There are ways to use this resource to meet many community objectives beyond movement of traffic.  Alan Jacobs’ book Great Streets offers examples, analysis, and principles for design of “great streets,” and more recent technical work offers useful direction, as shown below. 

• Context sensitive: On collector or arterial roads, use “complete streets” and “context-sensitive” design principles to meet the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and transit users, as well as those of businesses and residents along the routes.

• Home zones: On local streets, consider developing an environment where pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles share the same space safely. Known as  “woonerfs” or ”home zones,” they are working well in at least 2,500 places around the world.

• Road diets: Where traffic allows or where it is necessary to provide extra space for pedestrians, cyclists or parking, consider “road diets,” which reduce the number of lanes.  A secondary benefit of this strategy is improved safety.

• Levels of service: On collector and local streets, accept lower Levels of Service for accommodating automobile movements, and do not always design the streets for the largest vehicles.  The mild congestion associated with some levels of service can actually help local shops by slowing traffic and signalling to customers that the area is interesting and attractive.

• Accessibility: Ensure that designs meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

• Miniumum roadway widths: Reduce roadway widths to the operational minimum.

Resources for shared and complete streets:

• Metro Portland: Step-by-step methods for designing pedestrian-friendly, safe streets are available in three booklets published by the liveable streets program of Metro, the regional government in Portland, Oregon. One handbook focuses on street design guidelines, one on innovative ways to deal with storm water and stream crossings, and one on street trees.

• Better Streets San Fransisco: Better Streets San Francisco, a cross-departmental initiative begun in 2007, is using a website to share preliminary design standards with the public and to solicit feedback via an online survey. For each street type, illustrations show a typical existing condition, a set of basic improvements, and options. The eventual standards will aim to balance the needs of all street users.