Fundamental Concepts: Safety, Comfort and Destination
Safety: All areas that people walk should be safe. The minimum levels of safety that should be met in all circumstances include providing a defined walkway that is for exclusive pedestrian use that is a minimum 6 feet wide, a walkable surface that is clear of impediments, has ramps, that is vertically or horizontally separated from vehicular traffic, and is lit at roadway crossings.
Comfort: Comfort encourages people to walk instead of use other modes of transportation. Facilities to encourage a comfortable pedestrian facility and environment include: wider walkways (7 to 12 feet or more); two or three options for vertically or horizontally separating the walkway from traffic; reducing the number of driveway crossings; places to sit; or added traffic calming features.
Destination: Destinations are places where walking is considered a (if not the) predominant mode of transportation. They often have extensive amenities which could include specialty paving, themed signs and site furnishings, decorative lighting fixtures, street vendors, and an active street.
To help determine if an area should be designed as safe, comfortable, or a destination, this document assists the user in calculating the latent pedestrian demand for pedestrian facilities. Areas with low latent demand should be, at the very least, safe. Areas with medium latent demand should be designed to be safe and comfortable. Areas with high latent demand should be designed to be safe, comfortable, and as destinations. In the design guidelines, the concepts of safe, comfortable, and destination are correlated with a facility standard level.
This update also includes new research on the latest data on the economic, social and health benefits of walking, how to better serve the growing elderly population, and better address how facilities are designed for persons with disabilities.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PEDESTRIAN PLANNING IN THE MAG REGION
In the United States, sidewalk awnings and pedestrian ways were common in most retail districts at the turn-of-the-century. Shopkeepers wanted to provide the best possible ambiance for potential customers, including protection from rain and sun. Major civic improvements usually involved the addition of street trees to shade pedestrian routes, especially with the advent of the City Beautiful movement in the 1890s.
Historic photographs from the Phoenix Library Collection and the Arizona Collection archives show tree-lined streets which created comfortable pedestrian places in the MAG region during the early 1900s.
With the arrival of the automobile, new standards were developed to accommodate motorized transportation. Streets were widened as the number of vehicles increased. The pedestrian environment became compromised as streets were widened and canals buried, sidewalks were narrowed and trees cut down. Former planting areas became travel lanes for vehicles, and sidewalks were encumbered with utility poles and traffic signs.
In the past 40 years, there have been several important steps taken to address pedestrian needs throughout the MAG region. Despite these specific actions, many roadways are still constructed with little consideration for the pedestrian.
This report is part of a trend toward recovering space and amenities for pedestrians and creating viable pedestrian areas. Properly planned pedestrian areas encourage people to walk, thereby reducing the need for automobile travel. This in turn reduces traffic congestion, improves air quality, creates livable, sociable communities, and improves health, fitness, and independence of community residents.
