| Tool | Issues Addressed | Considerations | Examples |
| Flexible Street Design Standards Revising street design requirements in local development regulations to tailor streets to the scale of the neighborhood and types of traffic they serve. Revisions may include reducing required street widths, requiring bicycle lanes, or adding on-street parking. |
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GQGP Resource Team Visit - City of Boston Improved Development Regulations for the City of Blue Ridge, Georgia Whitfield County/Dalton Urban Redevelopment Plan Implementation Examples Outside Georgia |
Flexible Street Design Standards |
Guides For Implementing This Tool
Georgia Quality Growth Partnership
The Flexible Street Design Standards tool includes step-by-step guides for implementation, considerations about costs, administrative requirements, and example ordinances or similar materials that may be used for putting approaches into practice.
http://www.dca.state.ga.us/intra_nonpub/Toolkit/Guides/FlexStDsgnStnds.pdf
Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC)
The ARC Community Choices Toolkit offers customized solutions for communities. The Context Sensitive Street Design tool includes a detailed description about the practical uses and comes with a model ordinance that could be used immediately.
/OITDSShared/asp/NavDisclaimer.asp?Leaving=GQGP&GoToURL=http://www.atlantaregional.com/qualitygrowth/toolkits.html
Model Ordinances
No records available.Aids For Visualizing This Tool
No records available.Georgia Implementation Examples
Fannin County, GA - The implemented development regulations will maintain the community's character by improving the pattern, design, and aesthetics in the rapily growing area along State Route 515 (Appalachian Development Highway).
Thomas County, GA - A Georgia Quality Growth Partnership Resource Team visited the city in December 2002 and developed several recommendations for implementing smart growth principles in Boston. The city is currently in the process of implementing many of the recommendations resulting from the Resource Team visit, including creating a new town center, a traditional neighborhood development (TND), and retrofitting of some of their strip commercial corridors.
Whitfield County, GA - Using funds received from a Georgia Department of Community Affairs Quality Growth Grant, the City of Dalton and Whitfield County hired a consultant to conduct an Urban Redevelopment Plan and a Multi-Modal Transportation Structural Study. The focus area for the Multi-Modal Transportation is within the city limits identifying and expanding the connections to the county, including a public transportation component. The proposed Urban Redevelopment Plan and the results of the Multi-modal Transportation Study and transportation analysis were presented at a public hearing held on January 14th at the Whitfield County Courthouse. The Georgia Department of Transportation will conduct a transportation study for Whitfield County to complement the one being conducted within the city limits. This Multi-modal Transportation Study will guide the implementation of transportation improvements in Whitfield County including highways, airport access, bike and pedestrian facilities, railroads and transit to the year 2025. It will develop a multi-modal transportation plan addressing existing transportation needs and a framework to deal with future growth and changing transportation needs and demands. As part of this plan, Joann Lewis Park, located within the Urban Redevelopment Plan boundaries was targeted for upgrade and expansion. A Design Assistance Team from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs visited Dalton on October 10th & 11th to meet with area residents and to plan the new design. Joann Lewis Park is located at the terminus of Fourth Avenue and a Streetscape design for that street will be part of the overall plan. Prior to the team visit, area Latino businesses received a survey composed in Spanish concerning current park usage and desired amenities. The City has since received the design for the park and the streetscape plan for 4th Avenue.
Implementation Examples Outside Georgia
Colorado - On the site of a former amusement park, the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) helped create Highlands’ Garden Village, a compact mixed-use community. The project needed new zoning allowances, which the city has since adjusted and adopted for Denver's first mixed-use overlay zone. The new neighborhood is very walkable, thanks in part to "skinny streets." To fit the context at the project's edges, large buildings are across from existing commercial blocks, while houses are across from houses. There are many home choices: single-family houses, mixed-income and senior units, townhouses, live-work lofts, carriage houses, and co-housing condominiums. The project also has shops, a school, gardens and a historic theater. The buildings use traditional Denver architectural styles. Design workshops were used early in the planning process to involve residents and stakeholders. DURA created an Urban Renewal District, and provided tax increment financing (this is similar to a TAD in Georgia) and direct equity investment, to make the project viable. The investment has succeeded, as residential and commercial property values increased at faster rates in the project than the overall region. The project was one of five recipients of the 2005 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement from the E.P.A.
Colorado - Lakewood is a suburb of Denver which never had a traditional downtown. When its Villa Italia shopping mall went into decline, the city and a developer worked together to create a mixed-use community, called Belmar, on the land formerly occupied by the mall. When finished in 2007, the area will be pedestrian-friendly and will have one million square feet of shops, restaurants and other services. There will be 700,000 square feet of Class-A office space, and also 1,300 new housing units (a mix of townhomes, loft apartments and live-work units). Nine acres of parks and plazas will be provided. The project was one of five recipients of the 2005 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement from the E.P.A.
Minnesota - Jackson Meadow is a housing development on a site of 336 acres near the town of Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. Local residents rejected a generic development proposal of "McMansions" and wide streets, leading to a new development team and a more innovative approach. Extensive meetings took place between the developer and the community. The result is a cluster PUD development of 64 homes, with over 200 acres left as open space. Certain zoning code revisions were made relating to setbacks and road widths. Because standard sewer service was not available, and the lot sizes were too small for septic systems, the project uses two constructed wetlands, which are integrated into the community's open space, for wastewater treatment. The project also uses low impact development techniques, such as natural swales, "inverted crown" streets, narrow roads and shared driveways. The architecture reflects the vernacular Scandinavian-influenced tradition of the region, and also uses green building techniques, such as basements to help conserve heat. The development is pedestrian-friendly and includes 5 miles of trails, including a link to the nearby downtown of Marine on St. Croix only a 10-minute walk away. This project has won several awards for its environmental conservation, planning and architecture.
Other Resources
Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing Major Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities
This manual, created by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, provides information about how major urban streets can be designed (or retrofitted) to be sensitive to their context, and in particular to be accessible and safe for pedestrians and bicyclists. It also discusses how street design can tie into larger goals of compact development and mixed-use areas.
http://www.dca.state.ga.us/OITDSShared/asp/NavDisclaimer.asp?Leaving=GQGP&GoToURL=http://www.ite.org/css
FHWA Traffic Calming Website
This website is maintained by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It has good general information on traffic calming.
http://www.dca.state.ga.us/OITDSShared/asp/NavDisclaimer.asp?Leaving=GQGP&GoToURL=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/tcalm/
General Information on Traffic Calming
A website that provides information about traffic calming, with plenty of examples and visuals. A resource which is good for a general user, but also detailed enough for an engineer. Maintained by Fehr & Peers Transportation Consultants.
http://www.dca.state.ga.us/OITDSShared/asp/NavDisclaimer.asp?Leaving=GQGP&GoToURL=http://www.trafficcalming.org
ITE Traffic Calming Information
This website was created by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and has a lot of information about traffic calming. Much of it is technical, but there is plenty for ordinary users as well.
http://www.dca.state.ga.us/OITDSShared/asp/NavDisclaimer.asp?Leaving=GQGP&GoToURL=http://www.ite.org/traffic/index.html
