Kaid Benfield

What makes great city streets?

Director, Sustainable Communities, NRDC, Sep 10, 12.

Tagged with quality of life, cities, urbanism, walkability, complete streets, streets, bikeability

My friend Victor Dover has taught me more about the importance of streets to community, and the characteristics that can make them great, than I ever might have imagined. I’m still learning, and it’s a fascinating journey. He’s about to share his knowledge with all of us, as he reports that he and his urban compadre John Massengale are writing a book on the subject to be published next year. I don’t know John as well as I know Victor, but he seems to know his stuff, too; this one promises to be a must-have when it comes out.

For the past couple of months, Victor has been hinting at some of what may be in the book through posting a series of “street of the day” photos on his Facebook wall. With his kind permission, I am now able to show some of the images to you. As you view them, consider what’s appealing about each street in the photo, what might be transferable to other communities.

Santa Maria Street, Coral Gables, Florida

Santa Maria Street is sheltered with mature trees. This is vital to facilitate walking in warm climates, and trees also deliver a range of additional sustainability benefits, including absorbing carbon emissions and helping to clean the air. I also like the way the low fencing along this street adds definition to the block while not restricting visual openness.

East 70th Street, New York City

New York City presents a vastly different environment than does Charleston or Coral Gables. Here we see the introduction of walkable amenities such as restaurants, and the use of urban landscaping around the buildings to soften the concrete and stone. Metered parking also makes an appearance. We take it for granted, but on-street parking buffers walkers from the flow of traffic, providing them with an additional sense of comfort in a highly urban space. The more comfortable we are walking, the more sustainability and health benefits we can enjoy.

Leidesgracht, Amsterdam

Talk about multi-modal! This street has a canal, bicycling, cars, at least one motor scooter, and space for pedestrians. This makes it a good example of a “complete street” that accommodates different types of users, while still not being so wide as to prevent a sense that one is in a neighborhood, not on a thoroughfare. Victor and I had a conversation last month about the difference between the kinds of streets he prefers and those considered “complete” in current transportation parlance. I came away with a strengthened awareness that a street can be complete in the sense of being multi-modal – no small feat, by the way – but still lack greatness, because of low “walk appeal,” to borrow Steve Mouzon’s phrase. A truly great street will be complete not just in the roadway and sidewalks but also alongside them.

Of the Leidesgracht, Victor notes that “cyclists are not a separate species in Amsterdam.” (For more photos of street life in Amsterdam, go here.)

St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans

Speaking of multi-modal, I love the soft, grassy bed for the St. Charles streetcar in New Orleans. This provides not just an additional touch of nature for city dwellers who don’t get enough of it but also green infrastructure for absorbing rainwater and keeping runoff (or at least some of it) out of sewage systems and receiving waterways. This is more common in other parts of the world, and I hope it becomes popular here in the US.

...

Boulevard Montmartre, Paris

...

Beauchamp Place, London

...

Queens Road, Charlotte, North Carolina

...

Main Street, Galena, Illinois

...