Streetscape Topics

Contents

• Introduction
• Streetscape Design
• Pedestrian Amenities
• Green Alleys
• Green Streets
• Street Furniture
• Beautification
• Public Art and the Streetscape
• Related MRSC Pages
  • Arts and Cultural Programs
  • Design Guidelines for Transportation Corridors
  • Methods of Obtaining Streetscape Improvements
  • Street Banners
  • Street Trees
  • Wayfinding Signs

Introduction

Streetscape is the appearance and view of the street. Well-designed streetscapes contribute to the visual quality and livability of communities. The streetscape includes all the elements that constitute the physical makeup of the street such as pavements, lighting, street furniture, landscaping, and signage. Designs may include amenities for pedestrians and bicyclists, incorporate public art, and include concepts such as green streets and alleys.

Streetscape Design

• Historic Downtown Main Streets: Strategies for Compatible Streetscape Design (), compiled and presented by Rosalind Keeney and Julie Osborne, Oregon Department of Transportation
• Sidewalk Area Design (), in Main Street: When a Highway Runs Through It, Oregon State Department of Transportation
• Streetscape Improvements: Enhancing Urban Roadway Design, TDM Encyclopedia, Victoria Transport Policy Institute
• Understanding Flexibility in Transportation Design, Washington State Department of Transportation, 04/2005
• Context Sensitive Design
  • FHWA and Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS)
    • What is CSS?, Federal Highway Administration
  • Context Sensitive Solutions, CalTrans Division
  • ContextSensitiveSolutions.org - A clearinghouse containing built examples of CSS projects, case studies, research, information, and policy documents. It addresses a broad range of issues, including design standards, liability, stakeholder involvement and new techniques in transportation problem-solving; funded by the Federal Highway Administration.
  • Context Sensitive Street Design (), prepared by the Urban Design Collaborative, Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), via Sacramento Area Council of Governments

Local Government Examples Outside of Washington

• Austin, TX Downtown Great Streets Master Plan
  • Introduction to Streetscape Elements and Standards ()
• Baltimore, MD Street Scape - Downtown Partnership
  • Baltimore Streetscape Guidelines Manual ()
• Chicago, IL Streetscape Guidelines for the City of Chicago Streetscape and Urban Design Programs ( 11 MB), Chicago Department of Transportation Bureau of Bridges and Transit, 11/2003
• Guelph, ON Downtown Guelph Public Realm Streetscape Manual (), prepared by the Landplan Collaborative, Ltd, 2001
• Lancaster, PA Streetscape Design Guidelines for the City of Lancaster Pennsylvania (), prepared by Derck & Edson Associates , 06/07/2004

Washington Local Government Examples

• Kirkland Pedestrian Oriented Elements (), in Kirkland Design Guidelines for Pedestrian-Oriented Business Districts, updated 2009
• Seattle Streetscape Design Guidelines, Chapter 6: Seattle Right of Ways Improvement Manual, Online Manual Version 2.0
• Sumner Streetscape Elements (), in Urban Design Concept Plan and Design Development Guidelines, prepared by Dennis Tate Associates, Kasprisan Pettinari Design, and Sumner Community Development Department, 03/2003
• Tacoma Downtown Streetscape Study and Design Concepts (), prepared by MAKERS, 04/2003

Pedestrian Amenities

• Create a Thriving Business District: A Guide to City and Neighborhood Business District Resources, produced by the City of Seattle, 5th ed. 2007 - Covers lighting, street furniture, public art, bicycle racks, street trees and other items
• Pedestrian and Streetscape Guide (), sponsored by the Georgia Department of Transportation, prepared by Otak, Inc., 2003, via BikeWalk.org
• Project for Public Spaces (PPS) - A nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities
  • PPS Image Collection - Includes amenities and elements
  • What Makes a Successful Place?

Green Alleys

• From Utility to Amenity: Greening the Alleys of Los Angeles, by Nate Berg, Planetizan, 01/22/2009
• Green Is Right Up Our Alley, Trust for Public Land, 06/2011
• Turning Alleys into Neighborhood Spaces, New Urban News, January-February 2009 (Available through MRSC Library Loan)
• Chicago Green Alleys, Chicago Department of Transportation
  • Chicago Green Alley Handbook: An Action Guide to Create a Greener, Environmentally Sustainable Chicago ()
• Los Angeles - LA Project - USC Center for Sustainable Cities
  • How to Lead an Alley Revitalization Project: A Guide (), by Edith Ben-Horin, Rebecca Drayse, Chris Imhoff, the Center for Sustainable Cities and the TreePeople, 11/2008
  • Bringing L.A.'s Alleys Out of the Shadows, by Scott Gold, Los Angeles Times, 09/12/2008
  • LA's Green Alleys: How Many of the City's 12,300 Byways Can be Rehabbed? (), by Nate Berg, Planning, 06/2009, via USC Dornsife College
  • Seattle Alley Art - The Alley Art Project draws on the energy and ideas of Pioneer Square neighbors to diagnose the problems in one forgotten space.

Green Streets

• Philadelphia, PA Launching The Green City Strategy, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
• Portland, OR Green Streets Program, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
• Seattle - Green Streets began in 1997 by the Seattle Department of Transportation. The Department of Planning and Community Development's CityDesign assumed responsibility for the planning of green streets in 2004.
  • Denny Triangle Green Street Guidelines (), Nakano Associates, 11/2001
  • Green Streets, Ch. 6, Section 6.2, in Seattle Right-of-Way Improvements Manual, Online Manual Version 2.0
  • Green Streets: Design Guidelines and Review Process (), SDOT Director’s Rule 2-07 and DPD Director’s Rule 11-2007, effective 05/15/2007
  • Green Streets, Green Cities: A New Vision for the Public Realm (), presentation by GreenWorks, Seattle Department of Transportation, 10/27/2005
• Vancouver, BC Green Streets Program
• Street Trees, MRSC

Street Furniture

• Boston, MA Coordinated Street Furniture Program, Boston Property Management and Construction
• Minneapolis, MN Coordinated Street Furniture Program, Minneapolis Public Works
• Seattle Sign Kiosks Proposed in Right-of-Way, Department of Transportation
• Toronto, ON Coordinated Street Furniture Program
• Vancouver, BC Street Furniture in Vancouver, Engineering Services - Streets

Beautification

• America in Bloom Program
• Beautification Commissions
  • Grandview Municipal Code Ch. 2.34 - Beautification Commission
  • Mill Creek Arts and Beautification Board
    • Mill Creek Municipal Code Ch. 4.30 - Art/Beautification Advisory Board
  • Port Angeles Parks Recreation and Beautification Commission
• Columbus, MO Adopt-A-Spot Beautification Program
• Edmonds Flower Program
• Volunteer Programs (Nonprofits and Citizens)
  • Beautify Bonney Lake
  • Edmonds in Bloom
  • Sultan is Blooming Beautiful, GRIT Website - Citizen volunteer mainstreet project in Sultan, WA
  • University Place Patrons of Beautification Plant UP Project Donation Form ()

Public Art and the Streetscape

• Jersey City, NJ Central Avenue "Streetscapes" Beautification Art Project
• Kansas City, MO Public Art (), in Ch. 4 Streetscape Elements of the Kansas City Downtown Streetscape Master Plan
• Portland, OR Bureau of Transportation Community Public Art Project Celebrating Alberta's Creative Presence
• Seattle
  • Seattle Public Art Streetscape, Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs
  • Seattle Department of Transportation Art Plan
• Vancouver, BC Public Art Program, Office of Cultural Affairs
  • Carrall Street Greenway