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Urban Street Design Guide Index

Urban Street Design Guide
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Design Controls

Design Controls

Passive vs. Proactive Design

Passive Design

A passive design approach assumes, and strives to account for, the worst case scenario, both in terms of user behavior and traffic congestion. For many years, roadways have been designed with a “passive” approach, allowing drivers to travel unpredictably at high speeds. While a passive approach to system design is sound in parallel fields of engineering, such as stormwater management or seismic engineering for earthquake zones, its consequences on ordinary city streets have been disastrous. Overdesigned buffers, clear zones, and setbacks intended to account for fixed-object crashes have created streets that not only account for, but encourage, unsafe speeds.

Proactive Design

Whereas storms and earthquakes are environmental factors whose impact can be tempered through design, human behavior, which governs traffic engineering, is fundamentally adaptable, not fixed. People adapt to their conditions. Changing streets change behavior, meaning that a street designed for the fastest and worst driver may very well create more drivers who feel comfortable at faster and more unsafe speeds. A proactive approach uses design to affect desired out- comes, guiding user behavior through physical and environmental cues.

Adapted from the Urban Street Design Guide, published by Island Press.

Subsections:

Design Speed

Speed plays a critical role in crashes and the severity of their outcomes. Traditional street design was grounded in highway design principles that forgive driver error and accommodate higher speeds. This approach based the design speed and

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Speed Reduction Mechanisms

At the outset of any redesign or reconstruction, designers set forth key criteria that govern the ensuing design of the street. These parameters, referred to here as “design controls,” critically shape design decisions. High-quality design for city streets and intersections

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Design Vehicle

At the outset of any redesign or reconstruction, designers set forth key criteria that govern the ensuing design of the street. These parameters, referred to here as “design controls,” critically shape design decisions. High-quality design for city streets and intersections

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Design Hour

At the outset of any redesign or reconstruction, designers set forth key criteria that govern the ensuing design of the street. These parameters, referred to here as “design controls,” critically shape design decisions. High-quality design for city streets and intersections

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Design Year

At the outset of any redesign or reconstruction, designers set forth key criteria that govern the ensuing design of the street. These parameters, referred to here as “design controls,” critically shape design decisions. High-quality design for city streets and intersections

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Performance Measures

At the outset of any redesign or reconstruction, designers set forth key criteria that govern the ensuing design of the street. These parameters, referred to here as “design controls,” critically shape design decisions. High-quality design for city streets and intersections

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Functional Classification

At the outset of any redesign or reconstruction, designers set forth key criteria that govern the ensuing design of the street. These parameters, referred to here as “design controls,” critically shape design decisions. High-quality design for city streets and intersections

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References

References for Design Controls: 77 found.