This Is How We Do It

Barry Watkins, Updated 11/13/2015

Here are some of our recommendations for raising the walkability and bikeability standards for streets throughout the populated areas of our county and cities:

1. Keep the design and posted speed at or under 35 miles per hour.
2. The number of vehicle lanes should rarely exceed 2 thru-lanes in each direction and 1 periodic dedicated left turn lane in each direction in the median. Special approvals required to exceed this standard limit.
3. Keep vehicle lanes 10′ wide maximum.
4. The number of vehicle lanes at any intersection shall not exceed the following: 2 thru-lanes in each direction and 1 dedicated left turn lane in each direction. Special approvals will be required in the rare circumstance where additional lanes are actually needed.
5. Eliminate accel/decel lanes.
6. Minimize turn radii at street corners, 20′ max.
7. Don’t use channeled vehicle lanes.
8. Make sidewalks a minimum of 5′ wide.
9. Inactivity centers use 12′ min wide sidewalks with shade trees in tree wells. For locations outside activity centers put a landscape strip between the sidewalk and the curb 8′ minimum wide.
10. Plant shade trees (not palm trees) between the sidewalk and the curb a minimum of every 30′.
11. Separate bicycle lanes from vehicle lanes with raised planters as a standard practice. Planters are optional for bike lanes on medium and lower volume streets. Painted 7′ bike lane can be used in that case.
12. Don’t make rights-of-way inordinately wide.
13. Minimize median widths if this helps keep the right-of-way a manageable width. Don’t sacrifice the space needed for pedestrians and bicycles.
14. Provide pedestrian refuges for crosswalks that cross more than 5 lanes.
15. Provide signaled crossings at least every 1/4 mi.
16. Plan thru-streets at least every 1/2 mi.
17. Multi-lane streets should have a landscaped median.

We need to also consider these additional items as part of a holistic strategy for meeting our transportation needs:

1. Improve bus service to help convert some trips away from passenger vehicles. This especially makes sense as a way of serving the needs of the elderly, handicapped, lower income residents, and young people.
2. Work with land planners to create walkable village and neighborhood centers to convert trips away from cars to other modes and to shorten travel distances to meet daily needs.
3. Plan alternative routes.
4. Work with land planners to restrict continued expansion of development on the edge of town that overburdens the transportation network.

Walkable Brevard, the non-profit organization that I founded, provides walkability and bikeability consulting for free or at a very low cost. Contact us to see how we can help! We are working with citizens, community leaders, and businesses to improve walking and bicycling all over Brevard.

Barry Watkins, Walkable Brevard, 321-355-2747, walkablebrevard@gmail.com

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<Why Walkability? A Better Way To Build Things>