Prevailing design guidelines recommend a minimum sidewalk cross-section of 5 feet, exclusive of other amenities and large enough for two people walking side by side. While this dimension meets minimum ADA accessibility standards, many cities have chosen to adopt wider standards. Sidewalk standards should accommodate higher anticipated pedestrian volumes and provide ample space for an expanded frontage zone as well as other street furniture, such as trash receptacles, bus stops, signage, and bike share stations.1
1Frontage Zone
The frontage zone describes the section of the sidewalk that functions as an extension of the building, whether through entryways and doors or sidewalk cafes and sandwich boards. The frontage zone consists of both the structure and the façade of the building fronting the street, as well as the space immediately adjacent to the building.
2Pedestrian Through Zone
The pedestrian through zone is the primary, accessible pathway that runs parallel to the street. The through zone ensures that pedestrians have a safe and adequate place to walk and should be 5–7 feet wide in residential settings and 8–12 feet wide in down town or commercial areas.
3Street Furniture/Curb Zone
The street furniture zone is defined as the section of the sidewalk between the curb and the through zone in which street furniture and amenities, such as lighting, benches, newspaper kiosks, utility poles, tree pits, and bicycle parking are provided. The street furniture zone may also consist of green infrastructure elements, such as rain gardens or flow-through planters.
4Enhancement/Buffer Zone
The enhancement/buffer zone is the space immediately next to the sidewalk that may consist of a variety of different elements. These include curb extensions, parklets, stormwater management features, parking, bike racks, bike share stations, and curbside bike lanes or cycle tracks.
- A 2003 newsletter of “Let’s Talk Business” cited several economic benefits of walkable communities, including a case study from Lodi, CA that cited how pedestrian improvements paired with economic development incentives dropped the retail vacancy rate from 18% to 6% and also resulted in a 30% increase in downtown sales tax revenues.
Bill Ryan, “Let’s Talk Business: Ideas for Expanding Retails and Services in Your Community,” UW Extension, July 2003
A 2011 research study titled Examining Walkability and Social Capital as Indicators of Quality of Life at the Municipal and Neighborhood Scales used a case study approach between three communities in New Hampshire. Comparisons between the more walkable and less walkable neighborhoods show that levels of social capital are higher in more walkable neighborhoods.
Shannon H. Rogers, John M. Halstead, Kevin M. Gardner, and Cynthia H. Carlson, “Examining Walkability and Social Capital as Indicators of Quality of Life at the Municipal and Neighborhood Scales,” Applied Research Quality of Life 6 (2010): 201–213. ↩︎