ASSIGNMENT: Site, Street, and Community Transportation Design

OVERVIEW

Assess the effectiveness of the design of places at three scales. Analyze how well the places meet: a) transportation mode objectives listed in the instructions AND, b) one additional general objectives (for each scale) such as those you wrote about in assignment 1. Pick locations that have some flaws.

By ‘analyze,' I mean detailed examination of the elements or structure of the place in order to answers the question in the instructions. For example:

• Identifying characteristics of the place that support or are antithetical to the objective.
• How common or prominent is that characteristic(s)?
• Assess the travel path?
• Assess the travel context?
• Assess safety? Unsafe interaction with other modes? Unsafe "feel" to the mode (identify cause)
• Assess comfort? (temperature, obstacles, noise, beauty)
• Assess convenience? (such as walk distance)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Sites analysis: analyze a building site (a building and the land that it sits upon under the same ownership) in the way they meet the objectives listed below. You MUST visit thesite.

a. How walkable is each site?
b. Which mode of travel is best accommodated by each site?
c. Assess one additional general transportation goal of your choosing

2. Streets analysis: assess a street segment. You MUST visit these streets.

a. What is the design speed in mph?
b. Recommend modifications to the street to address design speed. What would be the new design speed?
c. Quality of pedestrian environment walking along the street?
d. Quality of the pedestrian environment crossing the street?
e. Quality of the bicycling environment along the street?
f. Quality of the automotive environment?
g. Assess one additional general transportation goal of your choosing

3. Community travel observation.

Without a car, but in any other way that you choose, visit the grocery store and back or go to the elementary school nearest you and back. The trip must be at least 1/4mile away, but if it is more than 1.5 miles away, pick a different destination that is still a neighborhood destination but is closer to your home.

a. How did the physical organization and design of the buildings, building sites, streets and street network affect the quality of the trip?
b. Recommend three modifications to increase the likelihood your neighbors would make the same trip without a car.
c. Assess one additional general transportation goal of your choosing

Tips

i. Feel free to utilize analyses from part 1 and 2 from this assignment.

ii. Photos, drawings, maps and diagrams are encouraged but not required.

iii. Be creative: consider some plausible, but ‘big ticket' changes that may not normally be feasible given the costs of construction/ reconstruction.

iv. Don't forget to assess elements in addition to the transportation infrastructure (in addition to sidewalks, street rights-of-way, bus stops, etc.)

4. Community transportation network analysis (you do NOT need to visit this community)

Assess the quality of the overall transportation network for one community (the design of the pattern of transportation routes and how they relate to the community). Look at an area of about 200 acres. Use Google maps / Bing maps and other maps to support your assessment.

a. Where is most travel occurring?

i. Characterize those routes

b. How accessible are the primary destination within or near the community?

c. How direct is the travel?

d. How does the network design differ if at all for auto, ped, bike, transit?

i. What are the consequences of these differences

e. Assess one additional general transportation goal of your choosing.