Manual for Streets 1

sustainable transport solutions Phil Jones Associates

Manual for Streets 1 The Contribution of Streets

to Successful Places to Live

Birmingham

18 April 2011

Phil Jones, PJA


What is a street anyway?

  “A street is a highway that has important public realm functions beyond the movement of traffic” (Manual for Streets)

  Streets have a sense of place and are distinctive

  Streets are lined with and provide direct access to buildings and public spaces

  Most highways in built-up areas can be considered as streets.


What are roads for?

‘The word ‘road’ derives from the Old English word for a journey on horseback: a road was something that one rode along’ (Dictionary of Urbanism)

‘Roads are essentially highways whose main function is accommodating the movement of motor traffic.’ (Manual for Streets)


Previous National Guidance on Residential Roads

Design Bulletin 32 Second Edition (1992)

“Residential roads and footpaths are an integral part of housing layout where ... in the patterns of movement around buildings the needs of pedestrians and cyclists for safety and convenience are given priority in design over the use of motor vehicles.”


But highly standardised car-led geometric standards...

sustainable transport solutions Phil Jones Associates sustainable transport solutions Phil Jones Associates

...created highly standardised, car-led layouts...


“Some housing, such as this, meets planning and highway standards, but fails to create a sense of place or identity. We need to set our sights higher”

The Communities Plan - 2003


Welcome to The Midlands!!



Poundbury, Dorset





New Hall, Harlow







  Environment and Community

  Character

  Streets, Parking & Pedestrianisation

  Design and Construction

Building for Life - 4 Groups, 20 Criteria

Streets are fundamental to the assessment...


Group 1 - Environment & Community

Q4. Does the development have easy access to public transport?

The Village, St Austell


Group 2 - Character

Q9. Do the buildings and layout make it easy to find your way around?

The Village, St Austell


Group 2 - Character

Q 10. Are the streets defined by a well-structured building layout?

The Russells, Broadway, Worcestershire


Group 3 - Streets, Parking & Pedestrianisation

Q11. Does the building layout take priority over the streets and car parking, so that the highways do not dominate?

The Meadows, Shepton Mallet Broadclose, Bude



Q12. Is the car parking well integrated and situated so it supports the street scene?

Broadclose, Bude, Cornwall Lime Tree Square, Street, Somerset



Q13. Are the streets pedestrian, cycle and vehicle friendly?

Victoria Gardens, Camelford, North Cornwall



Q14. Does the scheme integrate with existing streets, paths and surrounding development?

The Russells, Broadway, Worcestershire



Q15. Are public spaces and pedestrian routes overlooked and do they feel safe?

Gwean Pawl Urban Village, Redruth Clay Field, Elmswell, Suffolk


Streets are the arteries of our communities – a community’s success can depend on how well it is connected to local services and the wider world. However, streets are not just there to get people from A to B – they have many other functions. They form vital components of residential areas and greatly affect the overall quality of life for local people. (MfS Foreword)

Manual for Streets (2007)


Aims of Manual for Streets   Bring about a transformation in quality

  A fundamental culture change to achieve streets that:

–   help to build and strengthen the communities they serve;

–   meet the needs of all, by embodying the principles of inclusive design

–   provide part of a well-connected network;

–   are attractive and have their own distinctive identity;

–   are cost-effective to construct and maintain; and

–   are safe.


Manual for Streets - Status and application   Manual for Streets replaced DB32

  Applies throughout England and Wales

  Focuses on lightly-trafficked residential streets; but

  Many of its principles are applicable elsewhere, eg high streets and lanes

  It is guidance, not a standard or policy document


Working in partnership

•   Truly multidisciplinary teams: planners, highways engineers, transport planners, researchers, urban and landscape designers...

•   Crossing sectors: local people, elected members,

consultants, local authority officers, campaign groups, utilities, homebuilders…


Sustainability   MfS promotes walking, cycling, public transport due to...

–   Climate change/emissions

–   Congestion

–   Accidents

–   Health issues

  Labyrinthine and badly connected places encourage car use


Mode hierarchy   Consider modes in order:

–   Pedestrians

–   Cyclists

–   Public Transport

–   Motor vehicles

  Accommodate all users on streets

  Tight corner radii level crossings


  Where are the key desire lines?

  How can the development enhance the existing movement framework rather than disrupt or sever it?

  What points of connection and linkage can be achieved?

  Should these be for all modes?

  Can concerns over ‘rat running’ be addressed through slower speeds?

Developing a Movement Framework


Street Character Types   Consider

–   Key dimensions (widths etc)

–   Relationship to buildings and private realm

–   Parking

–   Materials

–   Planting etc

  Terminology important

–   Eg avenue, mews, lane, boulevard

–   Not Minor Access Road, Local Distributor Road


Assembling Streets...

  Junctions as places

  Street width considerations:

–   Traffic composition

–   Pedestrian flow

–   Parking

–   Width/height ratios

–   Swept paths

–   Trees

  Designing in three dimensions


Visibility

  MfS recommends shorter ‘Y’/forward sight distances than previous guidance

  No safety case for ‘X’ distance of more than 2.4m

  Can consider splays measured beyond the kerb Design Speed

Miles per hour 37 30 25 20

DB32 - Y Distances (Metres) 90 70 45 33

Manual for Streets - Y Distances 59 43 33 25


Why are reduced visibility splays so critical?

Shorter sight lines helps to make urban development happen:

  Sites that were previously undevelopable can now come forward

  Maximising use of accessible, brownfield sites

  Enabling higher densities

  Less need for unsustainable greenfield sites


X

Y


Speed at Junctions and Links

  Speed increases with road width and visibility for both links and junctions

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Y Distance (m)

Sp

eed

(m

ph

)

Road Width = 5 mRoad Width = 6 mRoad Width = 7 mRoad Width = 8 mRoad Width = 9 mRoad Width = 10 m

05

1015202530354045

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Forward Visibility (m)S

pee

d (

mp

h)

Road Width = 5 mRoad Width = 6 mRoad Width = 7 mRoad Width = 8 mRoad Width = 9 mRoad Width = 10 m

Junction data Link data


Ingress Park, Essex


Frontage Access Research

  Accident and Traffic Flow Data

examined for 20 sites

  Traffic flows up to 23,000 per day

  Very few recorded accidents

involving driveways

  No safety justification for limiting

direct access to busier streets



Local Standards

  Local standards are important to reflect local context   Local standards need to cover placemaking and urban design   Focus on improving local distinctiveness

–   Vernacular details –   Material choices

  Local authorities are strongly recommended to review standards and guidance to embrace MfS principles.


The Lincolnshire Design Guide for Residential Areas (1996) advocates the qualities of traditional settlements over those of recent developments by juxtaposing illustrations of both.

In the following pages it then proceeds to propose a road layout which would clearly make it impossible ever to produce the type of traditional settlement that is considered so admirable.

Sue McGlynn and Ivor Samuels, 2000.


Suffolk Residential Design Guide “There have been many changes since 1993 in planning policy relating to housing and a greater emphasis on achieving higher quality design. The SDG is now showing its age.”

It is anticipated that Manual for Streets will be supplemented in Suffolk... Work is progressing...


Worcestershire CC new standards...



  Leicestershire/East Midlands guidance

  Initial review in 2007 following MfS – but mainly junction visibility

  More comprehensive review said to be pending...



Staffordshire CC standards (2000)




Quality Audits

  Quality Audits introduced in MfS1 - a ‘Balanced Audit’ reviewing key aspects of a design against set objectives

  Some authorities (eg Kent, Solihull) have taken the concept further

  CIHT working towards a guidance note on Quality Audits.

Policy Review

Objective Setting

Design

Quality Auditing


Car Parking

Parking solutions should not dominate the scheme, and should be carefully considered to reduce the impact of parking spaces on the character and layout of the development.

The Taylor Review.


  No single best solution to providing car parking.

  A combination of solutions will often be appropriate

  “Rediscover the street as a beautiful car park”

  On-street parking is efficient, understandable and can increase vitality and safety

  Rear courtyards need to support on-street parking, not replace it.

Car parking - key principles





Efficiency of types of parking

Level of efficiency/flexibility

Type of parking Comments On-street (communal) Most efficient as

parking spaces are shared and the street provides the means of accessing the spaces.

Off-street communal Requires additional access and circulation space.

Off-street allocated spaces but grouped

Although more inflexible, this arrangement allows the potential for future changes in allocation.

Off-street allocated garages but grouped

Inflexible, and largely precludes shared use. Also security concerns.

Off-street within individual dwelling

curtilage

Inflexible in perpetuity and more space consuming due to need for driveways.

Garages within individual dwelling

curtilage

High

Low


Tricky Issues - Adoption   Highway Authority can refuse to adopt due to

concerns over geometry and maintenance issues –

  visibility splays, radii, carriageway widths

  materials, street trees and planting, sustainable drainage...etc.

  Solutions –

  Development of protocols for collaborative working with highways officers

  Continuous learning from experience

  Development of better standards


Tricky Issues – Level Surface Streets   Concerns of visually-impaired/vulnerable people

over ‘shared space’ designs has extended to very lightly-trafficked streets.

  Solutions – recognition of pros and cons of level surfaces, close dialogue with relevant groups, appropriate traffic speeds and volumes.










“The quality of the public realm (streets, squares and open space) generally does not reflect the quality of the architectural heritage of Buxton town centre.” Buxton Design Strategy

High Peak BC will work with Derbyshire CC to see that highway works, including the design and construction of new roads or highway improvements...reflect the Strategy as far as possible. This will be key to raising the quality of the public realm in the town centre.


Discussion Points - Geometry - Materials - Parking - Level Surface Streets - Trees and Planting


Geometry


Straight and Bendy Streets – Fronts and Backs


Straight(ish) streets vs bendy streets




Shepton Mallett



Poundbury




Junction Geometry - Kirby Lonsdale


Lincolnshire


The Hoplands, Sleaford




Ingress Park


Materials

sustainable transport solutions Phil Jones Associates Poundbury

sustainable transport solutions Phil Jones Associates Redruth


sustainable transport solutions Phil Jones Associates Truro, Belvedere

sustainable transport solutions Phil Jones Associates Shepton Mallett


Ingress Park


Parking


Victoria Gardens, Camelford



Victoria Gardens, Camelford


Southwark


Clay Lane




Highfields, Bakewell



Mortonhamstead Devon






Level Surface Streets


Broadclose, Bude



Lime Tree Square, Street


Mortonhampstead


Trees and Planting

sustainable transport solutions Phil Jones Associates Charlton Down, Dorset

sustainable transport solutions Phil Jones Associates Sherbourne

sustainable transport solutions Phil Jones Associates Newhall, Harlow



Broadclose, Bude


Documents

Manual for Streets 1