The Street of the Future Is a Livable Street
- Posted by: Aaron Naparstek
- on April 7, 2009 at 12:12 am
It’s easy to forget that our streets are alterable. They weren’t set down by God on the eighth day; they were designed by human beings. Unfortunately, throughout the 20th century, most of the human beings designing our streets were traffic engineers. For the most part, they viewed the city from behind a windshield and saw the street as a problem to be solved for automobiles. The result is the American city that most of us know today: sprawling, traffic-choked, hostile to pedestrians and cyclists, dependent on a vast, never-ending flow of cheap oil, and deeply unsustainable.
Streets can and must be more than just a place for the movement and storage of private motor vehicles. The urban street of the 21st century will be a “complete street,” accommodating pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders alike. At the Livable Streets Initiative we are helping citizens re-envision streets as great public spaces. Take, for example, the busy intersection of Amsterdam Avenue and West 76th Street in Manhattan.
Click here to launch the interactive graphic.
Check our livable street Project here.
DISCUSSION: 16 Comments
Interesting article.
Population/congestion is a problem everywhere…and more so here, in Pune, where planning seems like the last thing on people’s/administration’s mind!
what about all those cars that are using “alterable” lanes. It lacks of context and functional connotations. This idea looks like done against someone rather then help.
I have seen this layout in some forms in many countries overseas. Although they do not have all aspects they incorporate many to make it safer for pedestrians. I really love the dedicated bike lane, because some cities have bike lanes that last literally 2 blocks or a mile at most which then makes bikers more vulnerable to cars.
I find it funny that this is the street of the future. None of the items you mention are new, and here in The Netherlands these things are common on many streets.
Exactly what the first poster said — this is the best visualization I’ve ever seen between the design patterns of American streets versus Dutch streets! e.g. here’s a photo of a major, high-vehicle volume intersection in the center of Enschede, where I studied in the Netherlands last year:<a href=”Enschede center intersection”>http://www.prometheus-music.com/images/IMG_1289.JPG</a>
Err, try that again:
Interesting – even in the older Northern cities of the UK where I live, much of these suggestions are pretty commonplace. There’s nothing here that’s not already in play on the streets of Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool or London…
Nice, though I’d rearrange the lanes as follows:sidewalk|trees|bike|bus|car-car|trees|sidewalkThis is how streets in Berlin are, here trees shade the pedestrians and separate them from *all* vehicles.
We need it. Happy to help pay for it.
I take issue with the comments in the bus lane description. I live in a city of almost 800,000 people and I have lived in cities with populations into the multi-millions. More often then not, it is the buses slowing down the flow of traffic by stopping at bus stops and not pulling out of the driving lanes and then pull into traffic without any concern for the flow of traffic, forcing drivers to slam on breaks. They move slower than most other vehicles on the road. And to blame SUVs as a whole is why people look at this as rhetoric and not as valid arguments.I agree there are lots of things you can do to make things better, but that argument is a huge failure.
Pretty cool. Most of Copenhagen looks like this. It’s really just about taking back streets and public centers from the automobile.
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Looks great, it just needs solar powered street lamps. The latest LED powered lamps that will soon hit the streets of NYC have much more coverage and do illuminate the sidewalks. The ideas are great but a model should also be done for a street with no bus traffic. That bus lane should then be an extension of the sidewalk for vendors and public seating.
What I do not understand about the Dutch folks commenting on this article is the lack of appreciation to what people are doing about the US streets. Yes, you may have better streets than what you may find in the US, but we are getting there too… So a bit of appreciation is in the order. Follow mcmCPH on Copenhagen streets if you need examples.
I love this article. It features an intersection in my neighborhood and just seeing the potential to make neighborhood streets living, breathing, vibrant marketplaces gives me a lot of hope for our future. I think Mayor Bloomberg is trying to make this idea a reality with his recent renovation of streets in the Times Square area. We have a long way to go, but at least we’re beginning.