mccann & lapente (2008) - complete streets - we can get there from here

8/9/2019 McCann & Lapente (2008) - Complete Streets - We Can Get There From Here

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24 ITE JOURNAL / MAY 2008

Complete Streets:We Can Get There from HereTHIS FEATURE EXPLAINS

THE COMPLETE STREETS

MOVEMENT AND EXPLORES

WAYS TO MAKE URBAN

THOROUGHFARES MORE

PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE

FRIENDLY AND RESPECTFUL

OF THE SURROUNDING

COMMUNITY WHILE NOT

UNDULY COMPROMISING

MOTOR VEHICLE TRAVEL.

TECHNIQUES FOR DESIGNING

AN ARTERIAL STREET THAT

CAN CONTROL TRAFFIC

SPEEDS AND PERMIT MORE

COMFORTABLE AND SAFE

PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE

ACCESS ARE DESCRIBED.

BY JOHN LAPLANTE, P.E., PTOE AND BARBARA McCANN

A COMPLETE STREET IS A ROADthat is designed to be safe for drivers;bicyclists; transit vehicles and users; andpedestrians of all ages and abilities. Thecomplete streets concept focuses not juston individual roads but on changing thedecision-making and design process sothat all users are routinely considered dur-ing the planning, designing, building andoperating of all roadways. It is about policyand institutional change.

This may seem simple enough. Overthe last 30 years, a lot of planning andengineering energy have gone into learningto create beautiful streets that work wellfor everyone. Standards from A Policy onGeometric Design of Highways and Streets have been changed to reect a multimodalapproach, but many roads continue to bebuilt as if private motor vehicles and freightare the only users.1 Too many urban arteri-als feature a well engineered place for carsto travel next to a homemade pedestrianfacilitya goat track tramped in thegrasswith a bus stop that is no morethan a pole in the ground uncomfortablyclose to high-speed trafc.

This stems in large part from entrenchedplanning and design practices. Transporta-tion projects typically begin with an au-tomobile-oriented problemincreasingaverage daily trafc or deteriorating levelof service (LOS). The performance of theright of way for bicyclists, pedestrians andtransit riders or transit vehicles often is notmeasured. Roadway classication is simi-larly oriented toward auto mobility.

THE FUNCTIONALCLASSIFICATIONTRAP

Using the standard functional clas-sication system, streets designated asarterials are, by denition, intended pri-marily to provide mobility, with emphasisplaced on operating speed and trafc-carrying capacity (see Figure 1). This leadsto other design requirements that stress

access management, wider lane widths,increased turning radii and minimum in-terference with trafc movements. This,in turn, often leads to urban roadwaysdividing neighborhoods, destroying localbusinesses in established communities andcreating sterile, inhospitable streetscapesin developing suburbs.

CONTEXT-SENSITIVE SOLUTIONS (CSS) As a reaction to this unhealthy trend,

context-sensitive design concepts and tech-niques have developed. Within ITE, a newarterial street design paradigm for urbanareas is being adopted in the RecommendedPractice entitledContext Sensitive Solutionin Designing Major Urban Thoroughfares Walkable Communities . The document isbeing developed in conjunction with theCongress for New Urbanism and the Fed-eral Highway Administration.2

How do complete streets initiativesrelate to CSS? CSS is a project-orientedand location-specic process and is aimedat making sure a road project ts into itscontext. Early projects tended to be largeroadway improvements and featured ex-tensive public meetings, stakeholder out-

Figure 1. Proportion of service. S o u r c e :

A P o l i c y o n

G e o m e t r i c

D e s

i g n

o f H i g h w a y s a n

d S t r e e

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W a s

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D C , U S A :

A m e r

i c a n

A s s o c i a t

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H i g h w a y a n

d T r a n s p o r

t a t i o n

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2 0 0 1

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7

.


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ITE JOURNAL / MAY 2008 25

reach and plenty of extra work. More re-cently, CSS practitioners have recognizedthat this process can be applied to everyproject and that early public involvementdoes not necessarily lead to expensive andtime-consuming outreach efforts.

Complete streets focuses more on roadusers and is about making multimodal ac-commodation routine so that multimodalroads do not require extra funds or extratime to achieve. The intent is to change theeveryday practice of transportation agenciesso that every mode should be part of everystage of the design process in just about everyroad projectwhether a minor trafc signalrehabilitation or a major road widening. Theultimate aim is to create a complete and safetransportation network for all modes. CSSand complete streets can be seen as comple-

mentary, not competitive movements.NATIONAL COMPLETESTREETS COALITION

The National Complete Streets Coali-tion has been working for three years topromote policy and procedural changes atthe federal, state and local levels. In ad-dition to ITE, the coalition includes the American Public Transportation Associa-tion, the American Planning Association, AARP and many others.3

The coalition has succeeded in gain-ing national media attention and policyadoption across the country. More than 50 jurisdictions, from states to small towns,have adopted some type of complete streetspolicy, most over the last few years. In 2007,several cities adopted notable policies, in-cluding Salt Lake City, UT, USA, througha simple executive order; Seattle, WA, USA,through a comprehensive ordinance; andCharlotte, NC, USA, through adoption ofitsUrban Street Design Guidelines .

At the state level, a new law in Illinoisrequires the state department of transpor-tation to accommodate bicycle and pedes-trian travel on all its roads in urbanizedareas. It is effective immediately for proj-ect planning and required in constructionbeginning in August 2008. Other placeshave been building complete streets for awhile, including Oregon; Florida; Arling-ton, VA, USA; and Boulder, CO, USA.

A new complete streets policy adopted bya legislature or city council is likely to makeany engineer nervous. If well written, the im-

pact should be gradual and reasonable. Thesepolicies are not prescriptive. Complete streetswill look different in different places. Theymust be appropriate to their context and tothe modes expected on that corridor.

A bustling street in an urban area mayinclude features for buses, bicycles and pedes-trians as well as private cars; in a more ruralarea with some walkers, a paved shouldermay sufce. Low-trafc streets need few treat-ments. Places with existing complete streetspolicies are successfully building a variety ofroads that meet the varied needs of children,commuters and other users while creating anoverall network that serves all modes.

IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGESIn order for complete streets to be truly

effective, the following implementationmeasures should be considered:

and procedures to serve all modes. guidelines.

serving all modes. for performance improvements.

The policy change should result in aninstitutionalization of the complete streetsapproach in all aspects of the transportationagency and beyond and often means a re-structuring of everyday procedures, begin-ning with scoping. For example, in Char-lotte, transportation planners are using anew six-step complete streets planning pro-cess that systematically evaluates the needsof all modes (see Figure 2).4 The NationalComplete Streets Coalition is offering aLocal Implementation Assistance Programto help jurisdictions with this task.

An effective policy should lead to the re-writing of design manuals. The best exampleof this in the United States is Massachusetts. A complete streets policy statement becameone of three guiding principles for the newaward-winning design guidecontext-sensitivity is another. The new manual hasno chapters for bicycling, walking, transit,

Figure 2. Charlotte, NC, USA, street design standards: A six-step process for considering and bneeds of all users.

1. Define land-use context

6. Describetradeoffsand select

cross-section

2. Definetransportation

context

3. Identifydeficiencies

4. Describefuture objectives

5. Definestreet typeand initial

cross-section

e x

i s t i n g a n

d f u t u r e

C o n

d i t i o n s :

G o a

l s a n

d

o b j e c t

i v e s

D e c i s i o n - m

a k i n g

S o u r c e :

U r b a n

S t r e e

t D e s

i g n

G u i

d e l i n e s

. C h a r

l o t t e ,

N C , U S A :

C h a r

l o t t e

D e p a r

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t a t i o n ,

O c t o b e r

2 0 0 7

. A c c e s s

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or disabled users. Every mode is integratedinto every chapter, with new tools to helpengineers make decisions about balancingthe modes.5

The third of the four implementationsteps is the need for additional trainingfor planners and engineers. Balancing theneeds of all users is a challenge, and doingso with every project requires new toolsand skills. For example, South Carolinahas used its policy to launch a compre-hensive training program.

Complete streets policies also shouldresult in new ways to track the successof the road network in serving all users.Florida; Ft. Collins, CO; and other juris-dictions have adopted multimodal levelof service standards to do that.

SPEED MATTERSComplete streets is about more thansimple allocation of street space. One ofthe major components of this new designparadigm is selecting a design speed thatis appropriate to the actual street typologyand location and that allows safe move-ment by all road users, including morevulnerable pedestrians and bicyclists.From a safety and community livabilitystandpoint, speed does matter.

Everyone should be familiar with thechart that shows that a pedestrian hit bya car traveling at 20 miles per hour (mph)

percent survivability rate. That same colli-sion with a car going twice as fast, 40 mph

-lihood to 15 percent (see Figure 3).

Current practice is to use a design speedbased on a somewhat arbitrary functional

classication and then post a speed limitbased on the 85th-percentile of speeds en-gendered by this articial street designation.This practice is based on the conventionalwisdom that to maintain mobility to andthrough communities, some arterial streetshave to be designated as major trafc carriersor the entire regional economy will grind toa halt. Travel speed has always been equatedas a necessary component of this mobility.

REDEFINING MOBILITYGiven that speeds much over 30 mph

-ible with pedestrians (including transitpassengers) and bicyclists, if not down-right dangerous, is the only choice to sac-rice mobility for community livability?The answer to this question depends on

how mobility is dened. One aspect ofmobility is travel speed or, more accu-rately, total travel time.

For a 5-mile (8 km) trip along an arte-

travel speed, the added travel time for a re-

be 2.5 minutes. In the overall scheme ofthings, how important is this potential de-lay compared to the proven safety benetsand the city livability advantages that comewith the slower trafc speeds?

Some will quote the standard benet-costtravel-time delay litany that multiplies these2.5 minutes times an average daily trafcof 30,000 vehicles times 365 days per yeartimes $20 per hour in time costs, equal-ing $600,000 in lost wages to the economy.However, in reality, the loss is still under 3minutes per individual for this one trip, forwhich he or she is probably not being paidand which is less than the time he or she will-ingly will spend in line for morning coffee.

Take this scenario one step further, tothe all-too-common suburban arterial traf-

hr.), stopping for up to 2 minutes at atrafc signal, accelerating back up to 45

again one-half-mile (0.8 km) down theroad. This uncoordinated signal systemwastes time and fuel, and the many stopsincrease crash rates. If these signals can becoordinated to permit two-way progressionat a constant speed of 25 or 30 mph (40 or

being roughly the same.

The other part of the mobility equationis capacity, with the number of lanes actingas the primary surrogate measurement. Itshould be recognized by now that LOS D isa reasonable peak period LOS in an urbanarea, provided the above-mentioned signalprogression can be maintained. However,some state departments of transportationor regional planning organizations stillrecommend LOS C (or even B) in anurban setting whenever possible.

Not only is this a waste of tax dol-lars constructing unneeded pavement,it also increases pedestrian crossing dis-tances (and thus pedestrian crossing times,which impact negatively on signal timingfor vehicular trafc) and encourages fastervehicular speeds during the other 22 hoursof the day in each direction.

ARTERIAL TRAFFIC CALMINGMEASURES

The remainder of this feature dealswith specic design measures that maybe used to retrot urban arterials intocomplete streets. These roads present oneof the biggest challenges to engineers inthat they tend to be the most hostile tobicyclists, pedestrians and transit riders,but all of these modes are usually presentin signicant numbers.

Arterial trafc calming rst must dealwith controlling vehicular speeds. In ad-dition to timing the trafc signals for a

-ing speed, other possible speed controlmeasures include:

results of a recent National Coop-erative Highway Research Program

10-foot (3.0-m) lanes in urban areasare just as safe as 12-foot (3.6-m)lanes for posted speeds of 45 mph

6 road diet can work for average dailytrafc volumes as high as 20,000.This makes the more prudent driverthe pace car for that roadway andgreatly improves left turning safety. -ing the appropriate design vehicleand using the minimum needed toprovide the effective turning radiusfrom the closest approach lane intoFigure 3. Vehicle speed versus injury and death.

S o u r c e :

G u i

d e t o R e c o m m e n

d e d P e d e s t r i a n

S a f e t y

P l a n n i n g

. W a s

h i n g

t o n ,

D C , U S A :

F e d e r a

l H i g h w a y

A d m

i n i s t r a t

i o n ,

1 9 8 9

.


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ITE JOURNAL / MAY 2008 27

any lane in the departure roadway willslow down turning vehicle speeds. turn lanes: This specically includesfreeway entry and exit ramp connec-tions. Encouraging freeway speedsonto or off arterial streets is particu-larly dangerous for both pedestriansand bicyclists. -sually narrow the roadway and pro-vide a median refuge for mid-blockcrossings. -propriate low-maintenance landscap-ing further visually narrows the road-way and provides a calming effect. provides for community access while

creating a signicant trafc calmingeffect. parking exists, curb bulb-outs shortenpedestrian crossing distances, improvesight lines and help control parking.

PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGSThe other important element in cre-

ating a pedestrian-friendly arterial streetis making pedestrian crossing locationssafe, comfortable and more frequent. Onany road where there is transit service, apedestrian will cross wherever there is atransit stop, whether it is provided foror not. In a dense downtown case withsignals spaced every 300 to 600 feet (90to 180 m), crossing at a trafc signal is areasonable expectation. However, alongmost urban and suburban arterials, thesesignals usually are spaced no closer thanevery one-quarter mile.

Requiring travel just 1,200 feet (360 m)or more out of the way to cross a street willadd 5 minutes to the travel time of a pe-destrian walking at the average 4.0 feet persecond (1.2 m per second) walking speed.If a 5-minute detour for all automobiletrafc were suggested, this would be theequivalent of adding a distance of 2.5 miles(4 km) for a car traveling at 30 mph (50

instantaneous.

Many of the suggested pedestriancrossing improvements ow directly outof the trafc speed control measures notedabove. They include:

pedestrian crossing distance androadway exposure time. lanes to be crossed. pedestrian crossing distances andprovide space for perpendicular curbramps. where design vehicle turning radii donot permit a small corner radius: Alsoshorten pedestrian crossing distances. refuge and allow pedestrians to crosshalf the street at a time. crossing distances, improve sight linesand provide space for curb ramps. pedestrian crossing warning signs:Effective for lightly-traveled arterialsposted for urban speed limits. -ing signs: For heavier trafc ows. signals: Will be in the new Manualon Uniform Trafc Control Devices (MUTCD). -nals should now be timed using thenew MUTCD pedestrian walkingspeed of 3.5 feet per second (1.05m per second) to set the Flashing

Dont Walk pedestrian clearance timeand 3.0 feet per second (0.9 m per

Flashing Dont Walk time. MUTCD will not only requirecountdown clocks at all new pedes-trian signal installations, but therewill be a 10-year compliance datefor retrotting all existing pedestriansignal locations, nally correcting thelongstanding confusion surroundingthe traditional but counter-intuitiveFlashing Dont Walk.

TRAFFIC TAMINGIn conclusion, instead of the concept

of trafc calming used in discussing thedesign of residential streets, the term traf-c taming should describe the concept ofmaking arterial streets more pedestrian,bicycle and community friendly. Thiscompilation of suggestions for retrot-ting arterial streets into complete streetsis not meant to be all-inclusive. Manymore solutions are available once the taskof designing arterial roadways for commu-nity livability while retaining a reasonablelevel of mobility along the most importanttravel corridors is taken seriously.

Complete streets is both evolutionaryand revolutionary. A growing awarenessof other transportation modes has led toa trend toward accommodating a wider

S o u r c e :

B e n

M i l l e r

, C h a r

l o t t e

D e p a r

t m e n

t o f

T r a n s p o r

t a t i o n .

Figure 4. Redesigned intersection of Kenilworth and Romany in Charlotte, NC, USA.


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variety of users. Complete streets is simplythe latest evolutionary step in this process. At the same time, stepping beyond howdesign typically is done today by greatlyincreasing travel options, exibility andusability, a revolutionary new network oftravel can be created for all modes.

Largely through the work of the trans-portation industry, the United States hassucceeded brilliantly over the last centuryin building better roads for farmers, na-tional security and economic growth. It isnow time to achieve the same success inthe challenge of completing U.S. streetsfor everyone.

References 1. A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways

and Streets. Washington, DC, USA: American

Association of State Highway and TransportationOfcials, 2001, pp, 17.2. Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing

Major Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Com-munities, A Draft Recommended Practice. Wash-ington, DC: ITE, 2006.

3. To see a complete list of coalition members,

visit l.4. Urban Street Design Guidelines. Charlotte,

NC, USA: Charlotte Department of Transpor-tation, October 2007. Accessible via www.

urban+street+design+guidelines.htm.5. Massachusetts Highway Department Project

Development & Design Guide . Accessible via www.p.

6. National Cooperative Highway ResearchProgram Project 3-27:Preliminary Report, Urbanand Suburban Lane Widths. USA: Midwest Research Institute, 2007.

JOHN N. LAPLANTE,P.E., PTOE, is chieftransportation planning

engineer for T.Y. LinInternational Inc., work-ing out of the Chicago,IL, USA, ofce. Priorto joining the rm in

1992, he was with the City of Chicago for 30 yearsin various transportation engineering positions,

including chief city trafc engineer, rst deputycommissioner of public works and acting commsioner of the new department of transportation.His education includes a B.S.C.E. from the IllinoInstitute of Technology and an M.S.C.E. fromNorthwestern University. He is a fellow of ITE.

BARBARA McCANN,of McCann Consulting,serves as coordinator ofthe National CompleteStreets Coalition. Inaddition, she researchesthe effectiveness ofcomplete streets policies

around the country. She is an author and forme journalist who has written and co-authorednumerous reports and articles on the intersec-tion of transportation and land use and how the

transportation system affects issues ranging froclimate change to personal health and economi growth. She also served as director of researchSmart Growth America and directed the Qualitof Life Campaign at the Surface TransportationPolicy Project.

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