Proposal developed for Urban Design class at Florida Atlantic University, Spring 2010

1. Country Club Estates is bounded by the Florida Turnpike on the West,
441 on the East, Broward Boulevard on the North, and Peters Road to
the South. Approximately half of the neighborhood is residential; sin-
gle family homes and one apartment complex. The other half is a 36
hole private golf course and country club.
The residents enjoy their suburban lifestyle, and although they cannot
use the golf course, they appreciate its impact on the neighborhood.
81Chapter 6:Thoroughfare Designs for Walkable Urban Areas
places in Europe and the United States, and the chal-
lenges of the intersections have been addressed in many
ways. The traditional design of multiway boulevard in-
tersections is to provide stop control for the access lanes
and signalized or stop control for the cross-streets and
central roadway (see Figure 6.8). In urban areas, the
access lanes are often controlled with traffic signals and
sometimes restrict selected movements from both the
central roadway and the access lanes. Common traffic
control and operational configurations for traditional
multiway boulevard intersections are described in Ta-
ble 6.6 and illustrated in Figure 6.9.
Alternative Multiway Intersection Designs
Thoroughfare designers have developed a number of
alternatives to the traditional multiway boulevard in-
tersection. These alternatives include:
• Access road slip ramps prior to and after intersec-
tions to provide conventional four-leg intersections;
• Forced right turns from the access lane to the
cross-street. Where turning movements are re-
stricted, cross-streets should be part of a well-con-
nected grid of streets so vehicles leaving the access
lanes can easily return to the central roadway;
• Access lanes diverted away from the central
roadway at cross streets increase separation and
reduce the complexity of the intersection. This
design concept significantly affects the place-
ment of buildings at intersection corners; and
• Access lanes beginning just past an intersection
(either with or without a lane drop), and end-
ing with or without a lane addition just before
an adjacent intersection, similar to the design of
frontage roads.
All of the above alternatives disrupt the continuity of
the access lane along the length of the boulevard. This
is an important factor in considering local circulation,
particularly if the access lanes provide for bicycle trav-
el along the corridor.
Design Examples
The following design examples provide a brief synop-
sis of the design process, illustrating some of the key
steps in developing and evaluating solutions to thor-
oughfare design problems. The examples do not rep-
resent all of the possible combinations but do show
some common thoroughfare situations. The four ex-
amples respectively illustrate the following thorough-
fare design scenarios:
1. Creation of a retail-oriented and pedestrian-
friendly main street collector avenue;
Figure 6.8 This multiway boulevard provides stop control for the low-volume, low-speed access lanes. The central
roadway is controlled by a traffic signal. Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
79Chapter 6:Thoroughfare Designs for Walkable Urban Areas
Property should be accessed from cross-streets or
alleys, although access lanes may be intersected
by local streets or consolidated driveways without
direct access to the central roadway. Access lanes
provide on-street parking that may be associated
with curb extensions at intersections or extensions
that contain street trees. The width of access lanes
is composed of the parking lane (7 to 8 feet) and
a shared travel lane (10 to 11 feet). Some fire de-
partments may require wider access lanes. How-
ever, for emergency access purposes, buildings may
be able to be accessed from the central roadway.
The maximum width of an access lane should be
17 feet with parking on one side and 24 feet with
parking on both sides.
• Median islands—raised medians are used to sepa-
rate the access lanes from the central roadway. The
width of these medians varies because they may
serve multiple functions. At a minimum, the me-
dian contains landscaping, including trees, street-
lights, traffic signs and other utilities. On transit
streets, the medians accommodate bus stops or
stations. On multiway boulevards with very wide
medians, sidewalks, seating and other urban de-
sign features may be provided. Medians may be
designed with mountable curbs and load-bearing
surfaces on the access lane side to accommodate
emergency vehicles. Median breaks are provided
on some traditional multiway boulevards to allow
vehicles into the access lane and entry back into
the central roadway where turn movements are re-
stricted at the intersections.
• Streetside—provides a highly pedestrian-ori-
ented environment and access to building en-
trances. On residential boulevards, the streetside
emphasizes planting strips or tree wells and pe-
destrian-scaled lighting. On commercial boule-
vards, the streetside is designed to accommodate
the activities of the adjacent ground floor uses,
emphasizing wide furnishing zones for street
trees, seating, urban design features and street
cafes. See Chapter 8 for details on the streetside.
General Cross-Section Design Parameters and
Right-of-Way Requirements
Because of their multiple components, the multiway
boulevard typically has greater right-of-way require-
ments than other types of boulevards. Although street-
side and median widths can vary substantially, the mini-
mum right of way for a basic four-lane multiway bou-
levard is 104 feet, composed of the following elements
(see Figure 6.6):
• 9-foot-wide streetsides;
Figure 6.6 A multiway boulevard is characterized by a central roadway with a pair of one-way access lanes. This type of
thoroughfare can combine high vehicular capacity with pedestrian-friendly streetsides. Source: Digital Media Productions.
Provide Pedestrian/Bi-
cycle connections at exist-
ing dead ends to improve
walkability and connectivity,
by creating openings in the
walls.
Convert vacant land into
additional park space with
features such as:
•skate parks
•basketball courts
•sports fields
•exercise path equipment
Develop commercial areas with high density,
mixed use developments with low setbacks:
Develop vacant land
Redevelop poorly utilized commercial ar-
eas
Open key golf course paths
to public pedestrian and bi-
cycle use in order to provide
more connectivity.
Rezone internally to allow for
mixed use development.
Redevelop country club area to serve
residents, club members, and visitors
with facilities and events
•restaurants overlooking the golf course
•golf activities open to residents
Convert SR 7 into a multi-way boulevard with
medians and two thru lanes / direction
•facilitate crossing
•improve walkability with access to nearby neighborhoods,
schools, libraries, and shopping
•maintain automobile capacity
Multi-way boulevards include:
•separate access road with on-street parking
•access road is low speed, shared by vehicles and bicycles
•through lanes in center do not allow driveway or property access
•transit stops in median between through lanes and access lane