CREJ - Building Dialogue - December 2016
Many new master-planned communities are incorporating principles of healthy, more livable streets into community design. Ridgegate and Daybreak are two such communities currently exploring and building pedestrian, bike and commuter-friendly streets that will create a stronger mixed-use environment and sense of place, while allowing for good traffic flow and circulation. Ridgegate East Village Center – Couplet Street Concept. At Ridgegate East in the city of Lone Tree, outside metro Denver, the master plan for the eastern half of the project will incorporate a mixed-use village center forming the central heart a new 2,000-acre mixed-use district. The Village Center will be served by Ridgegate Parkway, a major thoroughfare that will bisect the community and carry upwards of 50,000 vehicles per day. To avoid the roadway becoming a physical barrier that could ultimately divide the community, the roadway will be split into two one-way couplet streets that will reduce the width of the street and number of lanes, creating a safer and more pedestrian friendly environment. The couplet street will incorporate a central main street and series of midblock cross streets will create an interconnected grid, linking the surrounding neighborhoods and helping knit the entire community together. In addition, an off-street dedicated bikeway, or “cycle track,” will parallel the couplet streets and connect the Village Center to the larger system of bike and pedestrian trails. The use of couplet streets is not a new idea in building safer, healthier streets. Many of the newest and largest new urbanist developments, like Summerlin (Las Vegas), Daybreak (Salt Lake City), Stapleton (Denver) and San Elijo Hill (San Marcos, Callifornia), have incorporated couplets as a way to create mixed-use places using narrower, pedestrian-friendly streets that allow for good traffic circulation. Research by Metro Analytics (www.metroanalytics.com), which develops and analyzes multimodal circulation solutions for mixed-use, high-density environments, believes “couplets can play an important role in ‘Complete Streets and Place-Making,’ while handling the higher traffic volumes that these places often generate or must accommodate.” Of the top 10 advantages of one-way couplets, defined by Metro Analytics, a key advantage is couplets are friendlier and safer for pedestrians. Narrower one-ways are easier to cross; pedestrians have fewer movements that threaten to strike them; slower traffic is less dangerous and less intimidating; and studies show couplets are usually safer. With the help of couplet streets, the Ridgegate EasVillage Center has the potential to become an eclectic mixed-use place situated within a walkable and pedestrian-friendly village that will become a hub of activity and a desirable place to live, shop and work. Daybreak’s Commuter Bike Highway System. A healthier development pattern and lifestyle is reflected in current design for the newest villages at Daybreak, a master-planned community outside Salt Lake City. Key is creating walkable and commuter-friendly streets that enable residents to leave their car at home, to walk, ride a bike, or utilize public transit. Inspired by the grand boulevards of European cities, Daybreak’s major road network incorporates a bike highway and pedestrian system, separated from cars in a tree-lined median that is more efficient, user-friendly and safe. The division helps avoid typical conflicts associated with traditional sidewalks and on-street bike lanes. The median design limits the number and frequency of median breaks and intersections, decreasing potential bike-car and pedestrian-car conflicts. Where median breaks occur, the island is “raised or tabletopped” with special paving to create greater visibility and awareness among drivers and cyclists, pedestrians and joggers. Street width is reduced by eliminating on-street bike lanes and potential hazards with on-street parking. The street and median landscape design reflects the character of the surrounding Village; it incorporates planters, seating, lighting, trail/bike route maps, and bike tool and water-bottle fill stations to provide a respite for cyclists and pedestrians. The median also serves an important multi-use function; varying in size and shape, it incorporates a dedicated running/jogging trail, and areas for parks and open space, including natural drainage areas that support the storm-water drainage and detention system for the larger community. When complete, the bike highway and pedestrian system will provide an important backbone infrastructure to link individual villages, streets and open space amenities, for great community connection and healthier living! \\ rvolpe@dtjdesign.com