Urban Thoroughfares Manual

Designing a Context Sensitive Solutions Approach

Concerned about traffic and street design in your community? Want to learn about a new resource for creating livable streets? Leading engineers, elected officials, planners, and others are now using a new resource created by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) for local communities. The new Proposed Recommended Practice, Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing Major Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities, advances the successful use of context-sensitive solutions (CSS) in the planning and design of major urban thoroughfares for walkable communities. While still in draft form, it provides guidance and demonstrates how context-sensitive design principles and techniques may be applied where community objectives support new urbanism and smart growth: walkable, connected neighborhoods, mixed land uses, and easy access for pedestrians and bicyclists. The manual is a partnership between the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and CNU. Under contract to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the two organizations are creating a context sensitive design guide dedicated exclusively to major thoroughfares in cities and towns. Comments on the manual were taken through 2006 and are now being processed by ITE and CNU staff for revisions into a Recommended Practice.

CNU has advanced and discussed the manual at our annual Transportation Summits.

CNU members can purchase the manual from our web store at a discounted price of $25. It is also available as a free download (warning: very large PDF).

Events

CNU has held a series of workshops across the country to acquaint local officials with the principles of context-sensitive design, using the new manual as a textbook.

The workshops focus on the new road design manual authored by leading urban planners and transportation engineers to help communities create streets that build character and long-term value. Workshop participants will learn about changing standards in street design, the impacts of street design on a community, how to use the new resource, and key urban design features that support a strong community.

Past workshops: Chicago, Ill., September 12, 2006; Boulder, Colo., November 16, 2006; Elgin, Ill., March 16, 2007. CNU hopes to present an additional workshop in Texas later in 2007; if you are interested in sponsoring the event, please contact us.

Resources

About context-sensitive design and the manual:

• Master PowerPoint presentation covering manual contents (joint ITE/CNU)
• Fact sheet 1 -- Overview
• Fact sheet 2 -- A Framework for CSS in Urban Thoroughfare Design
• Fact sheet 3 -- Design Controls in Context Sensitive Solutions
• Fact sheet 4 -- Using Context Zones and Thoroughfare Types in Design
• Fact sheet 5 -- Designing Boulevards and Avenues in Highly Urban Mixed-Use Areas
• Fact sheet 6 -- Designing Residential Avenues
• Fact sheet 7 -- Main Street Design
• ITE's web site about Context-Sensitive Solutions and the manual

Presentations from prior CNU workshops:

• Opening Remarks by Jacky Grimshaw, Center for Neighborhood Technology
• A new urbanist's draft comments on the manual by Billy Hattaway, Glatting Jackson
• Where We Are Now and Why We Need this Document by Norman Garrick, Univ. of Conn.
• The Context Zone Concept by Brian Bochner, Texas Transportation Institute
• Urban Design Details by Marcy McInelly, Urbsworks, and Phil Erickson, Comm. Design + Arch.
• What the ITE manual means for walkability by Terri Musser, Charlier Assoc. and Ryan Snyder, Ryan Snyder Associates
• How do planners implement the manual? by Peter Park, City of Denver
• CNU/ITE Project Update by Brian Bochner

Materials about prior CNU workshops:

• Workshop announcement and overview [Boulder]
• Workshop day agenda [Chicago]
• Workshop day agenda [Chicago]
• Presenter biographies [Boulder]
• Presenter biographies [Chicago]

News
Local Officials Flock to Urban Thoroughfares Workshops (11/17/2006)
Colorado Officials to Use New Designs for Streets (11/15/2006)
CNU presents CSS Workshop & Transportation Summit (9/14/2006)
CNU and ITE Unveil New Street Design Manual (7/21/2006)

Contact

Please contact Heather Smith.