The NACTO Urban Street Design Guide shows how streets of every size can be reimagined and reoriented to prioritize safe driving and transit, biking, walking, and public activity. Unlike older, more conservative engineering manuals, this design guide emphasizes the core principle that urban streets are public places and have a larger role to play in communities than solely being conduits for traffic.
The well-illustrated guide offers blueprints of street design from multiple perspectives, from the bird's eye view to granular details. Case studies from around the country clearly show how to implement best practices, as well as provide guidance for customizing design applications to a city's unique needs. Urban Street Design Guide outlines five goals and tenets of world-class street design:
Streets are public spaces. Streets play a much larger role in the public life of cities and communities than just thoroughfares for traffic.
Great streets are great for business. Well-designed streets generate higher revenues for businesses and higher values for homeowners.
Design for safety. Traffic engineers can and should design streets where people walking, parking, shopping, bicycling, working, and driving can cross paths safely.
Streets can be changed. Transportation engineers can work flexibly within the building envelope of a street. Many city streets were created in a different era and need to be reconfigured to meet new needs.
Act now! Implement projects quickly using temporary materials to help inform public decision making.
Elaborating on these fundamental principles, the guide offers substantive direction for cities seeking to improve street design to create more inclusive, multi-modal urban environments. It is an exceptional resource for redesigning streets to serve the needs of 21st century cities, whose residents and visitors demand a variety of transportation options, safer streets, and vibrant community life.
About Island Press
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Foreword
About the Guide
Using the Guide
Streets
Street Design Principles
Key Principles
Phases of Transformation
Street Design in Context
Downtown 1-Way Street
Downtown 2-Way Street
Downtown Thoroughfare
Neighborhood Main Street
Neighborhood Street
Yield Street
Boulevard
Residential Boulevard
Transit Corridor
Green Alley
Commercial Alley
Residential Shared Street
Commercial Shared Street
Street Design Elements
Lane Width
Sidewalks
Curb Extensions
Vertical Speed Control Elements
Transit Streets
Stormwater Management
Interim Design Strategies
Interim Design Strategies
Parklets
Temporary Street Closures
Interim Public Plazas
Intersections
Intersection Design Principles
Principles
Major Intersections
Intersections of Major and Minor Streets
Raised Intersections
Mini Roundabout
Complex Intersections
Complex Intersection Analysis
Redesign
Intersection Design Elements
Crosswalks and Crossings
Crosswalks
Conventional Crosswalks
Critical
Midblock Crosswalks
Pedestrian Safety Islands
Corner Radii
Visibility/Sight Distance
Traffic Signals
Signalization Principles
Leading Pedestrian Interval
Split-Phasing
Signal Cycle Lengths
Fixed vs. Actuated Signalization
Coordinated Signal Timing
Design Controls
Design Controls
Design Speed
Design Vehicle
Design Hour
Design Year
Performance Measures
Functional Classification
Resources
Notes
References
Credits
"...the NACTO guidelines give us a language to discuss transportation policy choices in human terms, on the level of values."
