To Walk or Not to Walk

To Walk, or Not to Walk …2009 CNU Project for Transportation Reform (PTR) Summit Portland, Oregon

Richard A. Hall, P.E.

HPEHall Planning & Engineering, Inc.

To walk, or not to walk: that is the question:Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

Edwin Booth, Hamlet 1870Wikipedia

the signs and arrows of outrageous proportion,

Or to take arms against a sea of trucks,And by opposing slow them?

To walk: To speed no more;

and by a stroll to say we end

D. Burdin

the heart-ache of a thousand annual deathsthat flesh is heir to;

To walk, to stroll the street: perchance to dream ...

D. Burdin

life before 30

life after 30

• economy• development projects must sell• Read Greyfields into Goldfields, CNU Lee Sobel• TND property values, 40 to 200% premium

• health• CDC, obesity epidemic• astounding highway fatality rate – 45k/year• safe walk to school

• environment – climate• it’s a crisis!• IPCC UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change• urban design influences VMT, thus a valid solution• what we can’t see can hurt us! 1 pound per mile, out window.

• etc.

Why Walk?

CO2 Emissionsper Passengermile

Drake’s Well – 150 years ago Titusville, Pennsylvania Edwin L. Drake & George Bissell struck oil, at 69 feet August 27/1859

• drivable suburban– FAR = 0.2 – 0.4– vehicle mobility only by LOS - America’s default– extensive parking lots & wide roads– requires estimated 2/3 more energy than walkable urbanism

• walkable urban– FAR = 0.8 – 40.0– total mobility;

–walking, biking, transit, & vehicle use– urban form leads transportation design– often illegal today

from Option of Urbanism by Chris Leinberger:

tale of two cities

Andrew Georgiadisdrivable suburban

walkable urban Andrew Georgiadis

It is not without hazard that change comes

Top 10 Walkability Factors

• 10. Street Trees• 9. Lower Volumes• 8. Sidewalks• 7. Narrow Streets • 6. Interconnected

Streets

• 5. On Street Parking• 4. Lower Traffic Speeds• 3. Mixed Land Use• 2. Buildings Fronting

St. • 1. Small Block Size!

Gaines Corridor Workshop

Urban Transportation Design Question of the Century

• Q. Can you see DOT treating Gaines Street any differently than Capital Circle by the interstate?

• A. No.

“The first step in the (thoroughfare) design process is to define the function that the facility is to serve.” AASHTO

functional classification • Arterials - Connecting major areas, long trips for

mobility• Collectors - Connecting arterials, intermediate trips• Locals - Serving local access & connecting to

collectors, short trips

• All trips are by auto or truck, no pedestrians in the critical functional definition

• Areas = rural or urbanized, only two major areas• Add a third major area type – Compact Urban

larger problem

arterial roadway designs differ only for rural & urbanized areas.

Again, too little regard for walking & compact urban context

rural urbanized

Update the functional classification system areas

rural

suburban

compact urban

Update the functional classification system areas

rural

suburban

compact urban

new compact urban

Update the functional classification system areas

• simulate urbanized travel from past travel patterns• apply expensive travel models of capacity• size network per vehicle LOS to prevent “failure”

• simulate urban form based on measured places • prioritize character and function over capacity• network is sized to yield smaller blocks

suburban

compact urban

what is the difference?

land access

vehicle mobility

arterial

collector

local

land access

mobility for all modes

proportion of service by functional classificationgeneral urban compact urban

vehicles all modes

trip length by functional classification

arterial

collector

local

general urban compact urban

• continue valiant efforts to adjust suburban thoroughfares

• apply complete streets planning & design

• walking is first• set low speeds as 20 & 25• develop ped. scale design parameters • encourage multimodal travel via networks• decrease travel modeling and traffic impact analysis• reward good design behavior with higher funding levels

suburban

compact urban

what is the effect?

The Transect – A Classification System

18 mph

18 mph

Roslyn, NYRoslyn, NY

Roslyn, NYRoslyn, NY

Congestion or Mobility

'tis a transformation devoutly to be wish'd.

D. Burdin

To walk: To speed no more;