Walkable project site

Intent

To promote walking, biking, and other non-motorized transportation that results in reduced vehicle miles traveled (VMT), increased public health, and enhanced community participation.

Requirements

Design and build the project to achieve all of the following features:

• A principal functional entry on the front façade faces a public space, such as a street,¹square, park, paseo,² or plaza, but not a parking lot, and is connected to sidewalks or equivalent provisions for walking.
  • A historic building³is exempt if its historic principal functional entry does not face a public space and/or is not connected to sidewalks or equivalent provisions for walking, and the building cannot be modified without altering key historic features of the building.
  • To qualify as a public space, a square, park, or plaza must be at least 50 feet (15 meters) wide at a point perpendicular to the functional entry.
• All street frontages have a minimum building-height-to-street centerline ratio of 1:1.5 (i.e. a minimum of 1 foot [300 millimeters] of building height for every 1.5 feet [450 millimeters] width from street centerline to building façade).
  • Non-motorized rights-of-way may be counted toward the requirement, but frontages facing those rights-of-way must have a minimum 1:0.5 ratio of building height to street width.
  • Building height is measured to eaves or the top of the roof for a flat-roof structure, and street centerline is measured from the façade. For building frontages with multiple heights or widths, use average heights or widths weighted by each segment’s linear share of the total block length.
  • Alleys⁴and driveways are excluded from these calculations.
  • A historic building is exempt from these requirements if its dimensions do not meet the ratio requirements.
• Any new off-street parking lots are located at the side or rear of the building.
• Continuous sidewalks or equivalent all-weather route for walking on the project site serve all building entrances and connect them with public sidewalks. Newly constructed sidewalks must be at least 8 feet (2.5 meters) wide on retail or mixed-use blocks and at least 4 feet (1.2 meters) wide on all other blocks. Equivalent provisions for walking include woonerfs⁵and all-weather-surface footpaths. Alleys and driveways are excluded from these calculations.
• No more than 20% of the street frontage of the project is faced directly by garage and service bay openings. Alley access is used instead, if available.
• If a façade extends along a sidewalk, no more than 40% of its length or 50 feet(15 meters), whichever is less, is blank (without doors or windows).
• At-grade crossings with driveways account for no more than 10% of the length of sidewalks within the project
• Street trees are provided between the vehicle travel way and walkway at intervals of no more than 450 feet (15 meters) (The width of driveways, utility
  vaults and alleyways intersecting the vehicle travel way or walkway may be excluded from these calculations).

• ¹a dedicated right-of-way that can accommodate one or more modes of travel, excluding alleys and paseos. A street is suitable for primary entrances and provides access to the front and/or sides of buildings and lots. A street may be privately owned as long as it is deeded in perpetuity for general public use. A street must be an addressable thoroughfare (for mail purposes) under the standards of the applicable regulating authority.
• ²a publicly accessible pedestrian path, at least 4 feet wide and no more than 12 feet wide, that provides shortcuts between buildings and through the block, connecting street frontages to rear parking areas, midblock courtyards, alleys, or other streets. A paseo may be roofed for up to 50% of its length and may be privately owned or publicly dedicated.
• ³a building or structure listed or determined to be eligible as a historic structure or building or structure or as a contributing building or structure in a designated historic district, due to its historic, architectural, engineering, archeological, or cultural significance. The building or structure must be designated as historic by a local historic preservation review board or similar body, be listed in a state register of historic places, be listed in the National Register of Historic Places, or have been determined eligible for listing in the National Register.
• ⁴a publicly accessible right-of-way, generally located midblock, that can accommodate slow-speed motor vehicles, as well as bicycles and pedestrians. An alley provides access to the side or rear of abutting properties for loading, parking, and other service functions, minimizing the need for these functions to be located along streets. It may be publicly dedicated or privately owned and deeded in perpetuity for general public use.
• ⁵a street, also known as a home zone, shared zone, or living street, where pedestrians have priority over vehicles and the posted speed limit is no greater than 10 miles per hour. Physical elements within the roadway, such as shared surfaces, plantings, street furniture, parking, and play areas, slow traffic and invite pedestrians to use the entire right-of-way.