design, network density and functional class are used as inputs to the design process to control the basic size, speed, and accessibility of the roadway being designed. In that context, the network aspects focus on minimizing travel time and congested operations, rather than on defining their contribution to community character. Similarly, while the functional class system establishes the hierarchy for street networks, it remains silent on the size, scale, and modal accommodation of the various roadways in each classification by leaving that activity to a capacity-based needs calculation. The joint project work establishes a dimensional framework that pairs a street typology (modes accommodated, purpose) and design criteria (maximum number of lanes and design speed) with urban design (levels of activity, location of access, relation to street) to create coherent networks that serve the diverse economic, social, and environmental needs of metropolitan communities.
