Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access: Part II of II: Best Practices Design Guide

Author(s):

United States Department of Transportation

Organization:

United States Department of Transportation

Rating:

Very Useful

Abstract:

One of the best guidance books on the use and design of the pedestrian realm. Roughly half the book -- 11 of the 19 chapters plus the appendices -- is applicable to the design of sidewalks and street crossings. The scope goes from planning to temporary routes during construction to maintenance. The introductory chapters present the users, noting their varied abilities. The book is an excellent resource for all actors in providing for pedestrians -- advocates, planners, designers, construction supervisors (to find out why a thing was done) and maintenance agencies.

Annotation:

Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access, Part 2, is the guidelines half of the project. This is a publication that can be recommended, especially if you are only going to get one book, to community groups, planners, transportation engineers, designers, and construction workers. It is unfortunate that the title categorizes it as a guide to accessibility when it could be a stand-alone guide on how to build good sidewalks for everyone. It goes beyond the material in Part 1 to embrace the whole population and the whole sidewalk, not just those items for "the disabled,” "impaired,” "handicapped,” words that appear only on page 1 and 2 of Chapter II and never again. By starting with the World Health Organization's identification of disability as a function of the intersection of the person with the environment, sidewalk design is a exercise in accommodating people with a range of capabilities -- the more people accommodated, the better the sidewalk.

Roughly half the book -- 11 of the 19 chapters plus the appendices -- is applicable to the design of sidewalks in the public right-of-way. Chapters I Introduction, and II, Understanding Sidewalk and Trail Users, are common to both parts. Chapter III presents the outlines for an inclusive planning/design process; and Chapters IV through XI take apart the sidewalk: IV, Sidewalk Corridors; V, Driveway crossings; VI, Providing Information to Pedestrians; VII, Curb Ramps; VIII, Pedestrian Crossings; IX, Traffic Calming; X, Sidewalk Maintenance and Construction; and XI, Sidewalk Assessment. Chapter II sets the tone for the design chapters -- Chapters IV through IX -- by presenting the users, their varied abilities, and the environmental features necessary to accommodate those with reduced ability in a specific function. Chapters 9 and 10 are unusual in that they cover sidewalk maintenance, temporary routes during construction, and a sidewalk assessment form -- areas usually left out of guidance manuals.

Though the book is very good, there are a few elements that could have been better. For instance, under driveways they accept a 4-foot wide path at the top of the apron instead of telling people to keep the apron under 24 inches and make the path as wide as possible. Other places they allow a minimum dimension to be the design guideline. For instance, 36 inches is given for island cut-throughs instead of saying they should be no smaller than 60 inches, and the width of the crosswalk is preferred. Another shortcoming, the index leaves many items out, depending on the reader to find the larger category. I think it would be worthwhile to address these items and other items based on a detailed, page-by-page review so that the next edition is even better.

Number of Pages:

390

Illustrations?

Yes

Material Type:

Book

Notes:

Key Resource for advocates, planners, designers, construction supervisors and maintenance agencies.

Key Document?

Yes

Categories:

National Guidelines, Advocacy, Planning, Schematics, Design Development

Keywords:

National Design, Best Practices

Strengths:

• A stand-alone guide on how to build good sidewalks for everyone; the book is not just "access" guidelines.
• How to accommodate people with a range of capabilities is incorporated into the general guidelines.
• Maintenance guidance and a sidewalk assessment form are included.
• Guidelines include rationale and are both performance and proscriptive.
• Gives examples with pictures.
• Excellent diagrams.

Weaknesses:

• Mixes regulations with guidance so that sometimes it is not clear which is which.
• Index not comprehensive enough.

Suggestions for Future Editions:

• Make modification based on a detailed, page-by-page review.
• Expand index.

Record Last Updated:

July 2006