Cities are realizing the potential of the curb for more than just parking: bus stops, bike lanes, commercial loading, passenger pick up and drop off, vehicle parking, daylighting, bike share stations, turn lanes, and more. Allocating space efficiently and safely among these many uses is a continuous and important topic.

On November 10, NACTO convened more than a dozen members of our Best Practices at the Curb Working Group in Santa Monica, California, for a roundtable. Planning, design, and policy leads from NACTO member agencies worked together to define curb access needs, discuss curb lane design, share regulation strategies, consider data management approaches, and discuss the disconnects between land use development and curb management. 

This roundtable builds on NACTO’s year-long work to dig in deeper to the challenge of managing the curb—a topic that we’ve addressed before in related work, but that deserves elevation to a standalone focus area. Earlier this year, we launched a Curb Management Peer Network, where member agency staff working on curb issues can ask questions and have discussions on NACTO’s member forum and through regular online meetings. We also established a working group that meets monthly to guide NACTO’s curb management products and programs.

This roundtable was the first in-person gathering for this working group. Members built connections, put pen to paper (or marker to whiteboard), toured our host city, and participated in a discussion on data needs with the Open Mobility Foundation.

Our roundtable events are designed to facilitate in-depth, small group conversations about complex ideas, and attendees tackled the topic in detail, generating discussions and ideas that NACTO will use to shape our work and create resources for the whole NACTO network. 

This event wouldn’t have been possible without support. NACTO would like to thank: 

• Our hosts at the City of Santa Monica who provided a space for us to gather, organized an optional tour of the city, and offered insights into how they serve residents, visitors, and workers.
• Arnold Ventures, which has helped fund NACTO’s curb management work as well as this roundtable. 

On a bike tour, participants stopped to learn about a protected intersection design on 17th Street.

Roundtable participants learn about the city’s strategies for managing curb demand on 2nd Ave.

Participants sit in small groups before the roundtable begins.

Anuj Gupta, Director, Santa Monica Department of Transportation, welcomes everyone to Santa Monica.

The Open Mobility Foundation led an interactive discussion of data needs.