Citizen Planning School Champions for Change Program : Orchard Park Streetscape

The 'Complete Streets' concept and movement in urban planning and policy has been hailed by many as a revolution that aims to challenge the auto-normative paradigm by reversing the broader effects of an urban form shaped by the logic of keeping automobiles moving. By enabling safe access for all users, Complete Streets promise to make cities more walkable and livable and at the same time more sustainable. This book problematizes the Complete Streets concept by suggesting that streets should not be thought of as merely physical spaces, but as symbolic and social spaces. When important social and symbolic narratives are missing from the discourse and practice of Complete Streets, what actually results are incomplete streets. The volume questions whether the ways in which complete streets narratives, policies, plans and efforts are envisioned and implemented might be systematically reproducing many of the urban spatial and social inequalities and injustices that have characterized cities for the last century or more. From critiques of a "mobility bias" rooted in the neoliberal foundations of the Complete Streets concept, to concerns about resulting environmental gentrification, the chapters in Incomplete Streets variously call for planning processes that give voice to the historically marginalized and, more broadly, that approach streets as dynamic, fluid and public social places. This interdisciplinary book is aimed at students, researchers and professionals in the fields of urban geography, environmental studies, urban planning and policy, transportation planning, and urban sociology.

The NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, Second Edition, is based on the experience of the best cycling cities in the world. The designs in this book were developed by cities for cities, since unique urban streets require innovative solutions. To create the Guide, the authors conducted an extensive worldwide literature search from design guidelines and real-life experience. They worked closely with a panel of urban bikeway planning professionals from NACTO member cities and from numerous other cities worldwide, as well as traffic engineers, planners, and academics with deep experience in urban bikeway applications. The Guide offers substantive guidance for cities seeking to improve bicycle transportation in places where competing demands for the use of the right-of-way present unique challenges. Each of the treatments addressed in the Guide offers three levels of guidance: ·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Required: elements for which there is a strong consensus that the treatment cannot be implemented without. ·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Recommended: elements for which there is a strong consensus of added value. ·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Optional: elements that vary across cities and may add value depending on the situation. First and foremost, the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, Second Edition will help practitioners make good decisions about urban bikeway design. The treatments outlined in the Guide are based on real-life experience in the world's most bicycle friendly cities and have been selected because of their utility in helping cities meet their goals related to bicycle transportation. Praised by Secretary Ray LaHood as an "extraordinary piece of work," the Guide is an indispensable tool every planner must have for their daily transportation design work.

The NACTO Urban Street Design Guide shows how streets of every size can be reimagined and reoriented to prioritize safe driving and transit, biking, walking, and public activity.  Unlike older, more conservative engineering manuals, this design guide emphasizes the core principle that urban streets are public places and have a larger role to play in communities than solely being conduits for traffic.  The well-illustrated guide offers blueprints of street design from multiple perspectives, from the bird's eye view to granular details. Case studies from around the country clearly show how to implement best practices, as well as provide guidance for customizing design applications to a city's unique needs.  Urban Street Design Guide outlines five goals and tenets of world-class street design: *    Streets are public spaces. Streets play a much larger role in the public life of cities and communities than just thoroughfares for traffic. *    Great streets are great for business. Well-designed streets generate higher revenues for businesses and higher values for homeowners. *    Design for safety. Traffic engineers can and should design streets where people walking, parking, shopping, bicycling, working, and driving can cross paths safely. *    Streets can be changed. Transportation engineers can work flexibly within the building envelope of a street. Many city streets were created in a different era and need to be reconfigured to meet new needs. *    Act now! Implement projects quickly using temporary materials to help inform public decision making. Elaborating on these fundamental principles, the guide offers substantive direction for cities seeking to improve street design to create more inclusive, multi-modal urban environments.  It is an exceptional resource for redesigning streets to serve the needs of 21st century cities, whose residents and visitors demand a variety of transportation options, safer streets, and vibrant community life.