Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
alborzka
August 16, 2017
Abstract
This document aims to serve as a comprehensive. simple guide for Cities: Skylines (C:S)
players who want to incorporate elements of professional, real-world urban planning and city
design into their cities. All information here is taken from online academic courses on urban
planning, using the latest trends and knowledge. City planning is much more complicated than
can be experienced in C:S, and urban planning can’t be summed up in a few pages. It involves
several disciplines and experts specialised in particular areas, and real cities aren’t designed by
one “Jack of all trades”. Thus, this document seeks to enable readers to learn as many aspects of
city design as can be possibly implemented in-game. Aspects such as economic policy and other
areas not touched upon in C:S are similarly not touched upon in this guide.
Contents
1
3 Environmental Considerations 16
3.1 Ecological Urbanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.2 Managing Water: Flooding and Scarcity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3 Managing Energy Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.4 Green Infrastructure and Urban Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8 Airport–City Connection 27
8.1 Airfront Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
8.2 Decoplex Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
8.3 Airport City Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
8.4 Airport Corridor Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
8.5 AIREA Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
8.6 Aerotropolis Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
9 Public Transit 30
9.1 Catch-Bin Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
9.2 Understanding Modal Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
9.3 The Barbeque Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
9.4 Seductive Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
9.5 Territories, Networks, and Forms of Urbanisation: A Note on Trams . . . . . . . . . 34
9.6 Transit Adherence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
9.7 Public Space Fragmentation: Resident Needs Vs. Visitor Wants . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2
10 Building Design Principles 35
10.1 Frame the Public Realm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
10.2 Ground Floor-to-Street Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
10.3 Sense of Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
10.4 Integrate Urban Open Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
10.5 Light, View, Skyline, and Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
10.6 Prominent Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
10.7 Scale Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
10.8 Façade Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
10.9 Building Projections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
10.10 Vehicular and Pedestrian Circulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
10.10.1 Pedestrian Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
10.10.2 Service and Loading Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
10.10.3 Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3
A.6.4Provide an active street life with a mix of community services and fine-grained
retail spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
A.6.5 Provide a mix of housing types near frequent transit passenger facilities to
create inclusive communities and promote equitable access to transportation 48
A.7 Checklists and How The 5 D’s Relate to Transportation Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . 49
A.7.1 Corridor and Regional Level Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
A.7.2 Neighbourhood Level Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
A.7.3 Site Level Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
A.7.4 How The 5 D’s Relate to Transportation Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4
B.5.1 Key Transit Street Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
B.5.2 Transit Stops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
B.5.3 Transit Design Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
B.5.4 Context-Sensitive Transit Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
B.6 Street Design for Green Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
B.6.1 Key Green Street Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
B.6.2 Green Infrastructure Design Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
B.6.3 Context-Sensitive Green Streets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
B.7 Street Design for Roadways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
B.7.1 Roadway Design Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
B.7.2 Design for a Multi-Modal Transportation System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
B.7.3 Design for Safety of Vulnerable Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
B.7.4 Design Using a Target Speed for the Street Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
B.7.5 Design to Support Placemaking and Street Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
B.7.6 Rightsizing and Repurposing Roadway as Complete Streets . . . . . . . . . 108
B.7.7 Traffic Calming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
B.7.8 Roadway Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
B.8 Highway Traffic and More Lanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
B.9 Street Design for Intersections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
B.9.1 Intersection Design Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
B.9.2 Key Needs and Perspectives of Each Road User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
B.9.3 Crosswalks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
B.9.4 Accessibility and Universal Design of Intersections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
B.9.5 Context-Sensitive Intersection Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
B.9.6 Intersection Elements and Geometric Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
B.9.7 Intersection Signals and Other Traffic Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
B.10 Street Network Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
B.10.1 Fine-Grained Street Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
B.10.2 Coordinated, Multi-Modal Transportation Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
5
C.3.7 Public Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
C.4 Base Building Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
C.4.1 Base Building Height and Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
C.4.2 Street Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
C.4.3 Public-Private Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
C.5 Tower Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
C.5.1 Tower Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
C.5.2 Separation Distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
C.5.3 Tower Orientation and Articulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
C.6 Pedestrian Realm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
C.6.1 Streetscape and Landscape Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
C.6.2 Sidewalk Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
C.6.3 Pedestrian Level Wind Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
C.6.4 Pedestrian Weather Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
C.7 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
6
D.15 Business and Commercial Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
7
F.12 Vehicular and Pedestrian Circulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
F.12.1 Pedestrian Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
F.12.2 Service and Loading Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
F.12.3 Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
8
J Parks 185
J.1 Parks and Open Spaces: Access and Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
J.2 All Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
J.3 Community Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
J.4 Neighbourhood Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
J.5 Urban Squares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
J.6 Vista Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
J.7 Nature Parks and Trails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
List of Figures
1 Transect Diagram, showing city design of the 1950’s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2 Better building and tower spacing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3 Traditionalist city design in New Urbanism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4 Airfront Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5 Decoplex Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6 Airport City Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7 Airport Corridor Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
8 AIREA Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
9 Aerotropolis Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
9
10 Barbeque Effect and its relationship with increased energy consumption for transport
in dense areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
11 A continuous rear lane helps transition between the rear lots fronting onto the arterial
street, and the side lots of the buildings on the local street. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
12 Examples of how height and built form can enhance or impede views of prominent
landmarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
13 The houses in this diagram have varied setbacks along an arc which creates a varied and
more interesting streetscape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
14 The tall building steps back to protect an important view from the public realm. . . . 39
15 Different examples of prominent sites that aren’t landmark based. . . . . . . . . . . . 40
16 The five zones of the sidewalk each have a role to play in designing streets for people. . 93
17 Considerations for Cycling Impact Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
18 Different types of cycling infrastructure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
19 The relationship of traffic speed and volume to types of cycling facilities. . . . . . . . 100
20 Vehicle speed, stopping distance, and chance of survival. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
21 Vehicle speed and field of vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
22 Avoid towers in a park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
23 A progressive transition in the height and scale of tall buildings from the centre of a
growth area down to a lower-scale area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
24 Horizontal separation distance, and a change in base building height and form to support
tall building transition down to a lower-scale area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
25 A new tall building fitting within an existing context of other tall buildings of consistent
height. Note the appropriate separation distance between buildings of similar height. 121
26 An angular plane, and direct relationship in base building height and form to support
tall building transition down to a lower-scale area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
27 Highlight corner and mid-block entrances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
28 Tall building sites offer a broad range of publicly accessible open space opportunities. 125
29 Tall buildings require a broad range of private open spaces to meet the needs of building
occupants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
30 The height and scale of the base building responds to the scale of neighbouring buildings
and the street proportion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
31 Public-private transition in base building design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
32 Tower frontage and placement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
33 Tower setback on property lines with and without laneways. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
34 Minimum tower separation distances via arrangement of multiple towers. . . . . . . . 132
35 Minimum tower separation distance proportionate to building width, measured from
building face to building face. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
36 A generous sidewalk and strategic setback supports an active street frontage and vibrant
pedestrian environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
37 Issues and solutions to building wind design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
38 Rear transition for deep properties abutting neighbourhoods, parks, open space, and
natural areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
39 Rear transition for properties abutting employment areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
10
40 Example of corner site conditions for mid-rise buildings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
41 Diagram illustrating the side street setback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
42 Mechanical penthouse placement within all angular planes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
43 Conserving local heritage with new building developments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
44 Examples of Priority Lots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
45 An example of how not to place townhouses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
46 Private amenity spaces in townhouses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
47 Landscaping at the level of the raised terrace (backyard) and the sidewalk provide
privacy for occupants on the terrace and an amenity for the public. . . . . . . . . . . 154
48 Building height should remain relatively constant with gentle transitions. Abrupt varia-
tions in height should be avoided. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
49 Basing new development on an internal street and block pattern can accommodate
future infill development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
50 This Vista Block provides a lookout over the Greenway System and includes plantings
and a paved seating area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
51 Differences between effective and ineffective external lighting. Lamps that emit light
horizontally and/or upwards should be avoided. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Introductory Remarks
This document is divided into two main parts: general information, and appendices. Going through the
document, you’ll get the hang of how this is organised and how to use it, but just a quick tip: If you’re
looking just for instructions and guidelines to follow when making cities, and don’t really care about the
theory, just read the Appendix in order as well as the Airport–City Connection section and Building
Design Principles section. If you’re interested in the theory, and want to know why you should build in
this way, read the sections that interest you and refer to the appendices for instructions and more detail.
The next two paragraphs are some introductory remarks that I didn’t know where else to put.
The primary infrastructure of a city is comprised of transport, energy, water/sewage, waste, housing,
communications, green infrastructures. Secondary infrastructures include health care, education, nu-
trition, culture, and others; these are secondary because they function only if primary infrastructures
function. We evaluate primary infrastructure using three (3) main objectives or performance indicators:
sustainable, efficient, resilient. An urban system wants to pursue quality of life, city attractiveness, and city
competitiveness. Social dimensions of infrastructure can promote equity exclusion (highway dividing
the city) and equity inclusion (highway bringing people to work). Infrastructures can go either way or
both!
The territorial space-frame of a city or region is built on three (3) things whose arrangements have changed
since the 1960s: Morphology, Functional Centralities, and Lifestyles. Until the 1960s, these three things
overlapped by snapping-in. For example, urban areas and their surroundings were regionalised, and
distinctions were drawn between country and city. Looking at a small village, you could tell people
11
lived most of their lives in it and their lifestyle revolved around it. Now, thanks to rapid transit systems,
the possibilities of location are expanding. Morphological boundaries fade (urban sprawl) — it’s now
difficult to tell where a city begins and ends, both visually and funcionally. Lifestyles change and detach
themselves from spatial proximity; ones daily life is now within a large geographic range. However, this
expansion doesn’t kill spatial differentiations! Not everything becomes urban! Mobility becomes the
link connecting Morphology, Function, and Lifetsyle. People can work and shop tens of kilometres1
away from where they live, including in large metropolitan (international) centres like Geneva.
12
1.1.5 The Cloister
A cloister is a space created for monasteries, places of worship, temples, and/or shrines. These places
were often given prominent locations in the city. Bangkok’s wats define that city, and churches often
mark the centre of neighbourhoods and districts of Western cities. These places were then accompanied
by schools, meeting houses, and residences.
This central city was surrounded by industry, except for fashionable streets leading to the best suburbs.
The working class lived near the industrial areas, close to the factories in which they worked. Middle
class suburbanites were connected to the CBD by tram or commuter rail. This mid-century city was
created by attempting to correct the mistakes made when cities first became industrialised.
The Transect Diagram shown in Figure 1 is used by advocates of New Urbanism as a template for
writing zone and design guidelines. It captures the organisation of a city as it was in 1950. Certain areas
that don’t fit the diagram, e.g. stockyards, are labelled as “special districts”. The problem with this diagram,
however, is that cities are no longer the way they were in 1950. These neighbourhood designs were built
on a foundation of discrimination and deed restrictions, as most people still lived in cramped slums.
13
Figure 1: Transect Diagram, showing city design of the 1950’s.
Afterwards, the suburbs kept spreading to the point where it became dysfunctional for residents —
people complained about traffic congestion, long commutes to work, segregation of functional areas
made mothers work as chauffeurs for their children, shopping required driving from one destination
to another, etc. So, the old 1950’s model with a CBD and walkable neighbourhoods seemed good in
comparison. In the past few decades, the US has seen a big downtown revival and rise in real estate values
for walkable neighbourhoods and suburbs.
The taller buildings are, the further apart they can be placed and still accommodate the same amount of
space. With the right orientation, buildings can be spaced so that sunlight falls on the full façade of the
neighbouring building, as shown in Figure 2. Such designs are actually implemented as law, known as
“Sunshine Laws” in countries such as Japan.
One feature of modernist design is that of Significant Form: buildings stand out from their neighbours.
One can make any shape buildable, such as a piece of crumpled paper.
14
Figure 2: Better building and tower spacing.
The road layouts of Washington D.C. and Paris are good examples of traditionalist city design. For smaller
cities or towns, squares could be surrounded by individual houses that all look alike. Individual houses
can be used to form other grand architectural compositions, such as circles/plazas with avenues leading
to them.
Note that one may use traditional city design to connect important landmarks/places with roads that
aren’t necessarily straight. New Urbanism uses such a method, where roads are sometimes curved along
the coast (and with adjacent important roads following that curve) as shown in Figure 3. You don’t need
to use classical buildings to use traditional city design planning!
One may correct mistakes introduced by industrial cities and by misguided use of elevated highways and
railways, e.g. by converting them into streams and landscape or elevated parks. Highways next to rivers
15
Figure 3: Traditionalist city design in New Urbanism.
could be lowered with the top being landscaped, as another example. Garden cities3 help make shops
and amenities walkable, with big houses further away but the majority of the city walkable and green.
3 Environmental Considerations
3.1 Ecological Urbanism
Landscape Urbanism, also known Ecological urbanism, emerged in the 1990s as a response to post-
modernist architecture which was retreating back to European models, as well as disasters of industrial
cities, to make them better community-wise. Ecological urbanism aims to synthesise cities and nature,
i.e. synthesise the synthetic and physical interface between buildings, infrastructure, natural ecology, and
culture. It seeks to “activate space and produce urban effects without the weighty apparatus of traditional
space making”.
3
There wasn’t much else discussed on garden cities in the courses I took, so use Google to figure out its pros and cons.
Generally, from my knowledge, not a great idea unless you incorporate bits and pieces of it here and there.
16
3.2 Managing Water: Flooding and Scarcity
The concept of Design With Nature, developed by Ian McHarg, focuses on preserving the natural
environment as much as possible, as it performs important functions for us. Such functions can include
acting as flood barriers, dispersal of air pollutants, and purifying and storing water, among others. The
following areas are listed in order of environmental importance according to this theory, i.e. from least
to most suitable for urban development: surface water, flood plains, marshes, aquifer recharge areas,
aquifers, steep slopes, forests/woodlands, and unforested lands.
Many cities use concrete structures to act as barriers to flooding. Sand dunes (with hardy grasses), how-
ever, are more sustainable flood barriers than concrete as concrete erodes over time while sand absorbs
waves. Sand dunes are good for protection from the ocean in coastal areas such as the Netherlands. For
delta regions, however, sand isn’t enough and you’ll need constructed (e.g. concrete) barriers. Marine
barrages such as those seen in Singapore4 can keep sea water out and act as a fresh-water reservoir, while
also acting as attraction with recreational parks as well as districts in new bays.
Adding barriers may not be the only solution to address rising sea levels. Very low-lying and low-density
areas prone to flooding can be relocated onto the water by using floating buildings, for example. The
modern neighbourhood of Ijburg, Netherlands, has this set-up with docks acting as sidewalks. Building
on the water with floating buildings makes a lot of sense since it frees up valuable land for food production,
while some waste can be used5 to feed fish and algae.
Water scarcity is a significant issue already and will only continue to grow in severity. Wetlands can be
constructed to clean polluted water for non-potable purposes like urban agriculture. These wetlands can
also be made into attractive parks by adding boardwalks along it, thus serving two functions at once!
Wetlands also help prevent flooding naturally; not as effective as barriers in very low-lying areas, but still
helpful in many other places.
1. Reducing demand, e.g. reducing travel by implementing energy-efficient urban forms, providing
efficient modes of transport, and locally sourcing things.
2. Improving energy supply, e.g. by adding renewables, reusing waste heat, providing local heat-
ing/cooling (such as household geothermal pumps), and developing other new systems to control
and optimise energy.
Green city planning makes people act sustainably without thinking about the environment. For exam-
ple, Copenhagen has most of its residents biking for convenience and health, as opposed to environmental
4
Not really a delta region, I know, but not sure where else to put this.
5
Not how it works in C:S though, unfortunately!
17
reasons. Making biking as convenient as possible and giving it priority in planning is what makes this
possible. Infrastructure to achieve this may include multiple bike lanes for different speeds, easy stopping
bars and ground lights at intersections, dedicated (not shared) lanes, and direct routes by bike lanes that
aren’t available to cars.
Part of green city planning is making complete streets, which “do all” by serving as many modes of
transport as possible. This is done by having space for pedestrians, bikes, public transit, and motorists.
This encourages people to walk or bike since they have the space to do so. Complete streets are discussed
in-depth in Appendix B. In some European cities, they make sure transit lines are constructed before
further urban development, so that people don’t get into the habit of driving in the first place. A great
place to start creating transit-oriented communities is Appendix A. In general, the more dense a city is,
the less energy is consumed per capita, as most facilities are a walk away and transit is close. However,
simply increasing density by itself doesn’t improve environmental health, as smog-ridden cities such as
Beijing show.
Green roofs are an excellent form of green infrastructure since they absorb grey water, reduce pressure
on sewage, keep buildings cool in the summer by reducing energy consumption by 10 %, mitigate urban
heat island effects due to their green colour, increase biodiversity within the area, and actually increase
the lifespan of roofs by protecting roof membranes from UV rays and temperature fluctuations. They are
also great for serving as local parks or areas for residents to relax, significantly increasing the land available
for the city while greatly improving quality of life. In addition to being pretty, such green spaces help
address stress and improve cognitive and mental health.
Environmental literacy involves teaching children and youth environmental values to promote a re-
silient city. Contact with nature, the ravine systems, and food gardens provides physical and emotional
benefits. Studies show that nature-play leads to developing a stronger immune systems in children. When
children develop an understanding and appreciation of ecological processes they become citizens who
make more sustainable choices. Provide learning opportunities for children through elements such as
visible stormwater management, using spillways that flow into landscape beds. Explore opportunities to
develop community gardens in open space or food gardens on rooftop amenity space.
18
Urban agriculture is now being recognised for its ability to help improve the self-sustainability of a city,
especially important given growing uncertainties over reliable food supplies. It also mitigates greenhouse
gases by reducing “food miles”, which is the travel needed for food to get to stores. Concerns such as
city land being too valuable for farming are mostly unwarranted, as even areas with limited space such as
Singapore are building full scale urban farms (including vertical farms, which are great for areas with
limited space).6 An example of this is Sky Greens in Singapore, a vertical greenhouse farm which grows
80 tons of vegetables annually. Areas with urban agriculture can also serve as tourist attractions. For
example, an “agrofood tourism” trail can take visitors through farms and shops, acting as a local attraction
while serving agricultural functions.
Classifying an area as a historical district doesn’t mean preserve everything the way it is! These arguments
have often been used by wealthy people to keep “the poors” out of their neighbourhoods when space
is becoming a premium. Urban renewal and change is unavoidable, but the way old buildings are re-
purposed, and the areas in which new buildings blend in with older ones, are what is important. The
character of the neighbourhood should be preserved, and this can be accomplished without turning the
area into a museum.
A practice met with disdain by many preservationists (and those with good taste), facadism involves
keeping the front (just the façade) of a historical building while demolishing the rest of the building to
6
CushyCrux has recently uploaded a cool-looking vertical farm on the Workshop, great for urban areas!
7
Is it obvious that I’m a physicist yet?
19
build up on top of it. This half-assed attempt at blending old and new basically ruins the integrity and
authenticity of the building. However, an example of where adaptive reuse doesn’t devalue the building’s
authenticity is Hearst Tower in Chicago. Here, an attractive glass tower is built on top of the base of what
was supposed to be a 1930s tower, so since the original intent was to build a tower anyway, the building’s
authenticity has been kept intact.
Good adaptive reuse should preserve at least some of the floors and roof structures, making a more
authentic reminder of the history and purpose than a mere façade. Also, the new layer of construction
should be distinctly recognisable and contemporary, not an imitation of the historic style. While this may
seem somewhat counter-intuitive, this is done so that historic buildings are seen as series of layers that
accrued over time, in which each layer reflects the values of the time in which they were built. By making
clear what is new and what is old, it renders the structure as more honest. For example, the Louvre’s
new pyramid addition (surrounded by the original historic building) is made of clear glass in order to
maintain the integrity of the open courtyard. New layers can enrich the structure, especially when there’s
interesting dialogue between old and new.
20
5.2 Rapid Urbanisation and Slums
Medellin in Colombia had slums with limited access, which made it crime-infested. To enhance local
mobility, gondolas (otherwise known as metro cables, a form of cable car) were introduced as public
transit. Open spaces were carved out adjacent to metro cables, accompanied by schools and libraries and
workplaces. Torrents for sewer systems were created to prevent sewage from falling into ravines, with
promenades along these torrents. Homes in flood areas (e.g. flood plains of ravines) were relocated to
other areas that were still nearby so that social ties were maintained. All of this resulted in crime rates
plummeting.
Planning ahead of projected informal settlements (which typically occur around expensive real estate of
the city) can help mitigate the negative effects of slums. This fosters growth in appropriate sites while
keeping areas that should be unoccupied free (due to their environmental importance, for example).
Land should be assembled and spatial requirements of public realm envisioned, defining areas where
communities will self-construct neighbourhoods. Such areas should be determined with appropriate
spatial requirements to help settlements achieve higher socio-economic and environmental conditions,
and keep this land free from unwanted occupation.8
• Making escalators (as opposed to stairs) for easy access to slopes.9 This is especially helpful for
people carrying groceries, disabled people, pregnant women, and the elderly.
• Narrow stairways with piping and electricity running underneath them, saving space.
• Adding walkways along below-sea-level areas, such as docks along Bangkok’s water markets.
One issue in making slums in C:S is that we can’t have any house that’s not directly adjacent to a road,
while informal settlements are frequently much more narrow and tightly packed. The only solution I can
see to recreate this in C:S is to have wide (and deep), high density, RICO slum buildings that can go
between actual tiny roads while having pathways within them, to solve the “needs road access” problem.
Otherwise, services such as ambulances can’t reach them even though they can walk up stairs IRL, etc.
8
Most of this would be done with the public sector and NGOs in developing countries, as governments would build
these already if they could.
9
C:S doesn’t support escalator functionality, they’d just work as stairs, but you can pretend they’re escalators!
21
5.4 Combating Poverty and Urban Deterioration in the Ghetto
People are poor for a reason, they aren’t just lazy! Furthermore, urban deterioration isn’t random. It
usually stems from a changing economy, the city losing its industry, changing commercial preferences
(people want larger stores), or people moving out causing property vacancies (feedback cycle). Turns
out that hipsters can be useful sometimes, as arts can be used to revitalise communities. Pedestrian areas
can be painted to beautify neighbourhoods, and “junk” can be used to make sculptures, benches, and
spaces for public use. Artists can move in, contribute to the community with their projects, and local
people will like the neighbourhood and speak proudly of it.
To avoid gentrification, a “wish list” can be created to reflect the needs and wants of local residents.
This could include places they don’t want demolished, stores they want kept, improvements to housing
and services etc. This can make sure local “vibe” and residents remain there. Once this is created, the
government can buy areas sought out by land developers to ensure it’s developed in accordance to local
needs. Once they add what locals want, and code for what can be zoned where, then developers can
come in and build what they want.10 To deal with urban growth, high rises can be restricted to areas on
the fringes of the land, so that local character is maintained.
Streets can be shut down and converted into public green spaces, providing locals with services while
preventing through traffic. Minimum spatial requirements for low income housing11 (provided by the
government) ensures a socially healthy mix of incomes in the neighbourhood. Places where different
incomes would come and interact are essential; otherwise, further marginalisation of the poor occurs and
they will not be affected by whatever positive changes you think you’re bringing to the neighbourhood.
In fact, you don’t even need to demolish shitty looking houses to completely change the flair of the
neighbourhood! Remove some of the road and turn it into public gardens/shrubs (Congo St in Dallas
by bcWorkshop is a great example of this, look them up in Google Images), and renovate houses to add
modern flair (for example, wood panels on the sides of shotgun houses). This involves talking with local
residents12 and seeing what needs to be improved in their homes. One way of reducing crime in ghetto
neighbourhood is by adding local community gardens on streets themselves. This reuse of street space
reduces the amount of physical space gangs can use to mark their turf, reducing street crime and thus
making streets safer while providing food for local residents, as well as a meaningful recreational pastime.13
Design may not be able to eliminate poverty, but it can make a difference! It can help in economic
development, especially if the strategy is to attract tourism and other industries that are sensitive to
the quality of the place. It can help in assembly and reuse of lands, needed by expanding institutions
10
In C:S, this would basically translate into you not demolishing important buildings and retaining the local character
that you created, no matter how much better it might look with a new fancy building from the workshop.
11
In C:S, that could translate into Level 1 housing, possibly added to an existing building via sub-buildings or simply
via MoveIt!
12
Go ahead, talk to your cims, that’s totally normal behaviour!
13
In C:S, you can add 1x1 small farms if you actually want food, or you can just add some agriculture props such as
vegetable rows from the workshop. These don’t have to be too wide/deep, as you still want walking space on the
sidewalks.
22
and businesses, and provide employment opportunities. It can help ensure development targets local
unemployed residents, to ensure openings fit them. It can use abandoned lands as places for urban
agriculture or recreation. In C:S, don’t just demolish neighbourhoods and remake them with fancy
new subdivisions — you’d be destroying communities IRL! Instead, find ways to make local lives better
within the neighbourhood without displacing the poor and marginalising them further. Make it a home
for everyone, including the poor.
1. Functional: What makes every day practical. This includes the infrastructure, services, and
accessibility available by various means of transport. Everyone has transport mode preferences
and each is characterised by an anchor in daily activities related to proximity.
2. Sensitive: What promotes well-being. This includes the morphology of the built environment
such as green spaces, quality of facilities, density, new versus old, and aesthetics. Each person feels
good in certain environments and has their preferences.
3. Social: What promotes social relations. This includes public space types, accessibility, presence
of facilities and intermediate spaces, and the possibility to articulate public/private division. We
all design specific relations to each other and of the social anchor. Community life, neighbourly
friendliness, reputation, etc., are all dimensions that refer to the social quality of a space and for
which each has specific expectations.
What has changed over the last forty years, in relation to these three dimensions, is that there is a
diversification of models of aspiration. Prior to this, people had more similar goals. Now, there exists no
singular quality of life, but rather qualities of life. One income can support several different lifestyles and
allow the recipient to live in different neighbourhoods. Thus, since lifestyles are so diversified, we can’t
identify them simply using classic variables such as income, education, and household composition.
1. Rational: Metric and economic factors. For example, the household determines where it can live
based on income, family size, and the house’s distance from work/amenities.
23
2. Social: Once the rational factors filter out inapplicable houses, the remaining choices are priori-
tised based on what values a person has. For example, it may be important for the household to
live near other family members, or have a big house for social status. People want to live in a place
that resembles us and our background (cultural or otherwise).
3. Sensitive: When deciding between two homes that align best with their social values, the house-
hold finally chooses a home based on sensitive factors such as lighting, smell, and the overall
wellness we feel in the neighbourhood.
As discussed in the previous section, one’s lifestyle can be the same even as they gain income, and one
can have a different lifestyle from someone else with the same income. Thus, lifestyle (as opposed to
income) is decisive to explain choice of residential location. Do people want to live individualistic lives
and not have to engage with neighbours every day, as in individual suburban houses? Or do they value
community and want neighbour engagement, as in small apartments?
Lifestyles can be grouped into two main categories, with corresponding residential preferences: Classic
and Contemporary.
• Contemporary: Less traditional lifestyles, more often led by dual-income households. Such
lifestyles advocate social diversity, living together, lighter modes of transport, public transit, active
cultural life, and ecological values. Prefer active residential environments that are intensive, mixed,
dense, urban, and where cultural and artistic activity is high. Ideal residence: apartment in old
building (loft) or in modern building.
As discussed above, different lifestyles tend to live in different areas. However, even one single building
block can host different lifestyles by having different building layouts (and adjacent alley/park layouts).
Some buildings within that block can have more alleys and laundry rooms where people can meet
(contemporary), while others can have parking next to the house for less interaction with neighbours
(classic). Having a mixture of lifestyles in one area can be beneficial as such shared spaces are critical to
de-stereotyping; when we face diverse people, we are challenged by our assumptions.
One universally desired trait across all lifestyles is serenity. All households regardless of type want
proximity to peace, nature, and green space. Homes geared for classic lifestyles can have individual yards,
while their contemporary counterparts can have a shared community garden serve as a common yard.
Each city (area) has different geographies and densities, so planning new neighbourhoods in a particular
area should take this into account. For example, Bern has its neighbourhoods close to the city centre and
in short reach with public transit, whereas Lausanne is more spread out and doesn’t have much public
24
transit between neighbourhoods. Much of this is due to constraints from local geography, and also the
history of the city. Thus, each territory (Lausanne or Bern) will attract a different target audience, living
different lifestyles.
People value personal contact and crave human interaction even with technology — in fact, technology
just makes it easier for human interaction. It serves as a tool for people with common interests to gather
in groups (preferably in areas with wifi, of course). People aren’t isolated by technology as often thought.
What is needed, however, is to create spaces that promote personal contact.
If one’s “first place” is home and one’s “second place” is work, then one’s “third place” are places like
cafés, book stores, hair salons, bars, and other centres where the community congregates and hangs out.
A successful “third place” should have the following elements:
• Stand on neutral ground, and not deter from one group or another.
• Be accessible by all.
• Be a home away from home, much like how a library serves as a second home for some people.
• Allow easy entry and not require major commitment to use them; for example, allow pedestrians
to walk through it, or attach it to pathways many people travel.
• Contain distractions; e.g. waterfalls which serve as a distraction from street noise while also
functioning as a conversation piece.
• Provide the ability for groups to use it for different activities, such as dance groups, exercise groups,
basketball, etc.
The idea of a third place is to function as a space where informal groups conduct activities that people
can watch, join in, or move on. Such a space needs a connecting piece for people to walk through and see
and sample all of the activities. However, the area must be made so that formal groups don’t take over.
This can be done by, e.g., making only a half-court basketball court instead of a full court, not building a
soccer field or baseball diamond (no matter how much formal groups may ask), etc. This way, the space
is kept open for all whenever not used by specific formal groups.
25
6.4 Mixing Home, Work, Culture and Recreation
Mixed-use buildings can function as places to shop, work, play, and live. They don’t need to be tall either!
A hodgepodge of small buildings (ranging from 3 to no more than 15 stories) with mixed-use functions
can work well like this. Culture is in fact created by these mixed-use spaces. These areas prevent forming
streets that look unsafe at night because they’re dead, as mixed-use areas tend to be active 24/7. In
general, they make places safer since there are eyes on the street all the time.
Well-lit buildings can further help create the vision of a safe space at night, even when not in use (e.g.
make a public library well-lit). Another benefit of having mixed-use areas is that parking can be used at
all times of day, making land use more efficient. Well designed outdoor spaces can ensure mixed-use
environments are lively even in cold climates. Roofs above shops can function as parks for local residents,
as discussed in subsection 3.4.
However, the most important factor is having a walkable commercial centre within easy range of one’s
home. Old frontages may be difficult to adapt to modern supermarkets, so redevelop large vacant areas
(e.g. at the end of a street) to form a modern shopping centre. For example, a local neighbourhood can
have large stores on its north end, residential and low-commercial (for everyday needs) on its south
end, and offices/entertainment in between. As traditional sprawling shopping centres become obsolete
(which they are nowadays), you can retrofit these places to become walkable. Arterial streets can become
more pedestrian friendly boulevards, with new infield development added in front of them. People can
live above the shops with higher density development, streets become more pedestrian and bike friendly,
and the local population grows.
26
producing a unique district of the city, etc. This line of thought prevents you from thinking that every
new piece of the city needs to be self-contained and turned inward, and also reminds you that every
project is part of a larger ecology.
Green spaces naturally maintained by rainfall in a site can form an armature (frame) for a larger density
development. Terraced houses can be built on hills, with valleys filled with green parks and cultural/recre-
ational areas. To ensure everyone has a view of the valley, high buildings can be restricted to forming
only on hill-tops. A good example of this arrangement is in Modi’in, Israel.
Making sure that smaller buildings are in front of taller ones on streets makes pedestrians only aware of
the small buildings as that’s all they see, even though tall towers are there too. Vancouverism insists that
streets shouldn’t have blank façades and tall towers shouldnt block views of other buildings. Continuous
front doors along residential streets are encouraged even if tall buildings tower over them; in this arrange-
ment, town houses are at the base with apartments above and set back. On busier streets, continuous
shopfronts aren’t to be broken by driveways or apartment lobbies.
Milton Keynes is a nice example of a new city in that despite being a grid layout, each square is very
uniquely laid out and through traffic in each square is discouraged. Pedestrian paths connect everything.
However, precisely because it’s so spread out, it makes car owning a necessity and makes it difficult to
provide transit services to all areas.
Squares and streets should stop being prioritised as places to get from A to B quickly, but rather to places
where we can stay with our kids and talk to others. Boulevards can ideally be re-atriculated to nearby
neighbourhoods. Pedestrian and semi-pedestrian areas allow residents of different income backgrounds
to share the same space/areas, gives environmental benefits, and is aesthetically pleasing. Visual beauty
with function is important as cities compete with other cities for business/growth.
Note that the consistency of the public realm makes any variations in buildings along the street seem less
important. Trees arching over sidewalks that are generous in space and offer rest areas, and interesting
shopfronts, are all more interesting for pedestrian than architecture above.
8 Airport–City Connection
This section discusses different approaches to integrating airports into your cities.
27
Figure 4: Airfront Model.
28
Figure 6: Airport City Model.
29
Figure 8: AIREA Model.
9 Public Transit
This section discusses the theory behind public transit. To jump right into actual concrete guidelines, go
to Appendix A.
30
Figure 9: Aerotropolis Model.
In considering where people live in relation to transit, Primary and Secondary Areas are as important as
Core Areas. However, physical and geographical barriers can limit these ideally circular catchment areas,
meaning these may not be good locations for transit stations.
If stops are close together, Core Areas can become a continuous corridor of development. At the
intersection of two major transit systems (e.g. two lines sharing the same stop), the Core Area radius may
be doubled. At each node (stop), the general land distribution should ideally be as follows: Streets and
Open Space occupying ⅓ of the area, Office and Retail and Civic Uses occupying another ⅓ of the area,
and Residential Uses occupying the final ⅓. Thus, there would be only a modest increase in density.
31
needs are located, e.g. what lifestyle(s) lives where, where they converge, etc). One person can use differ-
ent means of transport (including walking) to accomplish different things and go to different places even
just in one city/neighbourhood. Usage of certain transport modes (rather than others) fundamentally
refers to ways of living and organising one’s daily life and not just simply choices of transport modes.
In many cases, transport modes need to be legitimised. For example, cycling may be seen by others as
something only poor people do, so new people need to feel comfortable and not feel like they’re in the
margins of society for cycling (or for using a new transport mode in general). These new transport modes
must be legitimised by the population at large before some people adopt it.
There are three (3) logics of action that cause different modal (transport mode) choices: Instrumental
(choose fastest, cheapest, or combo of both), Personal Preference, and Habit. Even if one mode is
cheaper or faster than another, some (many) people may still not choose it! Thus, one can’t assume
people will use a particular mode for instrumental reasons alone. People may associate public transit
with being slow, crowded, and/or constrained (not as independent as driving a car). So even if it’s faster
and cheaper, personal preference may still prevent them from taking transit. Also, some people simply
don’t plan on changing from car to transit (habit) because they’re so used to driving that even when
they’re comparable they just use the car anyway.
To account for the segmentation of these three logics of action, we have a typology made up of eight (8)
specific provisions on the use of transport mode. This typology is made of three (3) dimensions:
1. Size of patterns that differentiate individuals using several modes vs. those using only one.
• Only use car to move daily and hate other transport modes
• Only use car to move daily but don’t hate other transport modes
• Use other transport modes and don’t use car
2. Values that differentiate people who have a vision of transport modes according to their individual
interest or according to common interest.
• Multimodal comparators; people who are highly sensitive to mode prices and times (ratio-
nal)
• Civic environmentalists; people who avoid polluting modes as much as possible (emotional)
• Motorists forced to use public transit (due to constraints like parking, traffic) but prefer car
whenever they can.
• People susceptible to alternative modes; prefer non-car but forced to use car sometimes.
• People afraid of any motorised transport and avoid whenever possible.
32
Figure 10: Barbeque Effect and its relationship with increased energy consumption for transport in dense
areas.
Taking leisure transport into account, the normal curve of “less dense = more energy consumption for
transport” actually becomes false — the more dense you are, the more energy is consumed for transport,
as shown in Figure 10. However, while some of these movements are compensatory for lack of green
space in urban areas (and can thus be “fixed” or addressed), other movements are simply to explore other
urban areas (e.g. travel from Toronto to Ottawa by plane). Thus, the graph shown in Figure 10 may be
called into question as it doesn’t address this point. Furthermore, improved connectivity between the
city and the green spaces outside the city (e.g. train, bus, or shorter distances) can address this increased
use of transport.
Can we really build cities that compensate for the BBQ effect? What would that look like, having virtues
of both density and green space? And to what extent can we reduce leisure travel, since e.g. people go on
trips on holidays (travel is what holidays are associated with) regardless of what is around their residential
area? This is still an area being explored and these questions are still being investigated.
14
Yeah, I don’t get it either.
33
9.4 Seductive Engineering
In a system where many choices exist, for a technical solution that is introduced to be successful, it must
be attractive. It must resonate with what people want to do, their aspirations, and their constraints. In
Geneva, they had trams with multiple lines sometimes sharing one road. You could be at one stop and
take trams in multiple directions, thus avoiding having to change tram lines in the city centre since direct
paths (to destinations) throughout the city were multiplied. However, transit authorities removed some
of these multiple lines or “duplicates” to simplify the network, so that instead of one stop having 2/3
lines they’d only have 1. These lines are faster and have more trams (increased frequency). However,
ridership dropped as people hated the fact that they had to change tram lines when before it was direct!
The users in this case sought direct routes, as downtown public spaces are traffic congested so it’s un-
pleasant to change lines. Thus, even if there were improvements in speed and frequency, the old network
was still considered better by users! Therefore, if we want to make a network to expand use of transport,
we have to consider the sensitivity of the population. For new riders, it must attract/seduce their expec-
tations and in this case their expectations weren’t to go faster but to go direct.
Engineering with seduction means engineering keeping in mind public expectations and desires, not
just efficiency or technology! If it’s very efficient but poorly received by consumers, it’s a bad engineering
design!
Real estate around tramways increases in value and people want to live near them. However, trams
don’t imply significantly increased transit usage in all cases. Speed, destinations served, and frequency
are obvious factors that should be addressed. However, other factors to consider for trams include
crowdedness; if there aren’t any seats available, then its attractiveness for a smooth ride and ability to
do work on it goes down. In addition, a lack of unity with other transit modes is also problematic; if it
has, for example, a different frequency than bus/metro, it would then not be in sync with the rest of the
system and therefore people may simply continue using the bus/metro (and then maybe transfer to tram
if needed) which would leave ridership the same as before.
34
or the route isn’t direct and is convoluted to take, then the adherence (effectiveness) of that bus line is
diminished and people no longer view that transport mode as an anchor despite the number of stops it has.
Cities are dynamic and not static. They grow and flux. Therefore, transport systems (and cities in general)
should be built with the flexibility to change, add, and delete transit lines/modes when necessary; allow
new projects to serve new players or new needs to graft to its own dynamics; and allow additional
inter-modal nodes to be created as well as new centres and new developments.
A lot of times, things that are interesting for tourists and visitors like historical sites, landmarks, etc., aren’t
really that interesting to actual locals who live there. For them, where they live is much more interesting
and worthy of consideration/note. For example, how many people in Toronto care about the CN Tower
versus visiting Queen Street? Tourist attractions dont mean or imply that locals will visit or accept it as
important! Their needs must be met too in their own neighbourhoods.
Metro, monorail, and train routes right in the middle of the road that create physical barriers can fragment
cities and neighbourhoods. Crossings should be added to help maintain flow across streets if such massive
and divisive structures are unavoidable. Pedestrian walking time between transit stop and destination
must be accounted for in addition to the actual transit travel time.
Placing public squares and plazas next to “out of the way” bus lanes can help increase their use and attrac-
tiveness, but local desires around transport use must be taken into account as well. Public space projects
can help sew neighbourhoods together, but this shouldn’t be limited to crosswalks and connectivity
projects. Rather, it should include the activities and functions which are offered around these spaces
(live, work, play), so these spaces should be placed strategically through functional diversity by favoring
short trips.
The following principles apply for all sites and all building types. Follow these principles for all sites
and buildings, and then look to the specific sections for institutional, neighbourhood retail plaza, tall,
35
mid-rise, townhouse/low-rise, and single residential buildings for additional guidelines that must also
be followed.
Where appropriate, upgrade and maintain the rear of centre/corridor building façades in much the
same way as street façades, particularly when an opportunity exists to create active retail spaces such
as back-of-lot cafés. Treat the rear or sides of sites with a positive edge such as a laneway, a walkway,
substantial landscaping, or setbacks. Provide lanes at the rear of sites to transition between different land
uses and to avoid a back-to-back condition, as shown in Figure 11.
36
Figure 11: A continuous rear lane helps transition between the rear lots fronting onto the arterial street,
and the side lots of the buildings on the local street.
New developments may enhance, or impede, views of heritage sites and landmarks, as shown in Figure 12.
To lower the apparent height of a tall building, tree species that will grow tall can be effective in reducing
37
Figure 12: Height and built form along a streetscape can visually impede a vista (top left), or enhance a
vista (top right). Similarly, new streets and built form can be used to reinforce existing views or create
new views to existing landmarks (bottom).
38
Figure 13: The houses in this diagram have varied setbacks along an arc which creates a varied and more
interesting streetscape.
Figure 14: The tall building steps back to protect an important view from the public realm.
the apparent or perceived height of the building at grade. In areas with varied front setbacks, design
building setbacks to act as a transition between adjacent buildings and to unify the overall streetscape, as
shown in Figure 13. Respect the existing general pattern of side spacing.
Buildings located on corner lots or other prominent sites present an excellent opportunity to highlight
their unique location. Position buildings toward key intersections to emphasise the pedestrian realm at
corners. Design strategies include articulated corners, projecting and receding balconies, and accentu-
ating features at various scales. The primary entrance to buildings on corner lots should be located at
the corner, with architectural features such as double height lobbies, special rooflines, or other building
elements like porches or turrets. Provide significant architectural or landscape features at the corners
of sites or intersections to make them stand out from the building pattern along the rest of the block.
Maximise the landmark opportunities of particularly prominent corners such as at the intersection of
39
(a) A prominent site at a view termi- (b) Prominent sites framing an im- (c) A prominent site at a unique lo-
nus. portant public open space. cation in the City structure.
Figure 15: Different examples of prominent sites that aren’t landmark based.
two arterial streets, at a significant bend in a street, or at the terminus of a long view. Public spaces at
prominent points may also highlight building and site significance, and contribute to an active public
realm.
Design sites to minimise impact on existing site grades through creative building and design solutions
such as stepped building foundations (floors), alternative building footprint(s), and terracing. Where
possible, match grades to surrounding properties and to street grade. Use natural grades across site,
and avoid retaining walls. If absolutely necessary as the natural grade can’t be respected, provide an
integrated retaining wall system that creates a natural transition in grade across the site and contributes
to an attractive streetscape. Retaining walls must be located entirely on private property.
40
The scale, articulation, rhythm, proportion, pattern, colour, texture, and materials of buildings must be
complimentary to nearby buildings, existing and new. Avoid large expanses of blank side wall. Where fea-
sible, cluster utility areas together or incorporate them within streetscape furniture in order to minimise
their visual impact. Exterior lighting should be used to highlight façade detailing and indicate primary
entrances at night.
One of the key goals to intensification and redevelopment should be to achieve superb building ar-
chitecture that improves the public realm. Avoid buildings with a pastiche of architectural styles and
details, as they don’t help create a coherent identity for the development and by extension, the city. New
developments should respect and fit within their context and improve their overall setting by enhancing
the pedestrian realm.
Well-designed projections can provide an additional layer of detail and individuality to a building, and
enrich the pedestrian environment. These elements add visual interest to the front façade, enhance the
prominence of the entrances, and provide transition in scale from the sidewalk to the main wall of the
building. These elements also often help new developments fit better within the existing neighbourhood
context. Incorporate site features that create a comfortable transition between different uses.
41
10.10.1 Pedestrian Connections
Provide pedestrian walkways between building blocks/sites, through parking lots, and through covered
building arcades. Pedestrian connections should be continuous, barrier-free, and lead directly to des-
tinations. Entry locations to pedestrian walkways should be easy to find, clearly visible, safe, and have
direct connections to the public sidewalk. Use distinctive pavement or markings (e.g., painted patterns)
to provide visual identification of pedestrian routes. Provide pedestrian-scaled lighting, benches, trees or
other landscaping, and planters along pedestrian connections to enhance visibility and security. Provide
clear sightlines allowing view from one end of the walkway to the other. Where a transit stop is located
within walking distance of an important site, provide a direct pedestrian connection between the transit
stop and the building’s main entrance. Where appropriate, orient active uses such as retail stores or cafés
to front onto pedestrian connections to provide an active pedestrian realm.
10.10.3 Parking
Where feasible, incorporate shared driveways in order to reduce the extent of interruption to pedestrians.
Underground parking structures are encouraged over surface parking lots to conserve land, promote
compact development, and to minimise the urban heat island effect. As your city intensifies and develops
over time, such parking structures should replace surface parking lots. Locate and design parking lots
and internal drive-aisles to minimise the number of vehicle crossings over pedestrian connections. For
corner sites, parking areas shouldn’t be located on an exterior side. Where parking areas are situated
adjacent to the sidewalk, provide a landscaped area of at least 3 m wide between parked vehicles and the
sidewalk. This buffer should be located within the private realm, so as not to reduce the total sidewalk
width. See Appendix L for informative surface parking lot design guidelines.
42
A Transit-Oriented Communities Design Guidelines
The following section is derived from TransLink’s Transit-Oriented Communities Design Guidelines, July
2012.
Desire line – Preferred travel paths (usually with respect to walking and cycling) based on the conve-
nience of travelling from one location to another; desire lines can be sidewalks and formal routes or
informal paths.
Frequent transit network – A network of corridors along which transit service is provided at least every
15 minutes in both directions, throughout the day and into the evening, every day of the week; a high
frequency and span of transit service within a corridor, which may be provided by a single route or by a
combination of routes and/or technologies within the same corridor.
Frequent transit node – The 400 m (for stops) or 800 m (for stations and exchanges) area around
transit passenger facilities where two or more frequent transit services intersect.
Rapid transit – An urban transit service characterized by high carrying capacity and by speed, frequency,
and reliability (high speed and reliability are usually achieved through separation from other modes of
travel); typically provided by transit technologies such as rail rapid transit, light rail transit, and bus rapid
transit.
Station/Stop area – The 800 m radius surrounding a rapid transit station (the radius is 400 m for local
transit stops); operationally, radius is typically represented as an ‘as-the-crow-flies’ distance, but can also
be based on actual physical distance by way of available paths that can be covered in a 10-minute walk (5
minutes for stops).
Urban centre – An important focal point for jobs, homes, institutional facilities, services and entertain-
ment, community and cultural activity, and future growth; generally characterized by higher population
and employment density and more trip generators when compared to surrounding areas. Urban Centres
are intended to be the region’s primary focal points for concentrated growth and transit service.
43
anchors, transit ridership is likely to be low at either end, which reduces transit efficiency. The strongest
anchors include major institutions such as colleges and universities, shopping centres, and large mixed-
use developments. Major employment districts are also strong anchors.
To support transit as a convenient travel mode, locate major trip generating uses in Urban Centres
and frequent transit nodes/corridors to reduce the length of trips to access them. To increase the
attractiveness of transit, locate major trip generating uses of region-wide interest within 800 m of the
existing or planned rapid transit network (or within 400 m of transit passenger facilities for frequent transit
corridors) to ensure convenient access by transit over longer trip distances. Locate major destinations at
mid-points along frequent transit corridors, particularly where they intersect with other frequent transit
corridors, to promote shorter trips, passenger turnover, and better-utilised transit capacity. Avoid long
gaps between destinations by discouraging ‘leap frog’ development, or development far from established
developed areas. Avoid spurs and diversion-shaped routes.
A.2.2 Encourage the highest intensity of development in Urban Centres and at frequent transit
nodes
Destinations are best connected to the rest of the region when they are located in Urban Centres or at
frequent transit nodes along frequent transit corridors. Encouraging development in Urban Centres
serves to increase their attractiveness for office, commercial, retail, leisure, and entertainment activity,
which in turn increases the demand for and the effectiveness of transit services. Locate transit stations
and exchanges adjacent to, or integrated into, major destinations. Ensure a mix of land uses – including
active uses such as retail, restaurants, and entertainment – at transit nodes to reduce walking distances
between destinations and to promote pedestrian activity.
A.2.3 Focus additional growth toward existing and planned frequent transit corridors
Support future frequent transit service by strategically directing and phasing development toward a
limited number of the most feasible frequent transit corridors first. Support transit use and efficiency
by focusing development within a 5–10 minute walk (400 m to 800 m) from transit stops and stations,
respectively. Plan for a development density that is appropriate for the type and frequency of transit
service planned for each corridor.
A.3.2 Make walking and cycling access to frequent transit as direct as possible
The distances people are willing to walk to transit vary depending on length and purpose of the trip and
quality of the pedestrian environment, as well as on weather, topography, and demographics. Generally,
people will walk further to access limited-stop transit services than local services and walk further still
for rapid transit services. Paths of travel to and from transit passenger facilities should be as direct and
44
pleasant as possible, both to minimise the distance people are required to walk to transit and to maximise
the number of people who have convenient access to it.
Transit passenger facilities and access routes to and from them generate concentrated levels of activi-
ties by pedestrians, and should therefore be designed to create an environment that is safe, accessible,
easy to use, and secure and comfortable for all users – especially for these non-car modes. A 5 % in-
crease in walkability as measured by these traits was associated with a 32 % increase in walking for
transport. Walking and cycling trips on their own are also important for transit-oriented communities
to enable short trips without a car, reduce peak hour crowding on transit, and reduce congestion on roads.
Locate passenger facilities at intersecting frequent transit corridors as close as is practical to minimise
walking distances for those transferring between them. In communities with significant changes in
topography (e.g., steep slopes) that may affect walking and cycling use, plan connections to transit that
maximise the directness of travel to improve the attractiveness of these modes.
A.3.4 Locate frequent transit passenger facilities at accessible places on the street network
Transit passenger facilities, such as bus exchanges and rapid transit stations, are important focal points
for community and transportation activity. Wherever possible, facilities should be located where they
provide convenient access to pedestrian and cycling networks, enable efficient inter-modal connections,
and support the creation of higher density, mixed-use development. Distances to surrounding uses may
be reduced, not only by creating more connections, but also by locating transit facilities where existing
connections intersect. Integrate transit passenger facilities into existing or planned sites on the most
active and well-used streets.
Transit: Increase transit speed and reliability on arterials by designing for transit priority. On streets
where transit operates in mixed-flow conditions, provide transit ‘queue-jumper’ bypass lanes at congested
intersections to reduce transit delays. Design streets so the lanes where transit vehicles operate are at
least 3.5 m wide to ensure safe and efficient transit service. Where appropriate, provide signal priority
for transit vehicles at traffic signals.
45
A.4.2 Design great public spaces
Transit use will be low if safe, efficient, and attractive pedestrian routes are not available — after all, a
person must walk to their bus stop. To support transit-oriented communities, the public realm should
be both functional and attractive, and it should be inviting for those walking, cycling, or lingering.
Pedestrians, particularly those travelling to and from or waiting for transit, must be offered adequate
shelter from inclement weather to promote the use of transit services. Furthermore, a person must feel
safe and secure in the public realm before walking becomes an attractive transportation option. Creating
great public spaces supports the interrelationship between placemaking, good design, and the experience
of delight in the urban environment. To create a safe environment attractive to pedestrian use, follow the
pedestrian guidelines discussed in subsubsection B.3.3.
A.4.3 Seamlessly integrate development with frequent transit and the public realm
Closely integrate transit stops and stations into building design, where possible, in ways that create a
strong identity for transit and enhance the public realm. Maintain sightlines toward local landmarks and
public spaces to reinforce legibility and aid in pedestrian wayfinding.
Provide a mix of more affordable, transit-oriented housing types within 800 m of transit passenger
facilities. Locate services and housing for seniors and people with disabilities near frequent transit stops
and stations. Encourage affordable housing near frequent transit to increase the mobility options for
residents of such housing types. Integrate mixed-used development into the design of transit station
areas, where appropriate, to promote complete communities, higher transit ridership, and efficient use of
transit services.
A.5.2 Plan for density that supports community character and promotes quality of life
Promote family-friendly development near transit, such as multi-family housing, child care facilities in
mixed-use development, close proximity of schools, and creation of park space. Redeveloping parcels
46
near frequent transit in existing urban areas can help to maximise land efficiency and create transit-
oriented development. A significant opportunity lies in single-family neighbourhoods where infill units
such as laneway houses and secondary suites can increase density while retaining the character of the area.
It’s important to develop and phase new sites adjacent to existing developed areas, to facilitate the efficient
provision of urban services including transit. New street networks should be designed to extend existing
networks, and to support walking and cycling. In new undeveloped areas, high-density development
should only be considered in areas that are served by, or could efficiently be served by, frequent transit.
At the neighbourhood scale, a mix of land uses such as homes, offices, shops, parks, and entertainment
in close proximity creates an environment where many needs of daily life can be met within a short walk
from home, work, or transit. Such places feel safe and lively because different types of uses are active at
different times of day. A built form that supports a mix of land uses can also allow a community to be
more resilient over time, adapting to a changing economy and changing demographics.
At the transit corridor scale, a mix of uses encourages ridership in both directions throughout the day
and evening, promoting better and more efficient use of transit service and capacity. In communities
where most of the basic needs of daily life are available within walking distance, owning and using a car
becomes an optional, rather than daily, requirement.
A.6.1 Provide a mix of uses along frequent transit corridors to reduce peak crowding and spread
travel demand throughout the day
Land use diversity within transit corridors can help balance the timing and directionality of transit
demand, and more effectively utilise transit capacity. Balancing the distribution of homes, schools, and
employment locations along a transit corridor will enable transit to be well-used in both directions during
peak periods, rather than being overcrowded in one direction and underused in the other. Distributing
other land uses with more variable travel demand – such as retail centres, civic institutions, and enter-
tainment venues – along a transit corridor (preferably in Urban Centres along the corridor) can also
help ensure that transit demand is more evenly distributed throughout the day. Such distribution also
generates transit demand on weekends. A rich mix of pedestrian-friendly uses and housing types, tenures,
and price points distributed along a corridor helps to optimise transit utilisation.
A.6.2 Encourage a mix of land uses immediately adjacent to frequent transit facilities
Areas within 200 m of transit facilities (especially stations and exchanges) are particularly valuable to
encourage a mix of active land uses. People often like to combine tasks in one trip – such as picking up
47
coffee on the way to work, getting groceries on the way home, or dining at a restaurant on the way to a
night out – and, therefore, convenient access to goods and services makes transit much more attractive.
Providing retail and community services near transit can also promote local business opportunities and
can help to create a lively street life, a pleasant pedestrian environment, and a safe and secure public realm.
Promote the location of grocery stores (both large and small) near transit stations and/or at frequent
transit nodes to support combined transit-shopping trips and walkability within higher density areas
near transit.
A.6.3 Encourage a mix of uses around transit nodes to create complete neighbourhoods
Encouraging a diverse mix of land uses (residential, commercial, recreational, and civic) – for the wider
400 m area around bus stops and frequent transit corridors and the 800 m area around rapid transit
stations – can help create neighbourhoods where home, work, shopping, recreation, and transit services
are within walking distance. Such neighbourhoods enable residents to meet many of their daily needs
within walking distance and to combine several errands on the same trip. This strategy supports both a
higher walk and transit mode share for trips as well as reduced vehicle kilometres travelled.
Encourage higher-density office uses as close to frequent transit passenger facilities as possible, to support
convenient access by transit for employees. Locate schools (particularly secondary schools and post-
secondary institutions) near frequent transit nodes wherever possible, to allow and encourage students
to use transit. Invest in parks, plazas, and other public spaces within walking distance of frequent transit
nodes to ensure that residents, workers, and visitors have access to green space and associated recreation
facilities. Avoid lower-density and auto-oriented uses – such as gas stations, warehouses, storage facilities,
vehicle services centres, and drive-through facilities – near frequent transit nodes.
A.6.4 Provide an active street life with a mix of community services and fine-grained retail spaces
Flexible and diverse retail allows families to meet their daily needs on foot, maximising time for other
activities. Fine-grained retail and community services such as community health centres, cafés, and
bookstores allow for chance encounters that encourage a sense of community. Families require easy
access to pharmacies and fresh, healthy, and affordable food. Buildings lined with active uses, such as
retail and lobbies, generate a vibrant, healthy street life. This is especially important during winter months.
Active and animated building frontages allow for eyes on the street and informal supervision of children.
A.6.5 Provide a mix of housing types near frequent transit passenger facilities to create inclu-
sive communities and promote equitable access to transportation
A mix of housing types and tenures at a variety of affordability levels located near transit passenger
facilities can promote access for those segments of the population that are more likely to use or depend
on transit to meet their transportation needs. Housing mixes can also allow communities to support
residents at different stages of their lives, including students, single adults, families with children, and
seniors. Diverse residential populations support transit use and activate areas around transit stops at
different times of the day and week.
48
Encourage the location of low income, affordable, and seniors’ housing units near frequent transit nodes
and along frequent transit corridors to support transit-dependent citizens. As people live longer lives
and the share of the city’s population of seniors increases, mobility issues will become an increasing
challenge. Transit-oriented community design supports seniors’ mobility by providing more services and
activities within walking distance, facilitates ‘ageing in place’, and provides frequent and accessible transit
services. Enabling seniors to be active by increasing the walkability of their neighbourhoods and providing
convenient access to the transit system greatly increases their level of mobility and independence, provides
opportunities to stay active and involved in society, and improves the effectiveness of both fixed-route
and customised transit services.
49
A. APPENDICES
Regional Context
Does the corridor connect one or more Urban Centres, Special Employment Areas, or FTDAs?
Does the development contribute to meeting regional and/or municipal targets or desired
outcomes (e.g., % mode share by sustainable modes and % of population and jobs located
along the FTN)?
Transit Context
What is the highest order of transit service being aspired to along the corridor?
Does the development provide sufficient support for the aspired level of transit service?
Local Context
Is the development consistent with the local vision and objectives for the area?
D1. Destinations: Coordinate land use and transportation
Does the proposal align major destinations and trip-generating uses along a direct corridor
served by existing or planned frequent transit?
Does the proposal focus the highest intensities of development at the most connected transit
nodes (including Urban Centres)?
Are both ends of the corridor anchored by an Urban Centre, major trip-generating use, or
rapid transit station or exchange?
Are there any Urban Centres, major trip-generating uses, or rapid transit station or exchanges
located along the mid-point of the corridor to encourage shorter trip distances and promote
transit passenger turnover?
D2. Distance: Create a well-connected street network
Does the proposal:
Include connected networks of pedestrian and bicycle paths?
Locate higher-intensity development in areas with well-connected street networks?
D3. Design: Create places for people
Does the plan or proposal:
Encourage transit priority treatments in the design of streets?
Contain design strategies to increase the travel-time competitiveness of transit?
D4 Density: Concentrate and intensify activities near frequent transit
Are areas of higher density being located in places on the existing or planned FTN?
Does the plan or proposal focus most of its growth near frequent transit?
Are major trip-generating uses located within 400 m of rapid/frequent transit?
Are most office uses located within Urban Centres (highest priority) or around rapid transit
stations or key nodes along the frequent transit network?
D5. Diversity: Encourage a mix of uses
Does the plan call for a mix of uses throughout the corridor to promote all-day bi-directional
use of transit?
D6. Demand Management: Discourage unnecessary driving
Are sufficient strategies included in the plan to reduce auto ownership rates and auto usage?
Does the plan call for:
The cost of off-street parking to be unbundled from housing and commercial leases?
On-street parking to be priced?
Reduced or eliminated minimum parking requirements for new developments near
rapid transit or in areas with high transit access to destinations?
Will the proposed development make use of TDM measures where and when appropriate?
50
A. APPENDICES
Neighbourhood Level Rating Comments Proposed Actions
Potential uses include creating street design standards, neighbourhood plans, FTDA
GREEN AMBER RED N/A
plans, and station area plans.
Regional Context
Is the planning area located within an Urban Centre, Special Employment Area, or FTDAs?
Transit/Corridor Context
Does the planning area act as an existing or future frequent transit node where multiple
frequent transit services intersect?
Does the planning area act as an anchor or mid-point to an existing or planned FTN
corridor?
Do plans provide sufficient support for the aspired level of transit service?
Local Context
Are plans consistent with the local vision and objectives for the area?
D1. Destinations: Coordinate land use and transportation
Does the plan focus growth and key destinations within 400 m of bus stops with frequent
transit service and within 800 m of rapid transit stations?
D2. Distance: Create a well-connected street network
Does the plan provide for a well-connected network of sidewalks and other pedestrian
facilities?
Will the neighbourhood have direct, high-quality pedestrian and bicycle paths to and from
key transit passenger facilities?
Does the plan provide for a well-connected network of bicycle facilities?
Will the neighbourhood primarily include blocks no longer than 150 m?
Will new arterial streets served by transit be approximately 800 m apart?
Will proposed intersection density be at least 0.4 intersections per gross hectare?
D3. Design: Create places for people
Are high-quality sidewalks provided on at least one side of all streets and on both sides of
arterials and collectors?
Are there safe pedestrian crossings available at all intersections?
Has traffic been calmed to speeds that are safe and comfortable for pedestrians?
Are traffic signals in the neighbourhood timed to favour safe and comfortable pedestrian
crossings?
Are streets designed for universal access by people with disabilities?
Does the design and placement of off-street parking facilities reduce its visual impact?
For greenfield or major redevelopment sites, has the land use pattern been planned
concurrent with complementary walking, cycling, and transit infrastructure and services?
D4 Density: Concentrate and intensify activities near frequent transit
Does the plan:
Focus the highest intensity of use within 400 m of frequent transit and within
800 m of an existing or planned rapid transit station?
Call for lower-density and auto-oriented uses farther away from frequent transit?
Call for appropriate transitions between higher- and lower-density areas?
D5. Diversity: Encourage a mix of uses
Does the plan:
Allow for a mix of residential, commercial, and/or institutional uses?
Call for active uses within 200 m of transit facilities?
Call for an appropriate amount of public open space?
D6. Demand Management: Discourage unnecessary driving
Does the plan:
Encourage shared parking arrangements to minimize the amount of parking
required?
Encourage the cost of parking to be unbundled from housing and commercial
leases?
Call for pricing of on-street parking?
Call for reduced or eliminated minimum parking requirements in Urban Centres,
around rapid transit stations, or in areas with high transit access to destinations?
note
51
52
A. APPENDICES
Transportation Outcomes
All of these relationships are what economists call 'inelastic', meaning that
a given percentage difference in any of the built form variables corresponds
with a more modest difference in travel behaviour. Inelasticity occurs
because other factors besides built form – including, income, geography,
culture, and habit – influence travel behaviour. Though inelastic, these
relationships are far from unimportant. In their meta-analysis, Ewing and
Cervero find that by following through on land use and transportation
visions using the tools available, more transit-oriented communities can meet
their region’s goals for mode shift and a more sustainable transportation
system (while also helping to achieve other important policy goals).
1 The most recent and comprehensive meta-analysis of the literature on this topic, this
review is organized to compare disparate findings and measures across the available
studies. The authors’ analysis reveals the elasticity of VKT (Vehicle Kilometres Travelled),
transit use, and walking across a number of variables that represent different aspects
of the built form. See the authors' summary table of their research on p. 143.
53
The research shows that destination transit, the better utilized transit will
accessibility – how easy it is to be and the less people will need to
reach homes, businesses, and other drive. As traveling to transit occurs
destinations using a particular mode not ‘as the crow flies’, however,
of transportation – has an important but by using the available streets,
relationship with how people a well-connected street network
move around. The closer and more is equally essential for reducing
connected a community is to the traveler’s effective distance to transit.
centre of the region, for example,
the fewer kilometres residents Research shows that street
will need to drive (on average, a connectivity and block length have
10% decrease in the distance to strong relationships with walking
downtown corresponds with a 2% and transit use; for example, a 10%
decrease in VKT). Similarly, when increase in intersection density
more jobs are accessible by way of corresponds with a 3.9% increase
transit, people use transit more often in walking, a 2.3% increase in
(a 10% increase in the number of transit use, and a 1.2% decrease in
jobs accessible by transit corresponds VKT. In addition to being important
with a 0.5% decrease in VKT). indicators of effective distance to
transit, block length and street
The distance a person must travel network connectivity are often
to reach a transit station or stop also used in transportation research to
corresponds strongly with choice of represent design quality. Short
travel mode; for example, a 10% blocks and well-connected streets
decrease in the distance from transit contribute to a higher-quality
along the shortest street routes pedestrian experience and pedestrian
predicts, on average, a 2.9% increase realm, and they often occur in
in transit ridership and a 1.5% places where other elements of
increase in walking. When thinking good design, such as adequate
about community design, this finding sidewalks, are also in place. Because
has two important implications: the of the importance of details and
more homes, businesses, and other context, other aspects of design
activities that can be located near quality are difficult to quantify. 2
54
A. APPENDICES
Summary of the elasticities (impact) of the 6 Ds on selected transportation outcomes3
Demand
Parking price -0.1 to -0.3
Management
55
The research shows clearly that uses and a low value to areas with
land use density alone – without just one use. When land uses are
walkability, a mix of uses, and good more mixed, more daily needs can
transit access – does not significantly be met within walking distance: on
reduce driving: when all other average, a 10% increase in land
factors are excluded, a doubling use diversity corresponds with a
of density corresponds with just a 1.5% increase in walking (as well
4% decrease in VKT. Density is the as a 1.2% increase in transit use
most important factor, however, and a 0.9% decrease in VKT).
allowing more people to live and
work near good transit (as discussed Though not documented in
in the distance findings above) and the Ewing and Cervero analysis
creating a market for a mix of uses discussed above, an extensive
body of research demonstrates the
within walking distance (see diversity
important influence of demand
findings below) are also critical. As a
primary causal factor, density by itself management policies on travel
is a weak predictor of transportation behaviour. Numerous studies show
behavior; however, density combined that employer-based TDM programs
reduce employee vehicle commute
with transit provides an exceedingly
trips by up to 36%, with the
important precondition for other
factors that reduce driving and largest reductions achieved through
promote transit and walking. parking pricing.4 The literature also
shows the primary importance
Research also shows how a diversity of the price and availability of
of land uses (including residential, parking on choice of travel mode.
commercial, industrial, institutional, Studies reviewed by the Victoria
and recreational) promotes Transportation Policy Institute, for
walking and transit ridership and example, demonstrate that an
reduces driving. A common way to average increase of 10% in the price
measure land use diversity in the of parking corresponds with a 1%
transportation research is to create to 3% decrease in vehicle trips.5
an index that assigns a high value
to areas with a broad mix of land
Complete Streets provide for all road users – pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and motorists of all
ages and abilities. The implementation of Complete Streets results not only in improved conditions for
cyclists, pedestrians, seniors, and children but also supports vibrant, healthy communities. Evidence
shows that Complete Streets:
• Stimulate economic growth with increased shopping activity, sales, and property value.
There is no “one size fits all” solution or specific design standards that can be universally applied. Sur-
rounding context and local community inform the best solution, resulting in many kinds of Complete
Streets. How a street is “completed” is unique based on numerous variables including, but not limited to,
surrounding community context, role of the street in the overall network, and the traffic volume for all
travel modes.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of every type of possible street that exists, but is intended as a starting point in
the complete streets design approach. Each street type includes a brief description, a series of key design
objectives, and an aspirational example rendering to help illustrate what such a street could look like. It’s
important to remember that the renderings show one visual illustration of how a street of this type could
be designed. The renderings don’t depict exactly how every street of that type must be designed.
57
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.1
Civic Street
Civic Streets are typically found in the While they share many similar design
older historic parts of the city, such as objectives, ‘local neighbourhood’
University Avenue in the Downtown, Civic Streets are different from more
where they are often used for special ‘city-wide’ Civic Streets. They have
city-wide events, parades, and public fewer visitors from outside the city
demonstrations. and other neighbourhoods, host
fewer special events, and have a less
Civic Streets can also be found in distinctive quality of materials and
local neighbourhoods, lined with furnishings.
important neighbourhood civic
Some Civic Streets have wayfinding buildings and destinations, including
totems. schools, libraries, and community
centers, as well as neighbourhood
public parks and open spaces.
On-street parking is sometimes
provided on Civic Streets.
c: Marcus Mitanis
58
24
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.1
Civic Street
25
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.2
Downtown & Centres Main Street
60
26
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.2
Downtown & Centres Main Street
61
27
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.3
Avenue & Neighbourhood Main Street
62
28
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.3
Avenue & Neighbourhood Main Street
63
29
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.4
Downtown and Centres Residential Street
64
30
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.4
Downtown and Centres Residential Street
65
31
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.5
Apartment Neighbourhood Residential Street
66
32
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.5
Apartment Neighbourhood Residential Street
67
33
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.6
Neighbourhood Residential Street
68
34
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.6
Neighbourhood Residential Street
69
35
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.6
Sub-type: Neighbourhood Residential Street
(built circa pre-1950s)
These Neighbourhood Residential have also allowed curb cuts for front
Streets were typically built prior to yard parking. These streets are often
1950, in the period before the one-way for motor vehicle traffic and
automobile became a primary have narrower pavement widths.
consideration in neighbourhood Some of these streets also have
planning and street design. These traffic calming and diversions. There
neighbourhood streets are usually exists a moderate opportunity for
arranged in a grid pattern, typically implementing green infrastructure.
with right-of-way widths of 20m or
less.
Neighbourhood Residential Streets built ADDITIONAL DESIGN
before 1950 typically have sidewalks Sidewalks are typically on both sides OBJECTIVES
against the curb.
of the street, usually located next to • Trees or landscaping should be
the curb, with a boulevard between provided between the sidewalk and
the sidewalk and property line. There buildings.
is sometimes a planting zone • Allow for on-street parking on at
between the sidewalk and the curb. least one side of the street where
These streets tend to have shallow space permits.
building setbacks and porches at or • Consider designated routes for
near the property line. cyclists of all ages and abilities.
• Front-yard parking pads are
Driveways and curb cuts are discouraged to reduce impermeable
uncommon on pre-1950s surfaces and to provide parking
Neighbourhood Residential Streets, on-street.
Neighbourhood Residential Streets and motor vehicle access and • Avoid unnecessarily widening the
may include features to encourage parking is sometimes accommodated street in reconstructions.
pedestrians and cyclists by reducing
through rear lanes. On-street parking
vehicles speeds and volumes.
is often permitted and some streets
70
36
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.6
Sub-type: Neighbourhoods Residential Street
(built circa post-1950’s)
71
37
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.7
Mixed Use Connector Street
38
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.7
Mixed Use Connector Street
73
39
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.8
Residential Connector Street
74
40
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.8
Residential Connector Street
75
41
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.9
Scenic Street
76
42
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.9
Scenic Street
77
43
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.10
Park Street
These streets typically play a minor Given they are in parks, adjacent to,
transportation role for motor vehicles or leading to parks, these streets
and transit, but a significant role for should have large and healthy trees
pedestrians and cyclists. Street that together create a substantial
design,landscaping and features canopy to complement and add to
should help create an environment the tree canopy in the park itself.
that naturally encourages lower These streets present many
vehicle speeds and provides park-like opportunities to introduce
experiences on foot or on a bicycle. stormwater control measures.
Cycling and walking is prevalent, and
Park Streets are often lined with trees and should be welcomed, prioritized and Streets adjacent to parks, or that lead
separated walkways. safe, especially for the most to and connect with parks can extend
vulnerable. Cyclists may have a the park amenity and character into
separate facility such as a lane or the surrounding neighbourhoods,
path, but may also mix in the general providing improved access to parks
use of the street. In areas with higher for pedestrians, cyclists and wildlife.
recreational use, cyclists and
pedestrians should be separated to
improve safety, accessibility and
enjoyment. Bus transit may be
provided within larger parks during
park hours but are generally not
high-frequency routes. There is
sometimes on-street parking
Park Streets should be designed provided. Park Streets within parks
to accommodate different types of are sometimes closed during the
pedestrians and cyclists.
evenings with the same hours of
access as the park itself, and some
may even be gated.
78
44
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.10
Park Street
79
45
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.11
Employment Street
80
46
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.11
Employment Street
81
47
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.12
Mixed Use Access Street
82
48
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.12
Mixed Use Access Street
83
49
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.13
Shared Street
84
50
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.13
Shared Street
51
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.14
Residential Shared Street
86
52
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.14
Residential Shared Street
87
53
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.15
Mixed Use Lane
88
54
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.15
Mixed Use Lane
89
55
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.16
Residential Lane
Motor vehicle volumes are low and Although space for tree planting is
slow on residential lanes, and they do limited, Residential Lanes do provide
not play a large role in the overall opportunities to introduce green
transportation network. They are street design elements and planting
often used for pedestrian and bicycle to create more inviting and useful
connections within the spaces.
neighbourhood, and should be
designed for walking speed to
emphasize and encourage pedestrian
use. They are often used for local
Residential Lanes are often used by recreational activities.
pedestrians and cyclists.
90
56
Toronto Complete Streets Guidelines Street Types 2.3.16
Residential Lane
91
57
B.2 Common Street Design Terms
Here we define a few general terms and concepts that will be used throughout the remainder of this
section.
A curb extension is where the curb extends out and expands the sidewalk beyond the typical curb
alignment. Curb extensions can also be on either side of on-street parking, and provide additional space
for features such as benches, trees and plantings, surface transit stops, and bike racks.
Curb radii refers to the curved section of a curb that connects two intersecting streets.
Medians or raised islands separate lanes or directions of traffic within the roadway using pavement
markings or raised concrete islands.
Rightsizing involves redesigning the physical space and using geometric design to improve safety condi-
tions for everyone using the street.
The purpose of traffic calming devices such as speed bumps or diverters is to alter drivers’ behaviour
and to improve road safety.
Transit queue-jump lanes are typically extended right turn lanes that provide opportunities for buses
to move to the front of the queue.
• Frontage zone: On residential streets where buildings are near the street, frontage zones may be
wider to accommodate front stoops and waiting areas at front doors. Street furnishings can be
located in the frontage zone on sidewalks that are too narrow to accommodate a large furnishings
zone in order to keep the throughway zone clear for pedestrians and wheelchair users.
• Throughway zone: The throughway zone is the area of sidewalk that is free and clear of any
obstacles so that people of all ages and abilities can travel in a direct, continuous path. At minimum,
two assistive devices (e.g. strollers, wheelchairs, walkers) need to be able to pass each other with a
buffer. This minimum space (2.1 m) provides a safe, universally accessible path for people of all
abilities. Issues with lack of space include having to pass on uneven surfaces (like sod) that could
tip a wheelchair, or being blocked on one side by a wall and not having space to pass. This minimum
space can be widened to allow for higher volumes of pedestrians near frequent transit nodes and
other important destinations. When measuring the throughway, do not count the space right up
to a bench, bicycle post/ring, or other element (e.g. door opening areas, frontage and marketing
92
Figure 16: The five zones of the sidewalk each have a role to play in designing streets for people.
areas or tree pits) as you must account for how it’s being used. Think of the users or objects taking
up space, such as someone sitting on a bench (with their legs/feet on the throughway), a bicycle
locked to a post/ring, or someone standing or lining up for a transit stop or food vendor.
• Furnishing (and planting) zone: Use street trees and landscaping to create a visual buffer be-
tween the roadway and the sidewalk, providing a sense of enclosure and comfort for pedestrians.
A furnishing zone of at least 1.5 m will provide pedestrians with a comfortable buffer from traffic.
Where transit shelters are required, a more generous furnishing zone may be necessary. To help
maintain pedestrian comfort when vehicle speeds on the adjacent street exceed 40 km/h, widen
the furnishing zone beyond 1.5 m. Treat the furnishing zone with a surface material different from
the throughway zone, where appropriate, to help identify it as a place for lingering outside of the
pedestrian path of travel. The furnishing zone can also be treated as a planting zone or bioswale
to enhance the streetscape and improve stormwater management. Street furniture should be
placed and arranged with children and the elderly in mind, as they may require more frequent
rest stops as well as furniture that is easily accessible. Trees are also useful for vulnerable popula-
tions as they provide a shade canopy. Space street trees consistently at 6 m to 9 m intervals, and
consider appropriate clearances from utility boxes and street lights. Use tree grates along areas
with high pedestrian activity to protect street trees and reduce safety hazards. Select plant species
that, when mature, are of an appropriate scale to the site. For example, to lower the apparent
height of a tall building, tree species that will grow tall can be effective in reducing the apparent or
perceived height of the building at grade. Alternatively, to frame a wide street, tree species should
be large/wide and of sufficient massing to create a sense of enclosure. Trees at the street edge
should generally be deciduous or palm (i.e., not coniferous).
• Edge zone: An edge zone of at least 1 m on streets with parallel parking will ensure that motorists
entering or exiting a vehicle don’t impede pedestrians or interfere with landscaping or utilities
93
in the furnishing zone. Design the edge zone on commercial streets to accommodate curbside
freight loading.
• Extension zone: Extension zones can widen the usable pedestrian space at mid-block and corners
and can accommodate additional amenities such as bus shelters and other pedestrian features. Use
curb extensions to consolidate elements typically found in the furnishings zone, where appropriate,
to allow for a wider throughway zone. Where applicable, extend bus or pedestrian curb extensions
the full width of the parking lane.
Seek ways to enhance and support the unique character of a street, e.g., social and cultural aspects of
the location, such as designing public spaces for lingering and respite, not just movement. For example,
curb extensions on side streets enable seating and plantings to enhance local character. Street furniture,
pedestrian-scale lighting, and public art will also contribute to the identity of a street. Look at strategies
that include use of building setbacks and/or re-purposing underutilised roadway space for placemaking
objectives for a street’s context.
The creation of seat walls, steps, and planters that can serve as informal seating areas is encouraged as
a means of expanding the seating potential and providing diverse opportunities for social interaction.
Provide formal and informal seating wherever possible to increase the number of opportunities for
people to socialise and spend leisure time outdoors along streets. Provide seating along walkways and at
key scenic viewing locations.
Use double rows of trees in key areas, such as adjacent to parks or along/within a segment of the centres
and corridors to highlight a landmark building or significant view. Use tree grates along areas with high
pedestrian activity to protect street trees and reduce safety hazards. Select plant species that, when
mature, are of an appropriate scale to the site.
94
Design the public realm to contend with rain and other inclement weather. Pedestrians, particularly those
travelling to and from or waiting for transit, must be offered adequate shelter from inclement weather to
promote the use of transit services. Use treatments such as awnings, arcades, and galleries to protect
pedestrians from the weather and to add visual interest to the streetscape. Pursue continuous weather
protection on streets with high volumes of pedestrians, especially on key pedestrian routes to transit
stations and exchanges. Use clear or translucent materials for building overhangs, where appropriate, to
provide shelter while still maintaining natural light on the sidewalk. Ensure that shelter size and place-
ment are sufficient to accommodate projected volumes of waiting transit passengers without impeding
pedestrian movement.
Locating parks, plazas, and visually appealing sites along pedestrian routes and sidewalks will increase
their usage and promote walking as a form of transport, in addition to promoting transit use by making
walking an attractive option (since part of taking transit is walking to/from transit stops). Different
types of parks and plazas, along with their design approaches and guidelines, are discussed in depth in
Appendix J.
Provide shared parking facilities for uses that have peak demands at different times of the day and week,
thereby minimising the number of parking structures and reducing their impact on the urban form.
Ensure that on-street parking doesn’t block cyclist, pedestrian, and car sightlines, and does not interfere
with transit operations. Place off-street parking out of sight from the street – below grade or to the rear
of the building – to maintain a continuous edge between the public, semi-public, and private realms of
the streetscape, and to provide direct pedestrian access to buildings. Wrap multi-storey parking in active
retail or commercial uses to screen parking from the street and to increase street-level activity. Orient
parking garage access points toward side streets or alleys to reduce the potential for conflict between
cars and pedestrians on busy streets. Where larger areas of surface parking exist, introduce a street and
block pattern within parking lots to enhance pedestrian access and enable the introduction of streetscape
treatments.
Appendix L provides excellent parking lot guidelines, as well as many great design ideas.
95
level. Maintain adequate sightlines with transparent materials in key design features such as fences. Use
benches, seating, plazas, or other amenities to attract people and establish public ownership of public
and semi-private spaces.
Street lighting supports safety, pedestrian activity, sense of place, and economic vitality. Place lighting
to illuminate points on the street where there is a high potential for conflict, such as driveways and
intersections. Pedestrian-scale lighting for sidewalks and crosswalks ensures that pedestrians are visible
to motorists and illuminates potential tripping hazards. Where cycling facilities are located adjacent
to the sidewalk, these benefits are also extended to cyclists. Orient lighting to maximise lighting ef-
ficiency and eliminate blind spots or dead zones. Avoid lighting that is too bright or out of character
with the rest of an area, as it can undermine natural surveillance through excess glare. For more infor-
mation on creating safe environments via effective lighting while reducing light pollution, see Appendix K.
Since pedestrians are given the highest priority in the throughway zone, street furniture, outdoor cafés,
and marketing displays must not obstruct or infringe on the pedestrian throughway. Instead, locate these
in the Furnishing and Planting Zone or Edge Zone (for narrower elements), or on private property using
building setbacks and easements.
The ability of children to move independently through their neighbourhood fosters social and physical
development and provides opportunities for play. Children are granted increasing independence when
caregivers perceive a sense of safety and security in the public realm. Children move differently and
less predictably through the public realm than adults, and thus require some unique design considerations.
Schools are one of the most important daily destinations in a child’s routine, and active transportation
becomes a viable option when schools are within a convenient walking distance from home. A safe
route is the primary route through a neighbourhood that connects child-specific destinations. Safe
routes are ideally located on local streets. These help mitigate real and/or perceived risk associated with
independent mobility. Safe routes should be designed by:
• Identifying routes between existing child-focused destinations such as schools, community centres,
libraries, parks, and playgrounds;
• Using signage to indicate the presence of children, as well as signage legible to children to allow
for their way-finding. Signage should be located so that it’s visible at a child’s height and include
colourful symbols.
96
Consider reduced speed limits on safe routes that include child-focused destinations along their length.
Pedestrian infrastructure should be wider, where possible, on safe routes to school for children under 14
who can legally ride bikes on the sidewalk, It should also incorporate ramps on public stairs for stroller
or bicycle wheels, to improve access and connectivity. When cycling infrastructure is provided, it should
connect to safe routes, to the network of child-focused destinations, and be physically separated from
vehicular lanes and parking to minimise risks and provide comfort for children.
• Current and potential demand: Number of existing and potential cycling trips. Number of
short trips by motorists (less than 5 km) with a high potential to shift to cycling. Areas where
cycling volumes have high growth.
• Population and employment density: Greater density or new developments suggests more
cycling trips.
• Network coverage, connectivity, and barrier crossings: The presence of gaps in the network,
or barriers (e.g. ravines, rail corridors), that a route could help overcome. While few passengers
will walk more than 800 m to reach transit, cyclists might travel up to 5 km (usually, 2.5 km) to
reach high-frequency transit services.
• Trip generators and target demographics: Assess whether the cycling project would improve
access to popular destinations, such as schools, universities, and transit stations. Also look at how
well the cycling project would meet the needs of target demographics such as women commuting,
tourists, and children getting to school.
• Safety: Opportunities to improve cycling safety if the street in question is higher speed, known
to have a high number of collisions, or reported traffic safety issues.
1. Context-appropriate designs. Faster, busier streets create more risk for cyclists and will need
greater separation and protection for cyclists as shown in Figure 19. Quiet streets with low traffic
volumes and low speeds may provide a comfortable cycling experience without a dedicated cycling
facility. For more information, see subsubsection B.4.4.
97
Figure 17: Considerations for Cycling Impact Analysis.
2. Design for both present and future users. Cycling ridership numbers will grow if a cycling
facility is provided on a street that was previously uncomfortable for cycling. Where cyclist
volumes are growing or predicted to grow, consider widening the cycling facilities.
3. Prioritise the most vulnerable road users. Vulnerable users such as children or the elderly can
be seriously injured or killed in even minor collisions. Think of how to design facilities for all types
of cyclists, as well as the protection of pedestrians of all ages and abilities. Protect pedestrians from
cyclists by providing cycling facilities that are separated from sidewalks using design treatments
that respond to both pedestrian and cycling speeds and volumes. Treatments range from buffers
and physical delineators to visual contrast and TWSIs.
4. Visible, intuitive cycling facilities. Clear delineation of the cycling path of travel and wayfinding
can improve safety for all road users. Use in-road markings to show cyclists where to position
themselves on a street with shared lanes and to indicate to drivers that cyclists will be present. To
increase motorist awareness and cyclist safety, use solid-coloured pavement (such as green) to
demarcate bike lanes. Use pavement markings, signs, grade change between users, and physical
design (like buffers) to mitigate hazards such as car doors opening, or pedestrians walking into
bike paths.
5. Intersection safety and mixing zones. Continue bike lane markings through intersections
and pedestrian crossing markings over cycling routes, and clearly mark conflict areas. Consider
providing visible, designated space for cyclists to wait and make turns. Avoid pedestrian and cyclist
mixing zones, especially at intersections with high pedestrian volumes. Provide traffic signals
where off-street bike paths cross major roads.
6. Adequate bicycle parking. Support and encourage cycling through a convenient and adequate
supply of bicycle parking, including multi-unit parking stations especially in mixed-use, institu-
tional, and commercial areas. For more information, see subsubsection B.4.5.
7. Cycling infrastructure frequency. Cyclists are only likely to detour up to 400 m beyond the
shortest route to their destination to use designated bicycle facilities; therefore, bike networks
98
Figure 18: Different types of cycling infrastructure.
should ensure that facilities are spaced a minimum of every 500 m in areas where increasing cycling
is an objective.
8. Cyclist visibility. Where angled parking is provided adjacent to bike lanes, use back-in angled
parking to improve visibility and reduce the risk of collisions. Also, handlebars are typically at a
height of 1.1 m with eye level at 1.5 m when seated on a bike, so keep this in mind when designing
bike lanes to ensure visibility.
Higher road volumes and speeds mean higher risk, which necessitates increased separation and protection
as shown in Figure 19. Examples include painted and buffered bike lanes, cycle tracks (separated bike
lanes with bollards, planters, or a row of parked cars between cyclists and moving traffic), and raised
cycling facilities (e.g., curb protecting cyclists from cars, cycling facility in the boulevard, etc.). In these
cycling facilities, motor vehicles aren’t allowed to drive, stop, stand, or park. Exceptions may be made for
transit pick-up and drop-off.
Low road volumes and speeds may provide a comfortable cycling experience without a formal cycling
facility (e.g. by instead using sharrows or shared lanes). Some quiet streets that are part of the cycling
network may have dedicated facilities, or a range of design features including traffic calming measures,
99
Figure 19: The relationship of traffic speed and volume to types of cycling facilities.
shared lane pavement markings, and wayfinding.15 These may also include wider curb lane widths,
provisions exempting bikes from some traffic regulations, maintaining cycling access through traffic
calming infrastructure, and bicycle signals.
Dedicated transit lanes are typically used to move the highest volume of passengers and to support
the highest frequency of transit vehicles. They are marked for transit only using pavement markings,
signs, and sometimes physical design. Reserved lanes allow any combination of transit vehicles, taxis,
and bicycles.16 Reserved lanes can allow for greater transit frequency and reliability on routes with high
ridership and congestion. Shared-use lanes, where transit moves together with mixed traffic, are useful
alternatives in many places where right-of-way space is limited. Transit service can be improved on
shared-use lanes through geometric design, signal timing, and parking and turn restrictions.
15
Bicycle wayfinding consists primarily of signs and pavement markings legible to cyclists while travelling.
16
Note that shared bike/bus lanes force buses to go at the speed of bicycles if any bikes are ahead of that bus. As of
August 2017, no method exists to intelligently separate the two while maintaining a “shared” reserved lane.
100
Intersection treatments are extremely important for all road users, and are thus discussed in-depth in
subsection B.9.
• Comfort: protection from weather, coordinated street furniture for waiting passengers, and
facilitating transfers with transit information.
• Placemaking: as gateways to streets and neighbourhoods, stops should be legible and provide
users with wayfinding information.
• Integration with transit vehicle design: the number, type, and size of vehicles that will use the
stop affects the size of a stop and landing pads.
1. Enhance transit users’ experience. Enhance the reliability, frequency, and speed for transit
by prioritising space for transit and by implementing signal priority. Consider ways to improve
convenience and comfort for users through amenities such as transit shelters, bus stop landing
pads, tram platforms, street furniture, lighting, greening, public art, and real-time travel and route
information.
2. Make connections safe, convenient, and seamless. Facilitate ease of transfers among different
transit routes, walking, cycling, and other modes of transportation, such as sidewalks and crossings
to transit stops, bicycle parking, and wayfinding information. While few passengers will walk
more than 800 m to reach transit, cyclists might travel up to 5 km (usually, 2.5 km) to reach
high-frequency transit services.
101
3. Visible, safe, and convenient transit stops. The location of bus stops should take into account
the location of pedestrian crossings and seek to minimise crossing distances between transit
connections. Stops should be located at signalised intersections, or at controlled crossings, as
it allows for safe access to stops or when making route transfers. Locate stops near pedestrian
generators.
4. Universally accessible transit stops and facilities. Design for all users with universal acces-
sibility, comfort, and mobility of passengers in mind, such as accessible transit shelters that
accommodate the pedestrian throughway, curb ramps for new LRT stops, TWSIs on platforms
and at stops delineating raised cycling facilities, and accessible pedestrian signals.
5. Curbside design to support transit efficiency. Where appropriate, queue-jump lanes provide
opportunities for buses to move to the front of the queue, avoiding significant delays. At stops
with adjacent on-street parking, transit platform bulb-outs can help people board or alight faster,
and they make it easier for transit vehicles to pull back into traffic. Remove or relocate on-street
parking away from transit stops and supplement it with traffic signs to ensure the space is clear for
transit vehicles all the time.
6. Traffic signal control strategies. Traffic signal progression and/or coordination aims to provide
a wave of “green lights” on corridors with on-street transit. Transit signal priority is another method
to enhance transit performance and keep transit on schedule. Time-based turn restrictions can
help prevent significant delays to transit and other drivers on busy routes.
7. Transit streets safe for walking and cycling. Create safe streets for people to walk and bike, as
well as safe crossings – as pedestrians and cyclists are most often the customers who use transit.
Incorporate TWSIs on curb ramps to aid navigation for the visually impaired. Design curb radii
that are as tight as possible, while still accommodating the turning movements of vehicles expected
to use the street, to increase pedestrian safety.
8. Transit streets are linear public spaces. Creating streets as places will enhance the attractiveness
of transit and its ability to support the city’s social, economic, and environmental vitality. Re-
purpose underutilised space for parklets, plazas, and cafés.
9. Design for growth. As your city continues to grow and develop, streets can be designed to retain
current riders and attract new riders through coordinated planning of transit expansion and new
development.
Very high-frequency and very high-volume services warrant unique considerations. For example, some
high-volume stops will require accommodating many waiting passengers as well as people boarding and
102
disembarking through wider sidewalks, or longer platforms and bus bays to accommodate more than one
bus at a time. Where several thousand passengers per hour per direction is expected, unique and more
extensive transit priority measures may be required, such as corridor-wide turn prohibitions, extended
stopping prohibitions, or exclusive transit lanes.
• Existing and anticipated transit priority routes, ridership volumes, and transit vehicle frequency
• Location of current and proposed stops, including boarding and alighting volumes
• Transfers between transit routes and different modes (such as walking and cycling to take transit,
or passenger drop-off/pick-up)
• Access to destinations, especially special event venues, and transit rider-generating locations of all
kinds
• Other network priorities along the same route and location (e.g. cycling, goods movement)
• Number of through and turning vehicle lanes, their direction of travel (one- or two-way), and
their usage throughout the day
Trees and planting materials are most commonly installed in open landscape at grade, in planters (that
may double as seating), in covered tree pits, in stormwater tree pits/trenches, in bioswales, and in rain
gardens. They have numerous benefits related to ecology, air quality, temperature moderation, safety,
microclimate, land value, and human well-being.
Street trees and landscaping are ideally located where growing conditions are best, where people can
enjoy them, and where they can be efficiently maintained. Special consideration is required for trees
103
in hard boulevard surfaces to provide adequate soil volumes and optimum growing conditions. Urban
and drought tolerant plant materials and native plant species can facilitate ease of maintenance. Open
planters, tree pits, and above-ground planters are all possible elements to contain trees and landscaping
on streets, but aren’t considered part of the pedestrian throughway.
1. Street trees and landscaping. Seek ways to incorporate and provide healthy growing conditions
for trees and/or landscaping to improve air quality, mitigate urban heat-island effects, enhance
ecosystem health, and contribute to community character. Select planting locations, spacing, and
design details (e.g., adequate soil volume, water and sun access) so that trees and landscaping
will flourish. Trees can frame and define streets, calm traffic by visually narrowing the roadway,
provide shade, and add texture and visual interest.
2. Visibility and safety. Clear sightlines are important to the safety of all road users. Ensure adequate
visibility is maintained, especially at street corners, traffic lights, traffic signs, transit stops, and
driveways.
3. Universal accessibility. Design to provide universal accessibility, such as through the selection
of materials and elements, to accommodate people of all ages and abilities. Tree pits, openings,
and grates on the sidewalk aren’t considered part of the pedestrian throughway.
4. Operations and maintenance. Design for ease of maintenance, such as through passive irrigation,
selecting context-sensitive native plant species, and planning for safe access to maintain green
infrastructure.
6. Sustainable energy. Consider energy generation, use, and management by selecting, designing,
and locating street elements such as solar lighting, bicycle parking machines, and street furniture
to contribute to an energy efficient city.
7. Sustainable transportation. Provide greener, healthier mobility choices so that more people
walk, bike, and take public transit.
104
B.6.3 Context-Sensitive Green Streets
It’s possible to incorporate green infrastructure in a variety of places within the public right-of-way.
The planting and furnishing zone is an ideal location for green street elements as it provides a buffer
between pedestrians and vehicles. This zone may also make use of street poles for hanging planters,
trellises, and solar panels as long as adequate visibility and safety are maintained. Curbsides in the
roadway are where greening can often be enhanced through curb extensions, bioswales, rain gardens,
permeable paving on the curb extension or edge zone, cycling facilities, parking laybys, and other green
street elements. Medians or raised islands in the roadway can be good places to include trees and other
landscaping, but require special attention to ensure visibility and safety for travellers and long-term
maintenance.
Factors to consider when designing green streets include sunlight; available right-of-way width and
building setbacks; open space context; curbside accommodations for goods movement, delivery, and
loading; sightlines and other safety considerations; and setbacks from intersections and other street
infrastructure.
1. Multi-modal transportation. While few passengers will walk more than 800 m to reach transit,
cyclists might travel up to 5 km (usually, 2.5 km) to reach high-frequency transit services. Give
reliable, convenient, and attractive mobility choices to people. Support more efficient, active,
and healthier forms of travel (by foot, bicycle, transit) to reduce vehicular congestion. Provide
emergency access and operations, and support goods movement and delivery by different modes.
Identify and support existing and planned priority networks for each mode.
2. Safety. Fully consider road users who are particularly vulnerable in a crash or in interactions
with other road users, such as pedestrians (especially children, older adults, and persons with
disabilities) and cyclists. Seek ways to reduce their exposure to risk (e.g., rightsize travel lanes,
re-purpose underused road space, and separate pedestrians from cyclists). Provide visible, clear,
and predictable travel paths for all road users.
3. Context-sensitive target speed and reliable travel. Create a safer environment for everyone
by using design to facilitate the intended speed of travel for drivers based on the street’s context.
Safer speeds and driver behaviours result in fewer incidents on the roadway that can cause de-
lays and vehicular congestion, which negatively impact emergency access and goods movement.
Coordinated signals, along with target speed, can help improve consistency in travel times. Peak-
hour restrictions for stopping, parking, and turn movements can improve travel times along key
routes.17 This also helps to manage demand and road capacity during peak travel times.
17
Not yet available in the core C:S game or in a mod, but hopefully TM:PE will add this at some point.
105
4. Placemaking. Consider existing and planned land uses, urban form, and the different uses of the
street (e.g., social and economic activities) when making decisions about competing demands for
space on the street. Seek ways to provide space, e.g., through building setbacks and/or re-purposing
underused roadway space for streetscaping, street trees, street furniture, café or marketing areas,
parklets, bicycle parking, pedestrian lighting, snow storage and removal, etc.
5. Greening and stormwater management. Limit the area of impervious materials. Seek ways to
integrate street trees, landscape features, as well as water retention and treatment strategies and
snow storage. Promote non-motorised modes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air and
noise pollution. Use durable materials that contribute to sustainability and reduce the urban heat
island effect.
Assess risks for the most vulnerable users, ensure dedicated space, and reduce exposure to faster modes
that may harm or injure pedestrians. Shorten crossing distances and exposure of vulnerable users to
vehicles in the roadway. Increase and ensure the visibility of pedestrians and cyclists to drivers. Curb
extensions and rightsizing intersection corners may help address turning speeds. Where practical,
implement separation between different users, and greater separation with increasing speeds. Design
bicycle facilities according to context and to make cyclists more visible to turning motor vehicles.
106
Figure 20: Vehicle speed, stopping distance, and chance of survival. *Stopping distances during wet
conditions. Single car length of 5.6 m. Based on a 2.5 s reaction time, representing 90th percentile of
drivers.
Conventional street design considers a posted maximum speed as lower than the design speed. Context-
sensitive design promotes that the street includes elements so that the posted maximum speed and
design speed are the same, so that drivers aren’t comfortable exceeding the intended posted speed. Speed
is especially lethal to vulnerable users like pedestrians and cyclists. Field of vision is the area a person
sees when their eyes are fixed in one position, as visualised in Figure 21. The risk of severe injury increases
as a driver’s field of vision narrows and misses potential hazards.
Street design is always more effective in shaping behaviour than posted speed limits. Incorporate context-
sensitive design features when redesigning streets to achieve that street’s target (posted) speed. More
consistent travel speeds support reliable and smooth traffic flows for all road users, and can help reduce
traffic delays and congestion.
Examples of mid-block design measures to achieve target speed based on street context include:
• Mid-block curb extensions to rightsize roadway (e.g., pinch points to reduce vehicular speeds).
107
Figure 21: Vehicle speed and field of vision.
Rightsizing and re-purposing roadway space involves redesigning the physical space and using geometric
design to improve safety conditions for everyone using the street. Design techniques include:
• Chicanes (or road narrowings), such as on-street parking or curb extensions, that alternate on a
108
street or at intersections.
• Reconfiguring four lanes into three, with a shared turn lane as the middle lane.
• Reviewing for adequate corner radii for truck routes or transit vehicles.
• Rightsizing vehicular lanes and re-purposing space to add/widen on-street parking and/or bike
lanes and/or sidewalks and boulevards.
• Re-purposing or redesigning sidewalks and boulevards to ensure that the pedestrian throughway
isn’t cluttered or obstructed, such as by moving a transit shelter to the back of a sidewalk onto
private property through an easement, or providing outdoor café patio seating using a parklet.
Vehicle travel lane widths can range from 3 m to 3.5 m depending on context and constraints, including
land uses; presence of pedestrians, cyclists, and transit; truck volumes; emergency services; posted speed;
on-street parking; etc. Curb lane widths depend on whether there are dedicated cycling facilities – if there
aren’t any, the curb lane width should still be designed to enable a car to safely pass a cyclist on the roadway.
Curb extensions should be considered where on-street parking exists, as the extensions can be on either
side of the on-street parking and provide street space for features such as benches, trees and plantings (for
stormwater management), surface transit stops, and multi-unit bike racks to increase parking. Within
the extension zone, extend the sidewalk into the parking lane at intersections, a transit stop, or a mid-
block crossing to reduce pedestrian crossing distances and improve pedestrian visibility. Provide curb
extensions on frequent transit corridors and streets with high vehicle or pedestrian volumes and long
crossing distances to improve pedestrian safety. Where appropriate, extend a curb extension around a
corner onto the cross street.
Medians or raised islands may be applied for different reasons – they can be used to manage or restrict
access, provide space for turn lanes (and turning vehicles), facilitate pedestrian crossings, placemaking,
and provide space for greening. Since medians typically require a wider right-of-way, one must weigh the
109
benefits of a median against using the space to support other uses and facilities (e.g., curb extensions,
cycling facilities, sidewalk and boulevard widening for pedestrians and streetscaping). In addition,
medians or raised islands can impact emergency vehicles accessing properties and intersecting side
streets, which should be considered in design options.
1. People who avoided highways before because they were busy will now want to take them again,
since there’s more lanes and they think it’ll be less busy; and
2. When a transport mode is faster, we tend to use it to go further rather than spending less time
travelling. Thus, new infrastructure simply allows people to live further from work, etc.
Alternatives include tolls, and/or reducing speed on highways to make them less attractive.
1. Safety first: Intersections are where the most points of conflict occur between different street
users. The design of intersections should first and foremost ensure safe crossing for the most
vulnerable users.
2. Predictability: Provide clear guidance for all users on where crossing movements are expected
and the correct path of permitted movements. Simplify complex intersections wherever possible.
3. Visibility: Ensure unobstructed sightlines among road users at intersections. Locate crosswalks
close to the intersection to improve the visibility of pedestrians to drivers. Reduce physical barriers
and visual clutter.
4. Multi-modal: Select traffic controls based on equitable consideration of all street users, the street’s
context, and role in the network. Analyse capacity from a multi-modal perspective, focusing on
movement of people rather than vehicles.
6. Compact design and shorter crossings: Compact intersections tend to lower motor vehicle op-
erating speeds and enable more eye contact, which increases safety. They also minimise pedestrian
crossing distances and exposure to risk for vulnerable road users. They can also shorten signal
cycle lengths which benefits all modes by reducing delay and improving convenience.
110
7. Active transportation: Observe and anticipate pedestrian and cyclist desire lines to inform
design based on street context. For example, provide depressed curb ramps and wider crosswalks
in locations with higher pedestrian volumes, and bike boxes where needed to enhance safety for
cyclists making turns.
8. Transit: Incorporate transit stops at intersections to allow for convenient transfers for transit
users. Consider transit priority measures based on street context.
9. Placemaking: Depending on street context and width, re-purpose space to enhance quality of
life with greening, street furniture, or public art gateways, especially to define the entrance to
unique neighbourhoods.
10. Maintenance and operations: Intersections should function well for all users all year, e.g. design
to prevent ponding at ramps and snow from blocking access to pedestrian push buttons.
11. Manage stormwater: Incorporate green street elements depending on street context and width,
such as on curb extension to reduce stormwater runoff and recharge ground water, improve air
quality, and beautify.
• Lower motor vehicle speeds, by rightsizing vehicle lanes and curb radii, and traffic calming on
local or side streets such as installing curb extensions or raised intersections.
• Reduced exposure to risk and conflicts, with clear sightlines and visibility, shorter crossing dis-
tances, adequate pedestrian space on corners, and adequate crossing time.
• Accessibility and universal design for all, with curb ramps or depressed curbs, TWSIs, accessible
pedestrian signals, dedicated space (away from mixing with cyclists and vehicles), sufficient walk
time for all ages and abilities, and adequate sidewalk and crosswalk widths given pedestrian
volumes and the street context.
• Desire lines inform crossings, so that crosswalks align with the path of travel.
• Placemaking considerations, based on street context, such as buildings that front on the street or
have transparent storefronts (for “eyes on the street”), transit shelters and benches.
111
• Lower motor vehicle speeds, by rightsizing vehicle lanes and curb radii, and traffic calming on
local or side streets such as installing curb extensions or raised intersections.
• Reduced exposure to risk and conflicts, with clear sightlines, shorter crossing distances, and
dedicated space, separation and signal design for cyclists that are context sensitive.
• Wayfinding on cycling routes and how to stay on the network and navigate routes, especially at
complex intersections.
• Nearby bicycle parking stations to support cycling options for people, especially at transfer points
like transit or major destinations.
• Good pedestrian and cycling connections (see the previous sections), with sidewalks, transit
shelters and benches, nearby bicycle parking, wayfinding, and cycling route information.
• Reduced exposure risk and conflict, such as curb extensions at bus stops, transit-only lanes, and
far-side bus stops.
• Accessibility for all with context-specific stop spacing, platforms, bus pads and sidewalk ramps
with TWSIs, well-lit transit stops, and adequate pedestrian throughway widths.
• Reliable and improved travel times and schedules, with context-specific measures such as frequent
headways, signal priority, queue-jump lanes, and seamless connection to other transit.
• Placemaking considerations based on street context, such as buildings that front on the street or
have transparent storefronts (for “eyes on the street”), safe and comfortable waiting areas, and
transit-supportive developments.
• Reduced conflicts and severity of crashes, with clear sightlines and visibility, dedicated space for
all modes, and predictability of expected movements (e.g. using pavement markings, signage and
signals/traffic controls).
• Safe turning options, with context-specific measures such as phase-separated turning movements,
placement of advanced stop bars, and clearly marked turn lanes.
• Wayfinding, with large visible street name signs and other wayfinding information to help people
navigate the city, e.g. to locate parking options.
• Reliable and improved travel times, using coordinated signal timing, responsive vehicle detection
and signals, traffic regulations, and congestion reduction by shifting more trips to walking, cycling
and transit.
112
B.9.3 Crosswalks
Crosswalks that are at least as wide as the sidewalks that approach them, especially at busy intersections,
will improve pedestrian safety by reducing crowding and encouraging pedestrians to stay within the
crosswalk while crossing. Maintain sightlines and visibility for pedestrians and motorists by ensuring that
the approach to the crosswalk is free of such obstructions as signs, structures, or landscaping. Enhance the
visibility of crosswalks through effective lighting, to help alert motorists to the most important crossings
and points of potential conflict. Forbid on-street parking within 10 m of intersections and mid-block
crossings to improve pedestrian and motorist sightlines. To improve pedestrian visibility and reduce
vehicle speeds, provide raised (not elevated) crosswalks.
Provide stop lines in advance of the crosswalk at signalised or stop-controlled intersections, to help
ensure that vehicles don’t encroach upon the crosswalk and impede pedestrian flow. Provide yield lines
in front of mid-block crosswalks to indicate where vehicles should stop, so that vehicles approaching
in adjacent lanes can better see a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Consider special paving treatments such as
brick, coloured concrete, and pavers, in conjunction with crosswalk markings to enhance the visibility of
crosswalks, improve aesthetics, and serve as a visual and tactile cue to drivers.
At intersections with high pedestrian volumes and where conditions are favourable, innovative solutions
such as pedestrian scrambles, which stop all vehicular traffic at an intersection and allow pedestrians to
cross an intersection in every direction, including diagonally at the same time, may improve pedestrian
movement.
Typical walk speeds when crossing the street are 1 m s−1 to 1.2 m s−1 , but this walking speed could
exclude one-third of older pedestrians, 70 % of elementary school aged children, and 90 % of pedestrians
using an assistive device such as a walker or cane. Where there are higher pedestrian volumes and the
expectation of pedestrians with disabilities based on demographics and land use context, the walk speed
for traffic signals should be in the range of 0.8 m s−1 to 1 m s−1 to enable safe crossings for people of all
ages and abilities.
The hierarchy of vulnerable users has pedestrians at the top because they’re unprotected when encoun-
tering faster-moving road users, such as cyclists and drivers. At intersections and mid-block locations, it’s
important to provide dedicated space for pedestrians and separation from cyclists and motor vehicles,
whether on the sidewalk, at transit stops, and at intersections – on street corners and crosswalks.
113
Safe, passable space is needed to accommodate people using assistive devices and the context-specific
pedestrian volumes at intersections. Sidewalk and crosswalk widths should be commensurate with
the intensity of pedestrian activity and volumes at intersections, to minimise crowded conditions, and
potential conflicts among modes.
Main Streets or Mixed-use Connectors often have a combination of high traffic volumes, high approach
speeds, transit stops, and pedestrian and cycling activity. The challenge becomes balancing the need to
reduce risk to all road users, while accommodating traffic capacity and turning movements for larger
vehicles. Consider the following design treatments:
• Due to the size of these intersections, clear alignments and pavement markings are needed to
guide the paths for all road users and to provide predictable and visible movements.
• To help pedestrians of all ages and abilities to safely cross wide roadways, consider pedestrian
crossing islands, zebra crosswalk markings, standard curb radii, leading pedestrian interval signals,
adequate space for pedestrians waiting on street corners (e.g., declutter corners, rightsize corner,
set back buildings, etc.), and other pedestrian safety measures.
• To make cyclists more visible to other road users, mark bicycle facilities through the intersection,
including bike boxes or queue boxes, providing designated bicycle signal phases where appropriate,
and regulatory and warning signs for motorists where notable conflicts exist.
• Analyse intersection capacity from a multi-modal perspective and focus on moving people rather
than vehicles, such as by prioritising transit, in order to reduce traffic congestion as intersections
become busier with residential and employment growth. Consider planned land uses, anticipated
mode split shifts, and latent demand for pedestrian, cyclist, and transit users during the design
process.
Design becomes complex for situations where lower volume streets intersect with higher volume streets
(i.e. intersections between residential streets with main, civic, and connector streets), because
traffic flow and capacity will focus on the busier street, yet side streets and their users also need to be
accommodated. These intersections may be signalised, or have two-way stop control such as stop signs.
Consider the following design treatments:
• Clearly mark controlled pedestrian and cyclist crossings (i.e. with stop control, flashing lights, or
signals) wherever they exist.
• Analyse and design intersections taking into account the transportation network. It may not
be possible or practical to accommodate all movements at all times (e.g. through or left-turn
movements from the side street) at a two-way stop-controlled intersection.
114
• If there is heavy traffic on Main, Civic, or Connector Streets, with insufficient gaps in traffic for
safe turns, consider access management strategies such as consolidating and limiting driveways,
laybys or other conflict points, and potential turn prohibitions from side streets.
Residential street intersections are characterised by low traffic volumes and slower speeds. In addition,
people of all ages and abilities may be on foot in the neighbourhood for various activities such as getting
to school, transit or nearby destinations. Consider the following design treatments:
• Enhance pedestrian safety with crosswalks, all-way stop control, curb extensions, raised intersec-
tions, and rightsizing corner radii as well as complementary mid-block measures (e.g., chicanes,
mid-block curb extensions, etc.).
• In general, delay and capacity aren’t key factors for residential intersections as they have low
volumes and speeds. Design of these intersections focuses on pedestrian accessibility and con-
nectivity to homes, parks, community centres, and the pedestrian network to transit and other
streets. Cyclists are often accommodated in a similar manner to motor vehicles or are supported
by bike-friendly street designs noted in the Cycling chapter of this document (e.g., adequately
wide curb lanes, bicycle detection at actuated signals, etc.).
• While larger vehicles such as fire, waste collection, and snow-plow trucks are important to consider,
the turning movements for these vehicles will typically use the width of the roadway to negotiate
turns.
The decision to include pedestrian crossing islands or medians should be weighed against using that
space instead for adequately wide sidewalks, cycling facilities, and planting and furnishing zones.
Depending on street context, there may be features that enhance the sense of place while balancing
the need for safety and clear sightlines. Features used at intersections include but are not limited to:
wayfinding signs, maps or information pillars; landmarks; gateway features; meeting locations with seat-
ing; pedestrian lighting; pedestrian crossing islands with landscaping; decorative pavers; and carefully
selected street furniture and/or street art.
Cross rides indicate where cyclists may ride to cross a roadway at controlled crossings, alongside pedes-
trians. Adequate width and attention to design are required for the crosswalk and cross ride to prevent
conflicts among cyclists and more vulnerable pedestrians of all ages and abilities.
A left-turn queue box consists of pavement markings indicating a safe and designated area for cyclists
making a left-turn manoeuvre. These may be accompanied by a right turn on red restriction if the queue
box is in the path of vehicular right turns.
115
Transit queue jump lanes should be considered for areas where heavy volumes of mixed traffic nega-
tively impact transit service, depending on space and impacts to other road users.
Right turn channels present safety concerns for all road users, as they result in poor sightlines for all in
addition to significant barriers to people with disabilities. Remove wherever possible.
Roads that run overhead or underground are called grade-separated. Such facilities create significant
barriers between neighbourhoods and for vulnerable road users.
• Leading pedestrian intervals give pedestrians a five second head start, making them more visible
to turning motorists.
• Safety first: Consider the use of a combination of physical design (e.g., rightsized traffic lanes and
corner radii) and traffic control features to achieve the desired target speed for the street’s context.
• Use future, not past data: Use projected future volumes (and not past or existing data) for all
modes in the analysis and review of future infrastructure, new developments, and environmental
sustainability.
• Spacing between controlled crossings: Consider land uses, density, pedestrian volumes, and
demographics when looking at spacing of controlled crossings. All pedestrians, especially people
with disabilities, benefit from having more closely spaced crossing opportunities. The desire for
widely spaced intersections for faster motor vehicle movements needs to be weighed against the
impacts on safety, connectivity, and accessibility of pedestrians and cyclists.
• Adequate crossing times and walk speeds accounting for all ages and abilities: Consider
how to best accommodate slow walkers through the provision of the shortest possible crossing
distance and adequate signal time. Long crossing distances not only increase pedestrian exposure
to risk of collision in the street, they also require longer signal cycles to give enough time to safely
cross the street.
• Short signal cycles: In general, short signal cycles (60 s to 90 s) are preferred as they provide
predictable and regular crossings, and generally minimise overall delay for all users. While short
cycles tend to encourage people to obey the signals compared with locations with longer delays,
the short cycle length needs to be weighed against the safety benefits of separated signal phases,
such as having dedicated left-turn signals.
116
B.10 Street Network Design
B.10.1 Fine-Grained Street Networks
Studies show that higher levels of intersection density (i.e., more intersections) result in lower levels of
overall travel by car and higher likelihoods of travel by sustainable modes. A pattern of smaller blocks
and connected streets makes it possible to travel along direct routes. A connected street network extends
the reach of transit, walking, and cycling, and closes the gap between destinations; it also brings origins
and destinations closer together and makes access to everyday activities more convenient by sustainable
modes of travel. Street connectivity may be of highest priority in established Urban Centres and is most
critical near frequent transit stops or stations.
Design block patterns with short block lengths, to create a connected grid of streets that minimises pedes-
trian and cyclist travel distances between points. Blocks should generally range in length between 200 m
to 250 m to promote walkability, and shouldn’t exceed 250 m. Blocks longer than 250 m should only
be considered where shorter block alternatives aren’t feasible; in such cases, provide publicly accessible
through-block pedestrian walkways (at least 6 m wide) or a linear park. Public pedestrian walkways
should include pedestrian-scaled lighting, and provide clear sightlines allowing view from one end of the
walkway to the other. Ensure landscaping doesn’t create blind spots or hiding places in walkways.
Plan for spacing of approximately 800 m between arterial streets, with local blocks no longer than 150 m.
Ensure that internal streets for large development projects are accessible to the public, and that the
development is permeable for pedestrians, cyclists, and emergency vehicles. To further minimise the
visual impact of blocks, turn lots located on the end of the block 90° to face the street. Reverse frontage
lots should be also avoided. Achieve positive frontage on arterial and collector streets through the use of
rear lane access, rear access from local streets, or single-loaded service streets. Provide a mix of lot sizes
and orientations to ensure a diversity of housing types and designs, and to enhance visual interest along
the streetscape. Avoid dead-ends, culs-de-sac, and running streets through green spaces.
Provide safe and convenient pedestrian crossings of arterial streets near transit passenger facilities.
Where appropriate, provide closely-spaced pedestrian crossings of primary streets to improve access and
convenience to both sides of the street (e.g., in Urban Centres). Provide at-grade pedestrian crossings of
primary streets, rather than over- or under-passes, to avoid delaying pedestrian travel. Provide pedestrian-,
cyclist-, and/or transit-only crossings along desire lines to increase the convenience and competitiveness
of these modes and to help overcome physical barriers to movement, such as major highways and rivers.
Designate a network of arterial streets that connect major destinations and provide direct paths of travel,
avoiding unnecessary breaks and diversions, in order to achieve more efficient and convenient transit
117
corridors. Avoid concentrating vehicle traffic on only a few corridors by providing multiple, relatively
even-spaced, and well-connected arterial streets. Fine-grained design discussed previously creates an
effective street network providing for quick pedestrian routes and efficient transit operations.
Create a well-connected network of bike lanes, priority lanes, routes, and paths that provide direct
connections to local destinations and transit passenger facilities. Select bicycle priority streets, where
possible, that have low traffic volume and a fairly flat terrain to provide convenient connections to transit
passenger facilities. Ensure that the bicycle network provides strong connections to important transit
nodes. Even where facilities for cyclist through-movement are provided on low-volume streets adjacent
to major arterials, design arterials for safe access by cyclists to destinations along those streets. Provide
additional connectivity by creating bicycle boulevards or neighbourhood greenways on streets with low
traffic volumes.
118
Figure 22: Avoid towers in a park. Free-standing towers disrupt the pedestrian-oriented scale, character,
and vitality of the street.
C.1 Introduction
The design and placement of tall buildings should make a positive contribution to the public realm, and
fit harmoniously within the surrounding context and skyline. Avoid free-standing towers without bases
or a direct relationship to the street, e.g. “towers in a park” as shown in Figure 22.
When tall buildings are proposed within an identified growth area, design towers nearer to the edge of
the growth area to be progressively lower in height than those in the “centre”, i.e. the location of greatest
intensity and highest order transit, as shown in Figure 23. Appropriate fit and transition in scale may
mean that not all sites are suitable for tall buildings.
• Respect and integrate with the height, scale and character of neighbouring buildings;
• Provide horizontal separation and transition down to lower-scale buildings and open space (as
seen in Figure 24); and
119
Figure 23: A progressive transition in the height and scale of tall buildings from the centre of a growth
area down to a lower-scale area.
• Maintain access to sunlight and sky view for surrounding streets, parks, public or private open
space, and neighbouring properties, as shown in Figure 25.
Angular planes (seen in Figure 26) are a commonly applied measure to provide appropriate transition
in scale from tall buildings down to lower-scale areas, limiting shadow and overlook on neighbouring
properties that are lower-scale, and limiting shadow and loss of sky view on adjacent streets and open
space. They are also used to protect access to sunlight and sky view for streets, parks, public and private
open space. Typically, a maximum of 45° for an angular plane is best.
Consider different placements of tall buildings within the surrounding block to ensure maximum sunlight
penetration and sky view to lower-scale areas. While limiting the scale and height of the base building to
appropriately frame the public realm, maintain access to at least five (5) hours of sunlight on the opposite
side of the street. Consider the cumulative effect of multiple towers on resulting shadowing.
Shadow-sensitive areas include places like play fields, schoolyards, and cemeteries. Heritage properties
and local landmarks may also be shadow-sensitive, and should have shadows cast on them minimised.
Cast shadows are especially important depending on the local climate; cold locations with long winters
need as much sunlight as possible.
120
Figure 24: Horizontal separation distance, and a change in base building height and form to support tall
building transition down to a lower-scale area.
Figure 25: A new tall building fitting within an existing context of other tall buildings of consistent height.
Note the appropriate separation distance between buildings of similar height.
121
Figure 26: An angular plane, and direct relationship in base building height and form to support tall
building transition down to a lower-scale area.
Well-placed (and well-designed) tall buildings on prominent sites can themselves become landmarks,
providing points of orientation and visual interest within a city. Most often, however, tall buildings
typically play a secondary role to what is being viewed at a pedestrian level. For example, the design
and placement of the base building, tower and open spaces work together to open up or better frame
the view. Less frequently, tall buildings may be an integral part of shaping what is being viewed, such
as with skylines. When a tall building frames a view from the public realm to a prominent site or other
important feature, the design and placement of the tall building should play a supportive role to those
sites and features.
Where the existing setback pattern is consistent and not planned to change, align new base buildings with
neighbouring building frontages. Where existing setback patterns vary on either side of a tall building
site, locate and design the base building to resolve the differences. On corner sites, respond to the setback
pattern and alignment of neighbouring buildings on both streets. Provide greater building setbacks at
strategic points, such as intersections.
122
Figure 27: A series of street-related entrances promote interaction between the building interior and the
public realm. Public art and signature architectural features also effectively highlight primary building
entrances.
Differentiate between residential and commercial entrances in mixed-use buildings. Where building
entrances are set back by a plaza or forecourt, maintain high visibility and direct, universal access from the
public sidewalk. Coordinate the location of building entrances with transit stops and stations. Highlight
corner and mid-block entrances, as shown in Figure 27.
Avoid areas where high pedestrian traffic is expected by directing vehicular access to on-site parking,
loading, and servicing facilities to local streets and rear lanes, and not from the arterial street. Where
feasible, incorporate shared driveways in order to reduce the extent of interruption to pedestrians. Where
vehicular access is only feasible from arterial streets, a front driveway may be permitted, provided that
mutual access with adjacent properties are provided wherever possible, and that the access point is
located away from areas where high pedestrian activities would occur.
Through-lanes (public or private) are encouraged to minimise vehicle turnarounds. Organise drop-
off areas into the side or rear of the side. When located at the rear, provide direct visual and physical
123
pedestrian access to the street frontage. Provide taxi stands and bus drop-off areas on private property
for tall buildings which contain hotels, or commercial and office uses. Drop-off areas should include the
following elements:
• Drop-off access should be from rear lanes or secondary streets wherever possible. Avoid placing
drop-off areas at highly visible locations, such as street termini.
• Pedestrian connections should lead directly from drop-off areas to street frontage and to the front
entry of the building. Provide weather protection for outdoor waiting areas, to make getting to
and from the site more comfortable.
• Design drop-off areas to be pedestrian-oriented, minimise conflicts with pedestrian routes, and to
include decorative paving material, textures, or colours to emphasise pedestrian connections.
Design any above-grade parking structures to reinforce the intended built character, and blend into
the streetscape through façade treatments that conceal the parking levels and give the visual appearance
of a multi-storey building. Façade design of above-grade parking structures should complement adjacent
buildings in terms of openings, vertical articulation, materials, and colours. Pedestrian amenities such
as awnings, canopies, and sheltered entries are encouraged. Locate pedestrian entrances for parking
structures adjacent to main building entrances, public streets, or other highly visible locations. Locate
exterior vehicular ramps and garage entrances to parking structures at the rear or side of buildings, away
from main building frontages and streets. Avoid locating ramps/entrances at street corners or view
termini.
Providing good quality, publicly accessible open space within a tall building site can help new development
fit within the existing context and is particularly important when there is a shortage of public park space
in the surrounding area. Locate and design publicly accessible open space to:
• Provide direct visual and physical connections to public streets, parks, and open space, including
adjacent pedestrian and cycling routes;
• Complement and connect with publicly accessible open space on neighbouring properties, where
possible;
• Maximise safety, comfort, and amenity, including access to sunlight, clear views to and from
adjacent streets and buildings, universal accessibility, pedestrian-scale lighting, four season land-
scaping, seating, public art, and protection from wind and inclement weather.
124
Figure 28: Tall building sites offer a broad range of publicly accessible open space opportunities.
On larger sites, use publicly accessible open space to provide through-block pedestrian connections.
Define and animate the edges of publicly accessible open space with well-proportioned base buildings
and active uses at-grade.
• Courtyards: Landscaped open space, located in the centre of a single or consolidated block with
no direct street frontage.
• Forecourts: Landscaped open space between the public sidewalk and the main entrance of a
building.
• Landscaped Setback: Space between the public sidewalk and building face characterised by
hard or soft landscape treatment.
• Plazas: Animated gathering place with predominantly hard surfaced landscape features flanking
a public street.
• Urban Gardens: Landscaped space, usually of intimate scale, open to a public street, located and
oriented to provide maximum sunlight during midday.
• Walkways: Exterior public pedestrian route at street level, usually providing connection through
the block. A galleria, when glazed and enclosed.
125
Figure 29: Tall buildings require a broad range of private open spaces to meet the needs of building
occupants.
Locate and design shared private outdoor amenity space to maximise access to sunlight, while minimising
noise and air quality impacts from site servicing (mechanical equipment, etc.). In residential or mixed-use
developments, include places for pets and pet runs either at-grade or on a shared rooftop space, and
provide access to secure outdoor play space and equipment for families. Where possible, ensure such
spaces are directly overlooked by windows and balconies. Examples of different types of private open
spaces are shown in Figure 29.
Providing direct, convenient, safe, highly visible, and universally accessible connections to the surround-
ing public realm is key to promoting walking and cycling as viable transportation choices for building
126
occupants. Design on-site pedestrian and cycling routes to read as publicly accessible; be direct, logical,
and continuous; and include landscaping, pedestrian-scale lighting, and other amenities to enhance
safety, comfort, and four season use. A network of above- and below-grade connections to local des-
tinations can also help tall buildings integrate with the surrounding context, but should never be at
the expense of good connections at-grade to support vibrant public streets and sidewalks. Prioritise
pedestrian and cyclist circulation and connectivity with adjacent sites.
Public art enriches the public realm by making buildings and open spaces more interesting, engaging,
and memorable. Where applicable, provide adequate building setbacks and space around public art so
that it can be properly viewed and experienced from the public realm. Public art opportunities on tall
building sites may include:
• A conceptual framework to organise open spaces including parks, plazas, setbacks, or streetscapes;
• An independent sculpture or two-dimensional work that marks an entryway, corner, feature area,
or view terminus; or
• Visual arts combined with landscape design, functional, and decorative elements of a site, such as
water features, lighting, canopies, seating, paving, walls, fences, etc.
The role of the base building is to help a tall building fit harmoniously within the existing or planned
street wall context; define the edges of adjacent streets, parks, and open space at good proportion; and
maintain access to sunlight and sky view for pedestrians and neighbouring properties.
Where there is an existing context of street wall buildings with consistent height, align the new base
building with the height of the street wall. In the absence of a consistent street wall height context,
provide a minimum base building height between 3 to a maximum of 80 % of the adjacent street width
as shown in Figure 30 (up to a limit of 24 m, or 5 storeys). Doing so provides consistency in proportion
and maintains access to at least five (5) hours of sunlight on the opposite side of the street at the spring
and fall equinoxes. On wider streets (30 m to 45 m in width), additional base building height may be
appropriate with a stepback of at least 3 m, provided that the total height doesn’t exceed 100 % of the
adjacent street width as shown in Figure 30 (up to a limit of 24 m, or 7 storeys). This ensures the base
127
Figure 30: The height and scale of the base building responds to the scale of neighbouring buildings and
the street proportion.
doesn’t overwhelm the pedestrian environment, compound tall building impacts on shadow and sky
view, and contribute to a disproportionate tall building composition.
For sites where the adjacent context is lower-scale and not anticipated to change, provide a transition
in the base building height down to the lower-scale neighbours. Match at least a portion of the base
immediately adjacent to the lower-scale context with the scale and height of neighbouring buildings.
Many tall building sites, including corner sites, have multiple frontages facing streets, parks, and public or
private open space. The scale, height, and form of the base building may need to vary in order to respond
appropriately to differences in adjacent building height, character, open space size, and street width for
each face. The appropriate height for base buildings facing small open spaces within a site is often lower
scale than may be appropriate for street frontages. Provide a smooth transition where a change in base
building height, scale, and character occurs.
Active, street-related commercial and retail uses are often the most desirable activity generators in the
base building, since the resulting pattern of entrances and display windows provides multiple points
of interaction between the building interior and adjacent public realm. On streets with a mixed-use or
commercial character, line the base building with a series of active commercial and retail uses. Where
possible, dedicate at least 60 % of street frontage to active retail uses. Multiple building and storefront
128
entrances, spaced an average of 7 m to 10 m along street and open space frontages, are encouraged.
Conversely, lobbies, large-format commercial uses, private indoor amenities, and guest suites tend to
be relatively inanimate spaces that lack a strong or engaging connection with pedestrians and do little
to improve safety compared to the constant surveillance of street activity. Where large-scale spaces are
necessary on the first floor, locate them toward the building interior and line them with active uses along
all street and public open space frontages.
On streets with a mainly residential character, line the base building with grade-related residential units
such as townhouses (except along arterial roads where smaller apartments with multiple entrances
would work better) with front entrances and windows to living spaces facing the street. This can create a
pleasant and animated base building alternative, broaden the range of housing choices, and increase the
opportunity for social interaction and natural surveillance.
For all public entrances, such as entries to commercial uses or shared lobbies (public and private), provide
direct, universal access, flush with the public sidewalk. Along mixed-use and commercial street frontages,
avoid locating balconies (projecting or inset) within the first 3 storeys of the base building. Between 3
and 6 storeys, inset balconies behind the street wall.
For private entrances to ground floor residential units, provide grade separation (up to 0.9 m) and a
minimum of 3 m distance separation from the front property line. Filter and screen views into private
dwelling units with soft landscaping, but ensure views to streets and open space are maintained for natural
surveillance.
Examples of transition for public and private spaces are shown in Figure 31
Towers that meet the ground directly can generate uncomfortable wind conditions, establish an over-
whelming street proportion, and create an oppressive sense of pedestrian scale. Setting the tower back at
least 3 m and more where possible reinforces the base building as the defining element for the public
realm, enhances pedestrian comfort by absorbing downward wind shear, and limits the visual impact of
the tower at grade. Generous tower stepbacks, substantially greater than 3 m, as well as coordination of
129
Figure 31: Treatment of the transition space between the public sidewalk and building interior reflects
the differing needs for access and privacy between residential and commercial frontages.
tower placement with the location of other tall buildings, may also improve wind conditions and access
to sunlight and sky view in the surrounding area.
Coordinate tower placement with other towers on the same block and adjacent blocks to maximise access
to sunlight and sky view for surrounding streets, parks, open space, and properties. Step back the tower
(including balconies) at least 3 m from the face of the base building, along all street, park, and open space
frontages (including publicly accessible or private shared open space and rooftop amenity within the
site). Tower stepbacks greater than 3 m are encouraged and may be necessary to fit tall buildings within
an existing context. As an option within the stepback, up to one third of a point tower frontage along a
street or open space may extend straight down to the ground (as shown in Figure 32. At these locations,
provide permanent building features such as canopies and overhangs to mitigate pedestrian-level winds.
Placement of towers should minimise negative impacts on the public realm and neighbouring properties,
such as shadowing, pedestrian-level wind, and blockage of sky view, and maximise environmental quality
of building interiors, including sunlight, ventilation, and privacy. The minimum separation distances
are established to ensure tall buildings achieve the following objectives for the protection of sky view,
privacy, and daylighting:
130
Figure 32: The tower frontage, including balconies, steps back at least 3 m from the base building. As an
option, up to one third of the point tower frontage within the stepback extends to the ground.
• Sky View between buildings is essential to maintain the character, usability, and quality of streets,
parks, open space, and neighbouring properties. Lack of sky view can also negatively affect the
microclimate and sense of pedestrian scale at-grade.
• Privacy objectives, particularly for residential units, are achieved when tower orientation, ap-
propriate facing distances, and setbacks combine to mitigate overlook between the windows or
balconies of one building and those of another.
• Daylight access in the building interior is an important component of residential liveability,
workplace productivity, and sustainable building practice.
If towers are located too close to side or rear property lines, the need to provide access to sunlight, sky
view, privacy, and daylighting may restrict adjacent sites from developing in a similar manner. Thus,
minimum tower stepbacks from side and rear property lines are required as shown in Figure 33.
Where the existing context is characterised by separation distances greater than 25 m, provide tower
setbacks and separation distances in keeping with the more generous spacing established by the context.
Even if tall buildings in close proximity to other tall buildings meet the minimum required separation
distances, setbacks, and stepbacks, towers should be further shaped, placed, and articulated to increase the
actual and perceived distances between adjacent building elevations, as shown in Figure 34. If buildings
are taller, provide greater setbacks and separation distances proportionate to increases in building size
and height. Use the widest dimension of the tower as a guide to determining setbacks and separation
distances, as shown in Figure 35.
Vary the design and articulation of each tower façade to respond to changes in solar orientation. When
multiple towers are proposed, stagger tower heights to create visual interest within the skyline, mitigate
131
Figure 33: Conceptual “small sites” showing recommended minimum tower stepbacks from the base
building and setbacks from side and rear property lines or centre line of an abutting lane.
Figure 34: Adequate minimum tower separation distances, measured from closest building face to
building face, protect access to sunlight and sky view for the surrounding public realm and neighbouring
properties, and improve privacy and daylighting within tall buildings.
132
Figure 35: Minimum tower separation distance proportionate to building width, measured from building
face to building face.
wind, and improve access to sunlight and sky view. In general, variations of 5 storeys or more provides a
difference in height that can be perceived at street level. Designs which reduce the appearance of the
overall tower bulk and present a slender, point tower form in the skyline are encouraged.
A well-designed and vibrant streetscape is vital to the character and quality of the tall building site and
the surrounding public realm, as well as to the liveability of the city. Create a strong visual and physical
connection between the building setback and public streetscape. Maintain universal access to public and
shared entrances, particularly when there are changes in topography. On streets characterised by soft
landscape setbacks or where ground floor uses require more privacy from the adjacent sidewalk, provide
additional landscaping between the building face and public sidewalk.
Along the primary street frontages of a tall building site, secure a sidewalk zone at least 6 m wide, as shown
in Figure 36. Tall buildings at corners, transit nodes, on wider streets with higher and faster volumes of
vehicular traffic, or other locations with significant pedestrian use, may require additional setbacks to
accommodate pedestrian flow. Furthermore, tall buildings of significant height and density may require
additional sidewalk width beyond 6 m to accommodate the anticipated volume of pedestrian traffic.
133
Figure 36: A generous sidewalk and strategic setback supports an active street frontage and vibrant
pedestrian environment.
While air circulation around tall buildings is important, down drafts from the buildings or accelerated
winds from tunnelling between buildings can negatively affect pedestrian-level comfort and even become
hazardous. In general, the taller the building, the stronger the potential for wind effects at the base and
the greater the need for mitigation measures.
The use of stepbacks at the tower base is a particularly useful strategy to dissipate down drafts. Landscap-
ing and walls, as well as architectural devices such as projecting cornices, screens, terraces, overhangs,
and permanent canopies can also be applied to reduce the effects of high speed wind around the base
building and within rooftop amenity areas.
A number of different scenarios and solutions to poor wind design are provided in Figure 37.
134
Figure 37: Issues and solutions to building wind design.
135
C.6.4 Pedestrian Weather Protection
Ensure weather protection elements, such as overhangs and canopies, are well-integrated into
building design, carefully designed and scaled to support the street, and positioned to maximise
function and pedestrian comfort.
The inclusion of pedestrian weather protection along the edges of buildings can greatly enhance the
year-round enjoyment of streets and open space. Where base buildings form a continuous street wall,
coordinated and uninterrupted weather protection allows pedestrians to move comfortably throughout
the entire area in all seasons. Weather protection elements can work together with street trees to define
and frame a street. They can help define building proportions at the street level, articulate entrances,
animate base buildings, and enhance the character of a neighbourhood. Such protection is especially
important at locations adjacent to transit stops and other areas with significant pedestrian flow.
Provide permanent pedestrian weather protection, such as overhangs or canopies, at building entrances
and along commercial and mixed-use street frontages. In general, locate weather protection at the top of
the first floor (up to a maximum of 6 m above ground) and provide a width of 3 m projecting from the
building. Translucent or opaque materials are recommended to mute reflections on ground floor glazing,
mitigate passive solar gain, and reduce light trespass from the building interior.
Colonnades are generally discouraged as weather protection devices, as they tend to pull retail frontages
and associated pedestrian activity away from the street. Where they do prevail, design and space columns
to maintain clear views to the uses behind, and promote ease of pedestrian flow. Provide generous
proportions, including a minimum width of 3 m and minimum height of 6 m (1:2 ratio).
C.7 Glossary
• Articulation: The layout or pattern, expression and material character of building elements,
including walls, doors, roofs, windows and decorative elements such as cornices and belt courses.
• Point tower: A compact and slender tall building form with a typical residential tower floor plate
of 750 square metres or less.
• Setback: Horizontal distance measured at a right angle from any lot line to the nearest part of the
main wall of a building or structure.
• Stepback: The setting back of the upper storeys of a base building or of a tower from the face of a
base building.
• Streetscape: The distinguishing elements and character of a particular street as created by its
width, degree of curvature, paving materials, design and placement of street furniture, trees,
landscaping, lighting and other pedestrian amenities, as well as the setback and form of surrounding
buildings.
• Street Wall: The condition of enclosure along a street whereby the fronts of buildings align and
the façades visually and physically join together to create a continuous defining edge for the street.
136
D Mid-Rise Building Guidelines
The following section is derived from the City of Toronto’s Avenues and Mid-Rise Buildings Study, May
2010, including revisions from a 2016 City of Toronto Review of this study. An updated version of these
guidelines is set to be published by late 2017. One general definition of mid-rise buildings used by the
City of Toronto is “taller than a typical house or townhouse but no taller than the width of the street’s
public right-of-way.” and not higher than 36 m (or 11 storeys). Note that these guidelines do not apply to
base buildings (of tall buildings).
D.2.3 Alignment
The front street wall of mid-rise buildings should be built to the front property lines or applicable setback
lines. The street wall is defined as the portion of a buildings façade (frontage) comprised of the building
base (minimum of 10.5 m or 3 storeys in height and up to the 80 % of the permitted maximum building
18
Or from fall to spring if you live upside down.
137
height). A mid-rise building should have a minimum of 75 %19 of its street wall built to the setback line,
while the remaining 25 % may setback to a maximum additional distance of 5 m to provide a deeper
area for lobby entrances, bike parking, or outdoor marketing areas such as café seating. At the ground
floor level, any setback zone should be treated as an extension of the public realm in order to provide
additional outdoor space and landscaping opportunities, allow for at-grade uses to expand outdoors, and
to encourage street animation. This relationship of sidewalk to grade-related uses encourages diverse
economic stimulation and social interaction at a pedestrian scale.
This transition should include a minimum setback of 7.5 m to the building face and a 45° angular plane
from the property line to a maximum height of 1:1. The 7.5 m setback allows for a two-way lane (6 m),
and a walkway (1.5 m) or landscape buffer (1.5 m). This results in a lower building at the rear and a
gradual transition from the rear property line. Where a public laneway abuts a site, the laneway may be
included for the purposes of establishing the setback and angular plane, as shown in Figure 38. In order
to minimise overlook, avoid windows closer than 10 m from the rear property line, and avoid balconies
below 3 storeys from the rear property line.
In situations where the rear of the property is at a different grade level than the mid-rise road frontages (e.g.
the lane/property behind the mid-rise is elevated higher/lower than it), the rear angular plane should
always be taken from the lowest grade elevation of the adjacent property located along the rear of
19
This may be incompatible with certain typologies which may be desirable in residential areas, e.g. courtyard-style
buildings that open to the street. In such cases, context is important and the rules may vary. The general idea, however,
is to make sure the building meshes with its surroundings.
138
Figure 38: Rear transition for deep properties abutting neighbourhoods, parks, open space, and natural
areas (30 m right-of-way).
the mid-rise building’s property line. This holds true for deep and shallow properties. This will
ensure that properties to the rear aren’t subject to additional shadow impacts resulting from changes in
grade, or creating potential for taller buildings adjacent to these shared property lines.
1. Parallel to the mid-rise’s rear property line with a setback used for parking and/or traffic;
2. Parallel to the mid-rise’s rear property line with a setback used for parks and/or open space; or
3. Perpendicular to the mid-rise’s rear property line with minimal to no windows facing the mid-rise.
139
Figure 39: Rear transition for properties abutting employment areas (30 m right-of-way).
140
There are three (3) main considerations that potential mid-rise properties should take into account:
• Provide a minimum separation distance of 20 m between buildings, especially for those with
facing windows.
• Install attractive landscaping at the rear of the mid-rise, especially for those in Configuration 2.
• Ensure the setback is consistent with the other rear transition requirements discussed in subsub-
section D.3.1 and subsubsection D.3.2.
For mid-rise buildings with Configuration 2 at the rear, the apartment building’s park/open space area
must be treated as a public park/open space area and therefore follow guidelines listed in subsubsec-
tion D.3.2. Mid-rise stepbacks may start at higher heights than mandated in subsubsection D.3.2 for
mid-rises with Configuration 1 at the rear, since the need for sunlight is less significant. For mid-rise
buildings with Configuration 3 at the rear, a minimum separation distance of 15 m will suffice for apart-
ment buildings 20 storeys or less, but should be higher for taller apartments. Note that guidelines in
other sections still apply, e.g. shadow casting, ensuring 5 hours of sunlight, 7.5 m setbacks, etc. The
guidelines discussed here are merely additional considerations to take into account when encountering
Configurations 1–3.
141
Figure 40: Example of corner site conditions for mid-rise buildings.
Mid-rise buildings should be built to the side property lines for at least the first 10.5 m of building height
and up to a maximum of 6 storeys20 , to create continuous façades along the road and avoid blank side
walls. The first 3 storeys should be continuous with the street wall, but the rest of the building above the
street wall should have upper storey stepbacks and windows. Gaps between buildings, if any, should be
minimal unless adjacent buildings have side windows (see subsubsection D.6.4). Note that a continuous
street wall may not be required for, e.g., buildings adjacent to parks, open spaces, or heritage buildings.
See the subsequent subsubsections for more details.
142
Figure 41: Diagram illustrating the side street setback.
height to increase sky views and sunlight access to the sidewalk. Buildings that are 20 m (or 6 storeys) in
height or less aren’t required to have upper storey side stepbacks.
143
D.8 Residential At-Grade Uses
On certain main roads, it’s expected that limited portions may include residential uses at grade for the
long-term. This is only appropriate where commercial uses aren’t likely to be viable. Townhouses aren’t
appropriate on arterials and/or major roads, as it creates a privatised frontage which is difficult to convert
to commercial uses in the future. Furthermore, townhouses don’t provide the minimal level of intensifi-
cation desired for major roads.
Ground floor residential units are encouraged to have their principal entrance from local streets where
feasible. For mid-rise buildings with individual residential unit entrances along the main road, a minimum
setback of 3 m is required beyond the 4.8 m or 6 m sidewalk zone that contains front steps (with the
ground floor raised 1 m above grade), a raised planter, and porch/terrace area (similar to the townhouse
guidelines). This is required to achieve an appropriate transition between public and private realms. For
ground-level (i.e. not mixed-use) mid-rise residential buildings without individual unit entrances, this
minimum setback is increased to 3.8 m and should contain a row of trees and a landscape buffer.
On the street-facing façade, projecting balconies shouldn’t be located within the Pedestrian Perception
Stepback Zone (between 3–6 storeys), or below the first stepback. Within this portion of the building,
recessed balconies inset behind the street wall, Juliet balconies, and terraces (as part of a stepback) are
acceptable. However, a 0.5 m projection zone is permitted only if used to reinforce the sense of continuity of
the street wall. Balconies on the rear façade should be setback a minimum of 10 m from the rear property
line. Balconies, projections such as railings, and other permanent building elements shouldn’t encroach
into the public right-of-way or setback, and should be contained within all angular planes.
Portions of the roof not covered by mechanical penthouses should be developed as green roofs and/or
usable outdoor amenity space. Examples include terraces and roof gardens, among others. If amenity
144
Figure 42: Mechanical penthouse placement within all angular planes.
is provided on the rooftop, it should be screened with planters and/or setback to avoid overlook, and
landscaped to promote comfortable use and shelter from wind and sun. Do not place habitable space (e.g.
dwelling units) wrapping rooftop equipment and mechanical penthouses above the maximum allowable
height.
For larger buildings with shared pedestrian entries, entry should be through prominent entry lobbies or
central courtyards facing the street. From the street, these entries and courtyards should provide visual
interest, orientation, and a sense of invitation.
145
D.13 Parking, Servicing, and Vehicular Access
Loading, servicing, garbage, on-site parking, and other vehicular-related functions shouldn’t detract
from the use or attractiveness of the pedestrian realm. The main road should be pedestrian focused and
therefore try to provide as uninterrupted of a pedestrian realm as possible. Ideally, these functions should
be integrated within the interior of a building at the rear whenever possible, with vehicular access from a
rear lane or local side street (and not from the arterial street). Locate waste and loading areas so that they
aren’t visible from the public street. Where parking and service areas are located in courtyards, design
buildings and landscape to minimise visual and noise impacts on outdoor spaces.
Rear lanes should always exit onto adjacent side streets. Where feasible, incorporate shared driveways
in order to reduce the extent of interruption to pedestrians. Consolidate vehicular entrances to serve
multiple buildings within each block in order to minimise the number of interruptions in the street wall
and to reduce the number of potential conflicts with pedestrians and cyclists. Prioritise pedestrian and
cyclist circulation and connectivity with adjacent sites.
Mid-block vehicular access should be avoided wherever possible. However, there are instances where this
is the only point of access for certain sites. For mid-block sites without rear lane access, a front driveway
may be permitted, provided established criteria are met, including:
• The driveway is located as far from the adjacent intersection as possible, or a minimum of 30 m
from the centre of the driveway to the centre of the nearest side street;
• The access point is located away from areas where high pedestrian activities would occur;
• Mutual access with adjacent properties is provided wherever possible;
• Appropriate spacing between adjacent driveways is maintained resulting in no more than one
driveway every 30 m; and
• They should be contained within the building massing with additional floors built above the
driveway.
If a mid-block front driveway is built, a 6 m public lane must be provided at the rear of the property; this
will form part of a continuous laneway system within the block as adjacent properties redevelop. As this
redevelopment occurs, approved mid-block driveways should be designated for shared access to serve
adjacent properties in lieu of, and until, a rear public laneway is established.
Design any above-grade parking structures to reinforce the intended built character, and blend into
the streetscape through façade treatments that conceal the parking levels and give the visual appearance
of a multi-storey building. Façade design of above-grade parking structures should complement adjacent
buildings in terms of openings, vertical articulation, materials, and colours. Pedestrian amenities such
as awnings, canopies, and sheltered entries are encouraged. Locate pedestrian entrances for parking
structures adjacent to main building entrances, public streets, or other highly visible locations. Locate
exterior vehicular ramps and garage entrances to parking structures at the rear or side of buildings, away
from main building frontages and streets. Avoid locating ramps/entrances at street corners or view
termini.
146
D.14 Heritage Districts and Character Areas
Mid-rise buildings must respect and be sensitively integrated with heritage buildings, and fit into the area’s
local character. Impacts to the perception of the heritage properties or its prominence within an existing
context should be minimised. Sightlines and views to identified landmarks shouldn’t be encroached
upon by new developments. Cornice lines of adjacent buildings should be respected and followed, and
use of building material similar to local buildings is encouraged.
Additions to existing buildings are an alternative to redevelopment projects, and are encouraged in areas
with an existing urban fabric. Additions shouldn’t exceed the overall maximum height for the site, and
should be 50 % or less of the existing building height. Furthermore, additions should fit within the
permitted envelope, i.e. meet all angular plane provisions and adhere to local façade articulation.
147
Figure 43: Conserving local heritage with new building developments.
In locations where proposed developments allow for appropriate conservation measures to be under-
taken, heritage properties should be referenced to inform the scale and contextual treatment of the new
development (as shown in Figure 43). When a proposed building is adjacent to a heritage property,
design new buildings to respect the urban grain, scale, setbacks, proportions, visual relationships, topog-
raphy, and materials of the historic context. If well-designed and appropriately sited, new development
can make a positive contribution to a historic setting. Ensure that low-rise, multi-unit buildings don’t
visually impede or have a physical impact on the setting of heritage properties. Adaptive re-use of heritage
properties is encouraged.
148
Provide a less intense housing type as a transitional form adjacent to low scale residential neighbourhoods,
parks and open spaces, or other less intensive uses. Use the appropriate building type to avoid:
• Fronts of buildings facing rear yards or backs of buildings facing streets or parks;
Parking for street-related townhouses underground or at the rear of the building accessed via a lane or
driveway is preferred. Townhouses with front driveways and garages should be avoided generally as they
reduce front yard areas for landscaping and soil volume for tree growth. The garage doors present a face
to the street lacking in animation and multiple curb cuts reduce pedestrian comfort and safety. Front
integral garages should only be considered when no other option is technically feasible.
Design streets and lanes to be inviting. Create attractive and comfortable, pedestrian environments with
landscaping including canopy trees, pedestrian-scale lighting, and other amenities. (For lanes, adapt
streetscaping elements to fit within tighter dimensions). Provide through streets and lanes to minimise
vehicle turnarounds, where possible. Locate access to sites on secondary streets, where possible, and
consolidate driveway/laneway access points to minimise curb cuts.
Townhouses and low-rise, multi-unit buildings are popular with families with children and pets owners.
Developments with well-designed and well-placed shared amenity areas with children’s play space, fa-
cilities for pets, and other shared elements like communal gardens, allow residents to experience and
share in their collective property. Different types of open spaces are ideal for different densities and
development sizes, and some are discussed in subsubsection C.3.4.
High quality, centrally located, and sun-filled amenity spaces are focal points of communities. For projects
including 20 units or more, where no or only some backyards are provided and for developments where
149
the site area is 1.0 ha or more, provide shared play space for children and other shared outdoor amenities
as a focal point of the new development. Locate shared outdoor amenity area to maximise frontages
on streets, mews and walkways to provide visibility and access. Locate and design amenity spaces for
maximum access to sunlight. Complement and connect with open space on neighbouring properties,
where possible. Locate parking, mechanical equipment and servicing areas away from amenity areas.
Provide outdoor activity supports, such as seating and barbecues.
Maintain high visibility and direct access to front doors from the public sidewalk, especially when build-
ing entrances aren’t located on a public street. Design all building elevations that face streets, mews,
parks and open spaces to appear and function as fronts, complete with porches/stoops, front doors and
windows to activate the public realm. Provide greater building setbacks at strategic locations to avoid
long, monotonous façades in order to improve pedestrian amenity and increased space for trees and other
landscaping. Generally, provide breaks between buildings every 36 m. On corner sites, provide primary
façades facing both streets and align the building to the setback pattern of neighbouring buildings on
both streets.
Setbacks allow for projecting elements such as porches, canopies, and landings. More information on
setbacks can be found in subsubsection C.3.1 and subsubsection C.4.3.
• Where surface parking is provided, the main parking area should be located within the interior of
the site and to the rear and side of buildings.
Gateway Lots are located along the main entrances to neighbourhoods from the external street system.
As important markers or wayfinding devices for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists travelling within
and through a neighbourhood area, they are usually sited in conjunction with a landscaped community
entry feature and should be designed to express the image and character of the community. Locate
soft landscaping gateway features (such as planting, shrubs, etc.) within the public right-of-way. These
features should be clustered and substantial enough to define the gateway site and street edge, requiring
150
Figure 44: Some examples of Priority Lots include: Gateway lots (G), Corner lots (C), and lots abutting
Parkland (P).
minimal maintenance. Plant material in the daylight triangle should be no taller than 0.5 m. Locate built
or structural landscaped gateway features (such as architectural walls, ornamental fences, signage, etc.)
within the gateway lot outside of the public right-of-way.
Corner Lots play a significant role in setting the image, character and quality of the street and acting as
landmark buildings within the neighbourhood. Treat both street-facing façades in a consistent manner
with sufficient detailing to relate to the pedestrian scale at the street. Use architectural features such as
wrap-around porches, doors, corner bays, gables, or bay windows to present a positive frontage to both
streets, as well as to articulate and distinguish both façades.
View Terminus sites occur at the top of a ‘T’ intersection (where one street terminates at a right angle
to the other) as well as at street elbows. Dwellings on these sites are prominent in the streetscape as they
terminate a view corridor and should be designed to provide visual interest (such as by incorporating
significant architectural details and landscaping). For a pair of houses located at the end of a view corridor,
locate driveways to the outside of the pair of dwellings to form a landscaped focal area.
Window street lots front onto a local street parallel to an arterial/collector street but are separated from
it by a boulevard or buffer. Due to the high degree of public visibility from major streets, dwellings
on these lots have an impact on the overall character of the neighbourhood and should be designed to
provide visual interest. Incorporate architectural features including a covered porch, portico, and large,
well-proportioned windows. The main entrance to the dwelling should be oriented to face the window
street.
151
Figure 45: An example of how not to place townhouses.
Adequate facing distances, setbacks and stepbacks between buildings assist in achieving desirable pub-
lic/private amenity spaces on the development site and appropriate relationships to adjacent properties
avoiding shadowing and overlook. For buildings less than 9.5 m in height (2–2.5 storeys), building
faces should be separated at a minimum distance of 11 m. For buildings between 9.5 m to 11.5 m (3–3.5
storeys), this minimum distance is 13 m. For buildings taller than 11.5 m (3.5–4 storeys), this minimum
distance is 15 m. Ensure that any additional height beyond the Main Building Face Height fits under a
45° angular plane originating from the top of the Main Building Face Height. Limit building element
projections, such as balconies, into setback areas, streets, mews, and amenity areas to protect access to
light and sky view.
See subsubsection C.4.3. Avoid excessive projections such as stairs, porches, stoops, canopies, and private
amenity spaces into pedestrian mews and front yard setbacks, as in Figure 45. For more suggestions on
primary entrance placement, see subsubsection C.3.2.
152
Figure 46: Private amenity spaces in townhouses. Note that “grade-related private amenity space” ≈
backyard.
As shown in Figure 46, private amenity spaces can take a number of forms. Also see subsubsection C.3.5
for more information. The placement and design of balconies and terraces can have a major impact on
the real and perceived bulk of a building. When poorly located and designed, these spaces can clutter the
face of the building, shadow spaces below, and reduce privacy and sky view.
Locate private outdoor amenity spaces for family-sized units so that they have views and access to outdoor
play areas, where possible. Design private outdoor amenity spaces to mitigate impacts on the public realm
and neighbours while maintaining direct access to sunlight and sky view. At-grade terraces shouldn’t
compromise the public realm by “over-privatising” the area or preventing adequate landscaping in setback
areas. Instead, they should maintain privacy for residents while beautifying the public realm, as shown in
Figure 47.
Raising development above the level of natural grade or the grade of abutting properties can create prob-
lematic conditions for adjacent properties, abutting streets and open spaces. These problems relate to
issues of drainage, pedestrian access, and the quality of the public realm. Where it’s absolutely necessary
to resolve grade differences, stepped landscaped terraces are the preferred solution.
Maintain the existing grade at property lines. Design with existing grades on site and avoid artificially
153
Figure 47: Landscaping at the level of the raised terrace (backyard) and the sidewalk provide privacy for
occupants on the terrace and an amenity for the public.
raised or lowered grades. Limit the height of the stoop to the first floor to no more than approximately
3–5 steps and/or 1.2 m above the grade of the sidewalk directly at the front of the entrance, to avoid a
long barrier-like flight of stairs up to the porch or stoop.
Limit the height and use of retaining walls, particularly along street frontages, parks, open spaces, ravines
and other areas of the public realm. Where retaining walls cannot be avoided, provide them in the form of
low terraces with the total height not to exceed 1 m. Construct with attractive materials and incorporate
extensive soft landscaping.
Provide additional landscaping between the building face and public sidewalk on streets with soft
landscape setbacks or where residential ground floor uses require more privacy from the adjacent sidewalk.
Such treatment may include tree and shrub planting, minor grade changes, judicious use of railings, and
lighting. Where landscaping may have an impact on motorist/pedestrian sightlines or movement, keep
shrubs below 0.85 m in height and prune trees so that the lowest branches will be at least 2 m above
ground level. Limit any other landscape features that might cause obstructions to a maximum height of
1 m. Where practical, use permeable paving to allow for water infiltration.
Provide pedestrian-scaled lighting, such as bollards or lower-scale pole fixtures along pedestrian routes.
Install appropriate lighting that is scaled to its purpose to avoid “over lighting”. Direct light downward
154
(with shielded fixtures, if necessary) to avoid light overspill onto adjacent properties, streets, and open
spaces. Strive for vertical lighting along property lines to be 0 foot candles.
Vary the design and articulation of each building façade to provide visual interest and respond to site con-
ditions. Respect and reference built form pattern to help new buildings respect neighbourhood character.
Provide variations in architectural design between building blocks for multiple block developments to
create a different but cohesive collection of buildings.
Ensure that roof elements don’t dominate the building particularly on larger buildings. House-form
roofs, such as pitched or mansard roofs, aren’t appropriate for stacked and back-to-back townhouses or
apartment buildings. Design rooftop amenity and privacy screening so as to not add to the overall height
and mass of the building and minimise the visual impact of rooftop screens and rooftop accesses.
155
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER - EXAMPLE OF TYPES AND DEVELOPMENT SCENARIOS | TOWNHOUSE AND LOW-RISE APARTMENT GUIDELINES
6.0 DEMONSTRATION PLANS
6.0 Demonstration Plans
6.1 Shallow Mid-Block Site
6.2 Deep Mid-Block Site
6.3 Site Adjacent to or with Heritage Resource
6.4 Site with Multiple Building Blocks
6.5 Large Site with Tower
6.6 Large Site with Multiple Development Blocks
156
Section 6.0 provides a demonstration of how low-rise, multi-unit building types can be accommodated on different sites with
a selection of guidelines to describe key areas for consideration. These demonstrations are not intended to be a 'how to' for
developing sites with similar characteristics.
Shared Amenity
Space
Parking
SELECTION OF GUIDELINES Outdoor Private
Amenity
The selection of guidelines below is intended to highlight key aspects of each demonstration plan. Additional guidelines Public
will apply.
Park
Tree Protection
Area
1.
1 Section 3.2 Shared Outdoor Amenity Areas 4.
4 Section 3.3 Building Placement and Address
Individual Unit
Entrance
i. Create and maximize high-quality landscaped open space e. Where existing setbacks areShared
well-established,
Lobby but vary on
Entrance
on the site. Opportunities may include hard/soft landscaped either side of a proposed development, setback all or part of
area and children's play space. the building to resolve the differences.
For Discussion Purposes Only
Parking
City of Toronto – JAN 2017
a. In general, orient the primary facades of buildings and front a. Incorporate parking garage ramps, access stairs, garbage
doors parallel to the street to frame the edges of streets, collection/storage areas, and loading areas into the building.
parks, and open spaces.
DRAFT ONLY
6.
6 Section 4.1 Fit and Transition
3.
3 Section 3.3 Building Placement and Address
a. Apply angular planes, minimum horizontal separation
block parcel
m. On deeper sites, where back to back units result in one distances, and other building envelope controls to
side of the building facing an area that cannot be seen transition down to lower-scale buildings, parks, and
and unit entrance facing street or a single entrance to a
from a street, park or publicly accessible open space,
lobby with unit access through
open spaces.
not provide unit entrance at thefacing
rearthe
of street,
the building whereuse 157 do not have public
entrances
locate all entrances or preferably a
cing the rearhybrid or low-rise
or sides apartment
of adjacent or through unit type instead.
properties.
onnect the rear of the site to the public sidewalk. Landscape areas along the property
58 Continued on next page…
ed to buffer development from adjacent properties. When adjacent properties are
DEMONSTRATION PLANS | TOWNHOUSE AND LOW-RISE APARTMENT GUIDELINES
At grade private
amenity space for New development is setback
rear facing units a minimum of 7.5m from
rear of ‘Neighbourhood’
properties and under a 45°
angular plane
RATIONALE
Shallow mid-block parcels exist in many parts of the City.
Redevelopment of these sites, especially with the Stacked and
Back-to-Back Townhouse type, can be especially challenging.
59
6.2 DEEP MID-BLOCK SITE
DEMONSTRATION PLANS | TOWNHOUSE AND LOW-RISE APARTMENT GUIDELINES
PublicPublic
StreetStreet
2
3 Other Possible Building Types:
Existing Building
On Site
Townhouse, Stacked Townhouse,
Townhouse or
5 Back-to-Back Townhouse, Low-
Low-Rise
1 Rise Apartment Building, and Primary Building
Face
Hybrid Building
Pedestrian
Connection
Enhanced
Landscape Area
Shared Amenity
Space
Parking
SELECTION OF GUIDELINES Outdoor Private
Amenity
The selection of guidelines below
Public is intended to highlight key aspects of each demonstration plan. Additional guidelines Public
Street will apply.
Park
Tree Protection
Area
1.
1 Section 3.3 Building Placement and Address 4.
4 Section 4.1 Fit and Transition
Individual Unit
Entrance
m. On deeper sites, where back to back units result in one a. Apply angular planes, minimum horizontal separation
Shared Lobby
Entrance
side of the building facing an area that cannot be seen distances, and other building envelope controls to
from a street, park or publicly accessible open space, transition down to lower-scale buildings, parks, and
For Discussion Purposes Only
Parking
locate all entrances facing the street, or preferably open spaces.
City of Toronto – JAN 2017
c. Locate and design streets, lanes, mews and walkways avoid multiple entrances per building bay.
to provide safe, direct, universally accessible pedestrian and
cycling facilities within the new development.
eep mid-block parcel
3.
3 Section 3.4 Site Services, Access, and Parking
id locating unit entrances where residents and visitors will have to travel deep into the rear of the site for
60 Continued on next page…
ess.
Upper units accessed via entrance
RATIONALE
Redevelopment on parcels with narrow public street frontage
present significant site organization challenges.
In general, when the site is very deep and the travel distance
required to access a unit entrance from a public street is greater
than 6-8 units, consider the Low-Rise Apartment Building or
Hybrid Building type. It is preferred for deep mid-block parcels
to locate unit entrances on the public street frontage only and
avoid entrances facing the side property line. In scenarios
where access to units are located along the side, provide clear
sightlines, lighting, pedestrian amenities, and landscaping to
create a safe and comfortable pedestrian environment.
160
61
6.3 SITE ADJACENT TO OR WITH HERITAGE RESOURCE
DEMONSTRATION PLANS | TOWNHOUSE AND LOW-RISE APARTMENT GUIDELINES
3
Building Type Shown:
Existing Building
Townhouse
On Site Existing Building
On Site
Townhouse or
Low-Rise Townhouse or
Other Possible Building Types:
Low-Rise
Public Street
Primary Building
Stacked Townhouse,
Face Low-RisePrimary
Face
Building
Public Lane
Apartment Building, and Hybrid
Pedestrian
Pedestrian
Connection
2 Building Connection
Enhanced
Landscape Area Enhanced
Landscape Area
Shared Amenity
Existing Building
Space Shared Amenity
1 On Site Space
2
Outdoor Private
Townhouse
Amenity or Outdoor Private
Low-Rise Amenity
Tree Protection
4 Primary Building
Area Tree Protection
Face Area
Individual Unit
Pedestrian
Entrance Individual Unit
Connection Entrance
Shared Lobby
Enhanced Shared Lobby
Public Street Entrance
Landscape Area Entrance
Shared Amenity
Parking
Space
Parking
Outdoor Private
Amenity
Public Park
Public Park
Tree Protection
SELECTION OF GUIDELINES Area
Individual Unit
The selection of guidelines below is intended to highlight key aspects of each demonstration plan. Additional
Entrance
guidelines will apply.
Small parcel with heritage resource Shared Lobby
1.
1 Section 1.3 Heritage 3.
3 Section 3.4 Site Services, Entrance
Access, and Parking
Integrate underground garage ramp, service/loading areas into building massing.
a.primary
Provide Conserve and integrate
unit entrances heritage
facing public properties
streets. into
For back-to-back, b. Provide
and stacked townhouses, access to site servicing
avoid Parkingand parking at the rear of
developments
locating primary entrance atinthea back
manner
of thethat is consistent with accepted
building. the building or site, from a lane or from a shared driveway.
Place newprinciples of good heritage conservation and the City's
building parallel to public street to frame streets and public spaces. Public Park
For Discussion Purposes Only
Setback and transition building to align with adjacent buildings and context.
2. Section
2 front
Provide 3.1 Streets,
yard setback Lanes,
to align with Mews,
adjacent and Walkways
building.
Enhance landscape area along the edges of site to screen new development from existing properties.
l. Employ minimum walkway dimensions as follows:
i. when the walkway is the primary access to units,
provide a minimum building separation of 6.0m and
161
a clear path width of at least 2.1m with landscaping
and pedestrian scale lighting
Preserve prominent
views of heritage
building with strategic
building setback and
stepbacks
RATIONALE
When redevelopment occurs, employ strategies to complement
and respect the scale, character, form and setting of heritage
assets on or near the site.
Design of the new development is informed by the character of the adjacent Victorian
townhouses. Extra care must be taken to maintain and enhance the neighbourhood
characteristics such as front yard landscape and entrance design.
DRAFT ONLY
162
63
6.4 SITE WITH MULTIPLE BUILDING BLOCKS
DEMONSTRATION PLANS | TOWNHOUSE AND LOW-RISE APARTMENT GUIDELINES
Public Street
Public Street
Face
Rise Apartment Building, and
Pedestrian
Hybrid Building Connection
2
Enhanced
3 Landscape Area
Shared Amenity
Space
Parking
SELECTION OF GUIDELINES Outdoor Private
Amenity
The selection of guidelines below is intended to highlight key aspects of each demonstration plan. Additional guidelines willPublic
apply.Park
Tree Protection
Area
1 Section 4.1 Fit and Transition
1. 4.
4 Section 3.2 Shared Outdoor Amenity Areas
Individual Unit
Entrance
a. Apply angular planes, minimum horizontal separation f. Animate and frame shared outdoor amenity areas
Shared Lobby
distances, and other building envelope controls to with appropriate building massing
Entrance and active uses
transition down to lower-scale buildings, parks, and (e.g. entrances and primary windows).
For Discussion Purposes Only
Parking
open spaces.
City of Toronto – JAN 2017
5.
5 Section 4.2 Facing Distances and Setbacks
Public Park
2 Section 5.1.2 Landscape
2.
a. Provide facing distance between buildings according to
a. Retain and protect existing trees, vegetation, natural slopes Table 1, Facing Distance. An increase in the Main Building
and native soils and integrate these features into the overall Face Height results in an increase to the facing distance.
DRAFT ONLY
65
6.5 LARGE SITE WITH TOWER
DEMONSTRATION PLANS | TOWNHOUSE AND LOW-RISE APARTMENT GUIDELINES
Public Street
BuildingExisting
TypeBuilding
Shown:
On Site
Stacked and Back-to-Back
1 Townhouse or
Townhouse
Low-Rise Existing Building
2 On Site
Primary Building
Public Street
Face
Other Possible Building Types:
Townhouse or
4 Pedestrian
Low-Rise
Townhouse, Stacked Townhouse,
Connection Primary Building
2 3 Back-to-Back Townhouse, Low-
Enhanced
Face
Landscape Area
Rise Apartment Building, and Pedestrian
Connection
Shared Amenity
5 Hybrid Building
Space Enhanced
Landscape Area
Outdoor Private
Amenity Building
Existing Shared Amenity
On Site Space
Tree Protection
Area
Townhouse or Outdoor Private
Low-Rise Amenity
Individual Unit
Entrance
Primary Building Tree Protection
Face Area
Shared Lobby
Entrance
Pedestrian Individual Unit
Connection Entrance
Public Street
Enhanced
Parking Shared Lobby
Landscape Area Entrance
Shared Amenity
Public Park
Space
Parking
Outdoor Private
Amenity
SELECTION
Large parcel OFand
with tower GUIDELINES
neighbourhood edge Tree Protection
Public Park
The selection of guidelines below is intended to highlight key aspects of each demonstration plan. Additional
Area guidelines may apply.
Provide building face and unit entrance facing street Individual Unit
Entrance
Place 1.
1newSection 3.3 Building
building parallel to publicPlacement and Address
street and provide 4.
4 Section 3.4 Site Services, Access, and Parking
entrances with views to public streets.
Shared Lobby
Provide shared outdoor amenity spaces for new development and locate indoor amenity spaces to connect Entrance
a. outdoor
with the In general,
spaceorient the primary facades of buildings
where appropriate. f. Minimize surface parking, driveways and drop off areas:
and front
Improve existing doors walkways
pedestrian parallel to
andthe streetnew
provide to connections
frame to enhance connectivity of the site to Parking
iii. where intensification is taking place on an existing
surroundingtheneighbourhood.
edges of streets, parks and open spaces.
For Discussion Purposes Only
New development
2 along Neighbourhood edge are to be designed to compliment and respect the prevailing
2. Section 3.1 Streets, Lanes, Mews, and Walkways replace surface parking and driveways, where
built form, scale, and character of the neighbourhood.
possible, with well-landscaped open space
Integrate
a. underground
Extend and garage
connect ramps
newinto the new
public building
streets, where possible or integrate other uses such as
lanes,
indoor amenity spaces mews
pedestrian to create newwalkways
and communitytofocus.
the local street/ 5.
5 Section 5.1.2 Landscape
Improve amenity spaces
pedestrian and facilities
network for existing
and provide residents.
links to schools,
DRAFT ONLY
RATIONALE
The "Tower in the Park" design concept was widely used in
many parts of Toronto. These types of developments were
often "Towers in the Parking Lots" instead and disrupted the
pedestrian-oriented scale and character of many traditional
Toronto neighbourhoods. When a tower site is appropriate for
low-rise building infill, it is a priority for the redevelopment to
rectify negative site conditions and improve connections to the
surrounding neighbourhood.
67
6.6 LARGE SITE WITH MULTIPLE DEVELOPMENT BLOCKS
DEMONSTRATION PLANS | TOWNHOUSE AND LOW-RISE APARTMENT GUIDELINES
Existing Building
BuildingOnType
Site Shown:
Townhouse, Stacked
Townhouse or and Back-to-
Low-Rise Existing Building
Back Townhouse On Site
Primary Building
Face Townhouse or
Public Street
Low-Rise
Other Possible
Pedestrian Building
Types:
2 Connection
5 Primary Building
1 Stacked Townhouse,
Enhanced
Back to Back
Face
Townhouse, Low-Rise
Landscape Area Apartment
Pedestrian
Connection
Public Street
Building,Shared
and
Space
Hybrid
Amenity Building
Enhanced
Landscape Area
Outdoor Private
Amenity
Existing Building Shared Amenity
On Site Space
Tree Protection
Area
Townhouse or Outdoor Private
Low-Rise Amenity
Individual Unit
4 Entrance
Primary Building Tree Protection
Face Area
Shared Lobby
Entrance
Pedestrian Individual Unit
Connection Entrance
Enhanced
Parking Shared Lobby
Landscape Area Entrance
Shared Amenity
Public Park
Space
Parking
Outdoor Private
Amenity
SELECTION OF GUIDELINES Tree Protection
Public Park
Area
The selection of guidelines below is intended to highlight key aspects of each demonstration plan. Additional guidelines will apply.
Individual Unit
Entrance
1 1. Section 1.2.1 Street and Block Patterns g. Complement and connect with open space on
Shared Lobby
neighbouring properties, where possible.
Entrance
e. Provide new public streets in accordance with the
City's Development Infrastructure Policy and 4 4. Section 3.4 Site Services,
ParkingAccess, and Parking
RATIONALE
Public streets, parks, open spaces, and built form all work
together to define the public realm for large sites with multiple
development blocks. The organization of the building blocks
on large sites is critical to creating a transition between existing
and new communities. It is vital that new developments
respect the positive characteristics of its context and further
enhance these attributes to create a cohesive neighbourhood.
Low-rise residential buildings generally range from 2 to 4 storeys and are typically built in wood frame
construction. Low-rise residential may include singles, semis, duplexes, house-form apartments, walk-up
apartments, or stacked townhouses. Access to units is either directly from the public sidewalk, a central
lobby, a common corridor, or a shared courtyard.
• Organise low-rise residential buildings to frame the pedestrian realm and create an easily navigable
walking environment.
• Provide a minimum landscape setback between low-rise residential building and the public right-
of-way, consistent with adjacent buildings. When there is an existing uniform front and/or side
setback with adjacent properties, use a similar setback to fit within the existing streetscape. For
new developments, design dwellings to frame the street edge with a consistent setback.
• Front yard setbacks to the main building wall should range between 3 m to 4.5 m, and a minimum
of 6 m to the garage wall. Side yard setbacks should be a minimum of 1.5 m, except where a
rear yard garage is provided in which case one side setback should be a minimum of 3 m to
accommodate the driveway.
• Raise the front door of ground-related residential units in a building by approximately 3–5 steps
above the grade of the immediately abutting sidewalk, to ensure a clear distinction between the
public and private realm.
• Clearly announce the primary pedestrian building entrance through the use of architectural
treatments such as canopies, awnings, or double-height lobbies.
• Orient building front entrances towards the street, and incorporate special architectural features
such as porches or landscaping to emphasise the prominence of the front entrance.
169
• Provide weather protection to pedestrians at the main entrance through the use of a covered
porch, portico, canopy, or recess. Porches, articulated rooflines, landscaping, and colour orient
the pedestrian towards the main entrance.
• Provide a clear and unobstructed pedestrian walkway from the sidewalk to the front door.
• Provide pathways between residential areas and non-residential sites that directly and clearly
connect these areas.
• Place lighting at each entrance to the dwelling, and provide a minimum of 1 light fixture per garage
door. Lighting fixtures should complement the architectural style of the dwelling.
• Lighting should be downcast to minimise light pollution and avoid spillover onto adjacent proper-
ties.
• Windows facing interior side yards should be kept to a minimum to ensure privacy.
• Buildings should relate to the scale and height of adjacent low-rise buildings to maintain a well-
proportioned street elevation.
• Create a transition in building heights if the new development is higher or lower than existing
buildings. Avoid abrupt variations in building massing, height, and size of adjacent structures, as
shown in Figure 48.
170
Figure 48: Building height should remain relatively constant with gentle transitions. Abrupt variations
in height should be avoided.
• Design bungalows with raised front façades, steeper roof pitches, and increased roof massing to
provide for better transition with any adjacent 2-storey dwellings.
• Locating identical building elevations side by side or directly opposite on the same street is strongly
discouraged. Buildings with identical front elevations should be separated by a minimum of two
(2) buildings having different elevations.
• Design street-facing garages so that they aren’t the dominant feature in the streetscape. Encourage
the use of upgraded garage door styles, including integrated glazing and other architectural details.
• Provide a variety of roof configurations in order to provide visual interest along a streetscape.
171
• For the side of a low-rise building with frontage on a main street, only a very small projection zone
is permitted to reinforce the sense of continuity of the street wall.
• For the side of a low-rise building that fronts on a local or residential street, a larger projection
zone from the principal street wall face is permitted.
• Driveway widths should be no wider then the garages they serve. Locate driveways away from
parks, open space features, public walkways, schools, and intersections. Reverse sloping driveways
(that slope down from the curb to the garage) are discouraged. Driveways should be paired where
possible.
F.12.3 Parking
Follow the guidelines discussed in subsubsection 10.10.3. In addition:
• Where a rear lane is provided, site garages at the rear of the lot and where possible, pair rear lane
garages to allow for an increased rear yard. Design rear lane garages to be complimentary to the
main dwelling. Site rear yard garages as close as possible to the minimum setbacks in order to
maximise the rear yard amenity area. Design rear yard garages to be complementary to the main
dwelling.
• Side-facing garages in front of a dwelling are generally discouraged. They may be permitted on
lots three (3) units wide or greater, provided that:
172
– The wall of the garage facing the street exhibits a high level of design variety, including
windows and detailing consistent with the rest of the dwelling;
– Dwellings of this nature are sited in pairs with garages located to the outside of the pair in
order to create a courtyard effect between the dwellings;
– Main entry stairs into the dwelling are designed so as to not interfere with vehicular access
to the garage; and
– Garage doors are setback a minimum of 7.5 m from the side lot line.
• Incorporate garages oriented towards the front of the dwelling into the main massing of the
building. Recess garages to ensure they are flush with the main building face. Garages that are
detached from the main dwelling unit in the front yard are not permitted.
173
G Neighbourhood Plazas and Large Format Retail
The following section is derived from the Town of Richmond Hill’s Urban Design Guidelines, September
2013.
Neighbourhood plazas are small-scaled shopping areas. The primary clientele of neighbourhood plazas
are nearby residents. They often include a pharmacy or restaurant as the anchor, with other smaller
convenience commercial retail uses. Elements of a well-designed neighbourhood plaza include a unifying
site design, common architectural treatment, convenient pedestrian connections within the site and to
the adjacent residential neighbourhood, and sufficient on-site parking. It must fit within and respect
the scale of the neighbourhood, orient to the pedestrian, and encourage people to get out of their cars
to enjoy the pedestrian environment within the neighbourhood. Large format retail supports a larger
trade area and is generally part of a more comprehensive commercial shopping centre development. The
following guidelines support both types of commercial centres.
• Orient buildings to place the longest side towards the primary street frontage.
• Organise buildings to frame the pedestrian realm and create an easily navigable walking environ-
ment.
• Locate pedestrian entrances towards the primary street frontage. Provide direct pedestrian access
from public sidewalk to building entrances.
• Organise sites to attract future infill development. Introduce an internal street-and-block pattern
into large sites, to facilitate intensification over time in an urban way, as shown in Figure 49.
• Reduce the scale of blank walls through fenestration, canopies, arcades, and other architectural
techniques.
• At the ground floor level, any setback zone shall be treated as an extension of the public realm, to
provide additional outdoor space, allow for at-grade uses to expand outdoors, and to encourage
street animation.
174
Figure 49: Basing new development on an internal street and block pattern can accommodate future
infill development.
175
• Clearly announce the primary pedestrian building entrance through the use of architectural
treatments such as canopies or awnings.
• Use tree planting, soft landscaping, street furniture, and surfacing material to define, improve, and
reinforce pedestrian routes.
• Provide pathways between residential areas and neighbourhood plazas that directly and clearly
connect these areas.
176
G.8 Façade Treatment
Follow the guidelines discussed in subsection 10.8.
• Entrance canopies, awnings, and signage should be appropriately scaled, attractive, and integrated
into the architecture of the building to contribute a positive vibrancy to the public realm.
• For the side of a large format retail building with frontage on a main street, a 0.5 m projection
zone is permitted to reinforce the sense of continuity of the street wall.
• For the side of a large format retail building that fronts on a local or residential street, a 2 m
projection zone from the principal street wall face is permitted.
• Prioritise pedestrian and cyclist circulation and connectivity with adjacent sites.
• An internal network of clearly designated, appealingly landscaped, and well-lit pedestrian walkways
should be provided to traverse routes between parking areas, building entrances, and public streets.
G.10.3 Parking
Follow the guidelines discussed in subsubsection 10.10.3. In addition:
• Surface parking lots must not consume more than 40 % of the primary street frontage. Where
surface parking is provided, the main parking area should be located within the interior of the site
and to the rear and side of buildings.
• Arrange parking spaces to minimise the number of traffic aisles that pedestrians arriving by vehicle
must cross in order to move between parking and building entrance.
177
H Institutional Buildings
The following section is derived from the Town of Richmond Hill’s Urban Design Guidelines, September
2013.
Institutional buildings — including schools, places of worship, hospitals, police stations, fire halls, transit
buildings, community centres and other civic edifices — help to define the city’s civic identity and should
stand out from other buildings.
• Institutional buildings should be architecturally distinct from the surrounding urban fabric.
• Locate institutional buildings on prominent sites to reinforce community identity and terminate
important views where possible.
• Institutional buildings should frame streets and public open spaces. Organise institutional build-
ings to frame the pedestrian realm and create an easily navigable walking environment.
• Orient buildings with elongated floor plates with the longest side towards the primary street
frontage.
• Locate pedestrian entrances towards the primary street frontage. Provide direct pedestrian access
from the public sidewalk to building entrances.
• Reduce the scale of blank walls through fenestration, canopies, arcades, and other architectural
techniques.
• At the ground floor level, any setback zone shall be treated as an extension of the public realm, to
provide additional outdoor space, allow for at-grade uses to expand outdoors, and to encourage
street animation.
• Ground floors for institutional uses shall be universally accessible, articulated to respond to human
scale, and provide good visual connection between interior spaces and the public realm.
178
• Clearly announce the primary pedestrian building entrance through the use of architectural
treatments such as canopies, awnings, or double-height lobbies. Primary entrances should face the
frontage street, be easily accessible from the sidewalk and provide legible connections between
the public realm and interior circulation spaces.
• Use tree planting, soft landscaping, street furniture, and surfacing material to define, improve, and
reinforce pedestrian routes.
• Provide pathways between residential areas and institutional/civic areas that directly and clearly
connect these areas.
• Encourage the development of publicly-accessible outdoor open spaces at ground level, as well as
rooftop gardens and green roofs.
• Locate institutional buildings toward key intersections to emphasise their civic importance and
shape the pedestrian realm at corners.
• 3 m street wall stepbacks are required for institutional buildings above three (3) storeys.
179
H.9 Building Projections
Follow the guidelines discussed in subsection 10.9. In addition:
• Entrance canopies, awnings, and signage should be appropriately scaled, attractive, and integrated
into the architecture of the building to contribute a positive vibrancy to the public realm.
• For the side of a large format retail building with frontage on a main street, a 0.5 m projection
zone is permitted to reinforce the sense of continuity of the street wall.
• For the side of a large format retail building that fronts on a local or residential street, a 2 m
projection zone from the principal street wall face is permitted.
• Where feasible, incorporate shared driveways in order to reduce the extent of interruption to
pedestrians. Where vehicular access is only feasible from arterial streets, a front driveway may be
permitted, provided that mutual access with adjacent properties are provided wherever possible,
and that the access point is located away from areas where high pedestrian activities would occur.
• Prioritise pedestrian and cyclist circulation and connectivity with adjacent sites.
• Avoid areas where high pedestrian traffic is expected by directing vehicular access to loading and
servicing facilities to collector or local streets and rear lanes, not from the arterial street, and to
the rear or side of the building.
H.10.3 Parking
Follow the guidelines discussed in subsubsection 10.10.3. In addition:
• Where surface parking is provided, the main parking area should be located within the interior of
the site and to the rear and side of buildings. Surface parking is prohibited between the building
and sidewalk.
• Avoid areas where high pedestrian traffic is expected by directing vehicular access to parking
facilities to collector or local streets and rear lanes, not from the arterial street, and to the rear or
side of the building.
180
• Locate exterior vehicular ramps and garage entrances to parking structures at the rear or side of
buildings, away from main building frontages and streets. Avoid locating ramps/entrances at street
corners or view termini.
• Locate pedestrian entrances for above-grade and below-grade parking structures (i.e., not including
surface parking lots) adjacent to main building entrances, public streets, or other highly visible
locations.
• Design above-grade parking structures to reinforce the intended built character, and blend into
the streetscape through façade treatments that conceal the parking levels and give the visual
appearance of a multi-storey building.
• Façade design of above-grade parking structures should complement adjacent buildings in terms
of openings, vertical articulation, materials, and colours. Pedestrian amenities such as awnings,
canopies, and sheltered entries are encouraged.
• Drop-off access should be from rear lanes or secondary streets wherever possible. Avoid placing
drop-off areas at highly visible locations, such as street termini.
• Pedestrian connections should lead directly from drop-off areas to the front entry of the building.
Provide weather protection for outdoor waiting areas, to make getting to and from the site more
comfortable.
• Design drop-off areas to be pedestrian-oriented, minimise conflicts with pedestrian routes, and to
include decorative paving material, textures, or colours to emphasise pedestrian connections.
Co-locate community services and integrate facilities with new development to ensure shared
use as well as efficient, inclusive, and dynamic program delivery.
Locate compatible community buildings in close proximity or in the same building or on the same site
to promote visibility, maintain community focus, and ensure efficient use of land and building resources.
The co-location of services and facilities can minimise trips and travel time, and address a family’s daily
181
needs through various stages of life. Co-location supports interaction between people of differing back-
grounds, ages, and socio-economic conditions. Maximising resources by grouping services in the same
facility improves public access. Shared use of multi-service facilities strengthens communities, improves
public health, and achieves positive socio-economic outcomes.
One example is to co-locate an elementary school, high school, neighbourhood centre, and child care
centre to share resources. A playground or playing field used by school children could be adjacent to a
park open to the public. Seniors centres can also host child care centres, or having the seniors centre
overlook the children’s courtyard, with seniors watching children playing. Local libraries can be located
within the same building as schools.
182
I Planning for Children in New Vertical Communities
The following section is derived from the City of Toronto’s Growing Up: Planning for Children in New
Vertical Communities, May 2017.
Whimsical forms can become way-finding elements and help orient children by creating a sense of place,
inclusivity, and a feeling of belonging. Encourage a sense of joy and playfulness by incorporating whimsy
in public art, building design, streetscapes, street furniture, and parks and open space features. Design
child-friendly elements at a scale that responds to children, that provokes the imagination, and are fun,
interactive, educational, musical, and brightly coloured in fantastic sculptural forms.
Design for four seasons should be transformable, such as a walking trail that becomes a skating trail in
the winter; incorporate animated patterns, colour, and light; and flexible for year-round use and events.
Increasing the number of large units creates a sense of community within the building. Units in lower
portions of the building can have direct access to the outdoors (including rooftop amenity space) while
reducing dependency on corridors and elevators. Children playing outdoors can be more easily su-
pervised from the units above. At-grade units should provide direct access to amenity, local streets, or
laneways for convenience.
Design a portion of amenity space for children and youth. Flexible-use space can be included in that area.
The proportion should relate to the number of large units in the building (ideally, at least 25 %). Locate
and protect outdoor amenity space from shadow and wind impacts of existing and future development.
Enable passive supervision by locating child-specific amenities adjacent to other amenities. Outdoor
amenity space designed for children and youth should be:
• Directly accessible from private terraces if located on the same level; and
• Could include hardy landscape planting for flexible outdoor play, but this should not be counted
towards more than 25 % of the outdoor amenity area.
183
When planning a site with multiple buildings, consider grouping a portion of the amenity in a shared
complex. Consider the community-building potential of food by providing indoor/outdoor furniture to
enable communal meals and gathering, as well as by providing roof-top gardening opportunities.
184
J Parks
The following section is derived from the Town of Richmond Hill’s Urban Design Guidelines, September
2013.
A 400 m radius is the rough comfortable walking distance with a child. A child’s mobility is determined
by age; thus, distances are experienced differently. Parks and open spaces are most accessible when
located close to home and on safe routes, allowing children to exercise independent mobility. New
parks and open spaces should be convenient and centrally located to meet daily needs within 250 m to
500 m, or 5–10 minute walking distance of a new development site. Where feasible, locate new parks
and open spaces on safe routes and minimise the number of intersections children need to cross to access
them. Pursue opportunities to re-purpose underutilised spaces such as surface parking lots, left-over
land parcels, and redundant vehicular lanes through “road diets”.
Park design should consider a range of elements that are flexible and specific to allow for a diversity of
activities, resting, climbing, and imaginative/adventure/nature play to suit all ages and abilities. Provide
a combination of:
1. Specific elements including: play equipment for a broad range of age groups, sandboxes, water
features, play courts, and smaller skateboard features; and
2. Flexible elements including: large boulders, lawn areas, mounds, concrete or stone shapes, and
seat walls.
These elements could be sculptural and whimsical. Where feasible, provide dog amenities to prevent
conflicts with children and minimise damage to the public realm.
Playgrounds should:
2. Offer group seating and gathering space for caregivers to allow for formal and/or informal super-
vision;
3. Provide entry/exit points that include integrated physical barriers to prevent young children from
running into the street, such as fences, low walls, or maze-like offsets; and
185
J.2 All Parks
Parks should be designed as a focal point for neighbourhoods, and should be centrally located, preferably
on a corner of two public streets wherever possible. The location of the parks should avoid major grade
changes in active areas. Front buildings to overlook public spaces, especially for playgrounds which
should be highly visible to public streets and/or houses to enhance safety.
Provide a mix of activity for constant use of the space. Highly visible parks should form a linked network,
in order to provide a variety of safe recreation and movement options between neighbourhoods and
centres and corridors. Park entrance design should be clearly defined using landscaping and architectural
elements, and should provide amenities including pedestrian-scale lighting and signage visible from
surrounding streets, to assist in orientation and use of park amenities.
Vehicular connections through parkland should be limited to emergency and maintenance vehicle routes,
and access to major park facilities and parking areas. Highly visible connections should link the major
park amenities and facilities through walkways and bike paths. Parks should be located to serve the
diverse needs of the community, including facilities for passive recreation (e.g. walking trails, commu-
nity gardens, seating areas, park pavilions, interpretive displays, public art) and active recreation (e.g.
sports fields, skating rinks, bike paths). Seating and shade areas should be designed in coordination with
pathways and play area locations.
A greenway system is comprised of connected, uninterrupted, and undisturbed wild areas such as a
forest.
186
Figure 50: This Vista Block provides a lookout over the Greenway System and includes plantings and a
paved seating area.
187
lighting, and signage. Use low-impact materials that are porous and stable. Lighting levels on trails should
be individually determined, particularly where lighting may disturb adjacent residences and natural
habitats.
188
K Effective Lighting
The following section is derived from the City of Toronto’s Best Practices for Effective Lighting, June
2017. Poor lighting has multiple negative impacts on human physical and mental health, and contributes
to light pollution.
Our city becomes safer when more people use public spaces at night. Well-designed public lighting
creates an inviting environment for the use of public spaces. To create an attractive streetscape, priority
should be given to uniformity of lighting that is used in conjunction with security cameras.
Avoid poorly placed lights that create blind-spots for potential observers and miss critical areas. Ensure
potential problem areas are well lit: pathways, stairs, entrances/exits, parking areas, ATMs, phone kiosks,
mailboxes, bus stops, children’s play areas, recreation areas, pools, laundry rooms, storage areas, dumpster
and recycling areas, etc. Avoid overly bright security lighting that creates blinding glare and/or deep
shadows, hindering the view for potential observers. Eyes adapt to night lighting and have difficulty
adjusting to severe lighting disparities. Place lighting along pathways and other pedestrian-use areas
at proper heights for lighting the faces of the people in the space (and to identify the faces of potential
attackers). Only light areas where needed, i.e. parking spaces versus parking aisles.
Ensure that all lighting is shielded and pointed so that it shines downward onto the ground rather than
into a person’s eyes. All lighting should be facing downward on building façades. Shield street facing
lighting so that establishments and the sidewalks can be seen by passers-by. Where external lighting of
a building is necessary, use downlight to highlight architectural features. Pathways can be illuminated
by passive fluorescent pads, parking lots should rely on car headlights for lighting, and signage and
buildings should be illuminated only when absolutely necessary. The intrusion of light from nearby
streets, businesses and residences should be strictly controlled.
189
(a) Effective external lighting. (b) Ineffective external lighting.
Figure 51: Differences between effective and ineffective external lighting. Lamps that emit light horizon-
tally and/or upwards should be avoided.
Full cut-off street lighting is designed to direct the light where it’s needed – to the roadway and sidewalk
surfaces. This minimises the waste light that causes sky glow and lessens glare by shielding the viewer
from a direct view of the light source. On low-speed residential streets, it may be sufficient to provide
lighting for sidewalks and rely on car headlights for lighting the roadway. On low-speed residential streets,
it may be sufficient to provide lighting for sidewalks and rely on car headlights for lighting the roadway.
Street lighting shouldn’t be used to illuminate adjacent surfaces such as residential lawns and walkways.
In order to avoid light trespass onto adjacent properties, the pole height for parking lot lights should be
no higher than the buildings or trees around the perimeter of the parking lot. The luminaries may require
shielding to control light spill. Parking lot lighting shouldn’t be used to promote a business or illuminate
a building façade.
190
L Green Parking Lot Design
The following section is derived from the City of Toronto’s Design Guidelines for “Greening” Surface
Parking Lots, January 2013.
b. Where possible, to reduce potential vehicle and pedestrian conflicts related to cars moving in/out of
parking spaces, avoid locating parking along major drive aisles, street access driveways, or in front of
building entrances and service areas.
c. Position parking rows perpendicular to the main building entrance(s) to assist safe pedestrian move-
ment toward the building.
d. Divide larger parking areas both visually and functionally into smaller parking courts. Limit the length
of parking rows to a maximum of 60 m (20–23 contiguous spaces). Longer rows should include
landscaped breaks, such as islands, with shade trees.
e. Use landscaped islands and medians for separation. Exceptions might include parking lots on
small/narrow sites, or disabled parking and short-term loading spaces where proximity to build-
ing entrances is important.
f. Integrate bicycle parking, shopping cart corrals, ticket or payment kiosks, signage, public art, and
other applicable site elements into the design and layout of the parking lot.
b. Limit the maximum grades on landscaped areas to 33 % (3:1) or less to ensure that grassed slopes
can be maintained.
c. Limit the use of retaining walls, particularly along street frontages, parks, ravines, and other areas of
the public realm. Where retaining walls cannot be avoided, minimise the overall height or provide
low terraces, use durable, attractive materials, and incorporate intensive soft landscaping.
d. Slope surfaces to direct stormwater toward landscaping, bio-retention areas or other water collec-
tion/treatment areas as identified on the site.
191
L.1.3 Lighting
a. Select distinct luminaries with a coordinated appearance to light pedestrian pathways, parking spaces,
drive aisles, building and site entrances, and other relevant parking lot features. Consider lighting
elements for their aesthetic and design value, not simply their lighting function.
b. Provide pedestrian-scaled lighting along pedestrian routes, such as bollards or lower-scale pole fixtures.
Coordinate the location of lighting with pedestrian clearways, tree planting, and other landscaping.
c. Install lighting that is appropriately scaled to its purpose, i.e. avoid “over lighting”. Direct light
downward (no upward or horizontal light rays) and avoid light overspill on adjacent properties,
streets, and open spaces.
b. Provide access to surface parking lots from secondary streets or laneways whenever possible. Share
driveway access between adjacent sites where feasible.
c. Define street access driveways and internal vehicle routes with curbed landscaped areas, tree planting,
and lighting. Ensure unobstructed motorist and pedestrian sightlines, and provide clearly marked
crossings at all intersections between vehicle routes and pedestrian pathways.
d. Size vehicle circulation routes according to use. Avoid over-sized driveways, drive aisles, and turning
radii. Provide continuous circulation throughout the site. Avoid dead-end driveways and turn around
spaces.
b. Provide at least one pedestrian route between the main building entrance and a public sidewalk that
is uninterrupted by surface parking and driveways.
c. Provide pedestrian pathways along street access driveways. Where pedestrian routes cross street
access driveways and other major drive aisles, clearly mark crossings and provide unobstructed sight
distance for both pedestrians and vehicles.
i. A barrier-free pathway, with a minimum clear width of 1.7 m (wider pathways are encouraged
and may be required depending on parking lot use);
192
ii. Shade trees (or a shade structure) along one or both sides of the pathway;
iii. Pedestrian-scale lighting to illuminate and define the route; and
iv. A clear division from vehicular areas, with a change in grade and surface material, and with soft
landscaping.
L.4 Landscaping
L.4.1 General Requirements
a. Consolidate soft landscaped areas, particularly in larger parking lots, to enhance tree and plant material
growing conditions.
b. Select plant material suitable to the growing environment of the parking lot. Avoid monocultures as
they can be susceptible to disease. Incorporate a variety of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs
for year-round interest, texture, shape, and seasonal colour.
c. Trees should be planted at least 1.5 m from curbs, sidewalks, driveways, and other hard surfaces to
buffer from stress caused by salt, snow piling, vehicle overhang, and compacted soils. All other plant
material, except sod or groundcover, should be set back a minimum of 0.6 m from any curb edge to
protect from vehicle overhang and mechanical damage.
d. Where landscaping might impact motorist/pedestrian sight distance, prune trees and keep shrubs
below 0.85 m in height so that the lowest branches will be at least 2 m above ground level. Limit
any other landscape features that might cause obstructions to a maximum height of 1 m. Ensure
overhanging branches of trees or shrubs adjacent to pedestrian pathways maintain a clear headspace
of at least 2 m.
b. For parking lot edges adjacent to streets, parks, or other public open spaces, provide at least one row
of shade trees, spaced evenly at 5 m to 6 m intervals (or as appropriate to the selected species) for the
length of the parking lot edge. Also provide screening, consisting of continuous planting, alone or in
combination with a low decorative fence/wall or a landscaped berm. Keep shrubs, fences, or walls
to a maximum height of 1 m. To support pedestrian safety and security, ensure screening does not
completely obstruct views into and out of the parking lot. Set back screening at least 1 m from the
edge of public sidewalks and 0.6 m from parking lot curbs. Screening shouldn’t encroach into the
public street right-of-way.
c. For parking lot edges not adjacent to the public realm, provide soft landscaping with a variety of
deciduous, palm, and coniferous trees and plantings.
d. Where possible, include landscaping and a pedestrian walkway between parking lots and building
edges.
193
L.4.3 Internal Landscaping
a. Incorporate soft landscaped areas and trees within the parking lot to define major vehicle and pedes-
trian routes, provide shade, and break up the expanse of paved areas. Soft landscaped areas include
islands, medians, bio-retention areas, and other consolidated planting areas.
b. Define internal landscaped areas with a continuous 15 cm curb to prevent damage from vehicles and
snow clearance, to separate planting areas from pedestrian pathways, and to prevent soil and other
landscape material from spreading over adjacent surfaces.
c. Provide internal shade trees at a minimum ratio of one tree planted for every five parking spaces
supplied. Distribute internal shade tree planting such that no parking space is more than 30 m from a
tree. On small or narrow sites, shade trees provided in non-street facing perimeter planting areas can
be counted toward the internal tree requirement, provided that the maximum distance from a parking
space (30 m) is met.
d. Include landscaped islands at the beginning and end of each parking row, and to break up longer rows
or highlight special features. Plant at least 1 high-branching deciduous shade tree (2 preferred) in each
island. Include understory planting such as shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses, and groundcover.
e. Provide continuous landscaped medians every 3 (or fewer) banks of parking. A “bank” of parking
consists of 2 parking rows and a drive aisle. Medians should have a landscaped area at least 3 m in
width and combine with shade tree planting requirements, pedestrian pathways, and/or stormwater
management as appropriate.
f. Shade structures may replace shade tree planting only after the minimum interior tree requirement is
satisfied, or when sufficient soil volume and planting conditions cannot be achieved for proper tree
growth.
a. Create bio-retention areas, such as swales, vegetated islands and overflow ponds.
c. Plant trees (if applicable) above grade from ponding areas and clear of stormwater flow.
L.5 Surfaces
a. Install decorative paving or a change in paving material/colour to emphasise edges, pedestrian routes
and crossings, entrances, loading areas, and other special features within the parking lot.
194
b. Limit the use of dark, impervious surfaces within the parking lot. Use light-coloured materials, such
as concrete, white asphalt, green asphalt, or light-coloured pavers, in the hardscape to reduce surface
temperatures and contribution to the urban heat island effect.
c. Permeable and porous pavements provide an opportunity to retain rainwater and snowmelt on-
site. Install permeable/porous pavement, such as open-jointed pavers, porous concrete/asphalt,
or turf/gravel grids, as appropriate to parking lot use and conditions. Permeable paving should be
installed in all overflow parking areas and is encouraged for use in snow storage areas and hardscapes
surrounding trees. Consider turf grids/grassy pavers for areas of low traffic or infrequent use.
195
design gUideLines FOR ‘gReening’ sURFACe PARKing LOTs
5.0 Diagrams
b.
g.
k. f.
i.
a.
e.
j. service area
primary street
g.
k. e.
h. building
f.
b. e.
d.
c.
secondary street
LEGEND
a. parking behind/beside building, away from street corner
b. parking spaces behind façade line of building
c. parking lot access from secondary street
d. clearly marked pedestrian crossing
e. direct/connected pedestrian route
f. minimum 3m wide landscaped area with shade trees and low plantings (screening)
g. minimum 3m wide landscaped area with shade trees (bio-retention opportunity)
h. high-quality privacy fencing and plantings buffer less compatible use
i. snow storage/bio-retention area
j. rolled curb and change in paving to mark “no parking” zone
k. permeable surface (when feasible)
196
k. k.
c. l.
service g.
area j.
primary street
n. m.
h.
d. c.
building d. a.
e. m.
j. d.
e. i. e.
f. f. b.
primary street
LEGEND
a. parking beside building, away from street corner
b. parking lot access with minimum disruption to streetscape
c. main drive aisle clear of parking spaces
d. clearly marked pedestrian crossing
e. direct/connected pedestrian route
f. minimum 3m wide landscaped area (shade trees, plantings, decorative screening) coordinated with streetscape
g. minimum 3m wide landscaped median with shade trees (bio-retention opportunity)
h. designated internal pedestrian pathway with shade trees
i. sheltered bicycle parking near main entrance
j. parking row (20-23 continuous spaces maximum) with landscaped breaks
k. bio-retention area
l. consolidated landscape area (snow storage/bio-retention opportunity)
m. coordinated lighting scheme
n. permeable surface (when feasible)
197
l.
building
m.
e.
c. b. f. f. c.
k.
i. d.
h. o.
j. n. j.
secondary street
d. c. i.
building e. f. g. g.
o. d.
k. e.
c. b. m. b. f. b.
o. d. a. d. a.
i. e. e.
n.
n. n.
building c. c.
building m. building
f.
primary street
LEGEND
a. parking concealed behind street-fronting buildings and landscaped open space
b. parking lot access driveway shared between multiple destinations
c. main drive aisle clear of parking spaces
d. large parking area divided into smaller parking courts
e. direct and continuous pedestrian network
f. clearly marked pedestrian crossing
g. designated internal pedestrian pathway with shade trees
h. minimum 3m wide landscaped median with shade trees (bio-retention opportunity)
i. minimum 3m wide landscaped area with shade trees and low plantings for screening
j. parking row (20-23 continuous spaces maximum) with landscaped breaks
k. end of row island with shade trees (minimum 30m3 soil volume)
l. consolidated landscape area (bio-retention opportunity)
m. coordinated lighting scheme
n. bio-retention area/rain garden
o. permeable surface (when feasible)
198
0.15m
Design concept for mid-row landscaped islands and shopping cart corral
(See 4.1.4 Other Site Elements and 4.4.3 internal Landscaping)
199
Diagram 4
0.15m
VARIES
Diagram
Design concept for pedestrian pathway with3shade structure
(See 4.3 Pedestrian access and Circulation)
0.15m
VARIES
0.6m MIN 2.1m typical 3.0m MIN
(1.7m MIN clear)
0.2m 1.5m MIN
VARIES
(8.5m MIN recommended)
pedestrian-scale lighting
VARIES
shade tree (spaced evenly 5.0m-6.0m on centre)
3.0m MIN continuous planting area
(0.9m MIN soil depth)
pedestrian pathway
poured in place curb
Design concept for pedestrian pathway with double row of shade trees
(See 4.3 Pedestrian access and Circulation) 200
bio-swale
VARIES
(3.0m typical)
0.15m
VARIES
(8.5m typical)
Design concept for bio-retention swale with double row of trees (See 4.5 Stormwater Management)
201