LIVABLE STREETS INITIATIVE: THE TENSION BETWEEN ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS AND VIRGINIA CODE AND GUIDELINES

The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) staff was requested to undertake a study which evaluates the compatibility of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) guidelines with the concept of "livable streets." Livable streets are residential streets which are built (or modified) to be safe and user-friendly, for pedestrians as well as drivers, and visually pleasing to those who live along them. Some people believe that certain street guidelines, such as a 30-foot minimum pavement width, sacrifice aesthetic and pedestrian goals in order to better serve vehicular traffic. This study examines which tools used to create livable streets are compatible with VDOT guidelines, regulations, and laws and which are not. It is to be used by localities, developers, and consultants to aid them as they choose local street designs and seek approval from VDOT for these designs.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • The symposium proceedings are available on CD-ROM.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Case, R B
• Conference:
  • 2nd Urban Street Symposium: Uptown, Downtown, or Small Town: Designing Urban Streets That Work
  • Location: Anaheim, California , United States
  • Date: 2003-7-28 to 2003-7-30
• Publication Date: 2003-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; Photos; References;
• Pagination: 18p
• Monograph Title: 2ND URBAN STREET SYMPOSIUM: UPTOWN, DOWNTOWN, OR SMALL TOWN: DESIGNING URBAN STREETS THAT WORK, JULY 28-30, 2003, ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aesthetics; Guidelines; Highway design; Pedestrians; Regulations; Residential streets; State laws
• Geographic Terms: Virginia
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Law; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00989135
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 4 2005 12:00AM