Walkable Places Presented by Planning & Development Department - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Walkable Places

Presented by

Planning & Development Department City of Houston

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Walkable Plac es Committee

A walkable plac e is mor e than a sidewalk

A walkable plac e is about a sense of plac e

R egulator y T

• ols to

E nc our age Walkable Plac e

R ules sensitive to loc al c ontext

What will a walkable plac e distr ic t do?

• Cre ate a se t o f unique rule s to guide the

fo rms o f ne w de ve lo pme nt/ re de ve lo pme nt ac tivitie s o n private pro pe rtie s

• T

he unique rule s are se nsitive to the lo c al c o nte xt

What will a walkable plac e distr ic t not do?

• T

he unique rule s do no t po se re stric tio ns o n land use

• T

he unique rule s do no t affe c t the e xisting de ve lo pme nt

T hr ee Walkable Plac e Pilot Ar eas

• E

manc ipatio n Ave nue

• Midto wn
• Near No rthside

MIDTOWN – WALKABLE PLACES PILOT AREA

Agenda

B o u n d a r y M i d t o w n C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s E x i s t i n g p l a n s Wa l k a b l e p l a c e s t o o l b o x Q & A S t a t i o n s

Boundary

Boundary

Characteristics of Midtown

Main Crawford

McGowen Holman

6/19/2018

Existing plans

Midtown Design Guidelines Midtown Strategic Plan

Walkable Connected Human - Scaled Resilient Green Active

Ensure investment has a community ROI Increase community interaction Increase mobility Make community infrastructure more resilient Support diverse and accessible housing Maximize the community benefit of regional growth and development

Multimodal Transportation Mix of land uses Active ground floor Pedestrian scale Integrated pedestrian realm

Walkable Places Midtown Design Guidelines Midtown Strategic Plan

“Houston offers opportunity for all and celebrates its diversity of people, economy, culture, and places. Houston promotes healthy and resilient communities through smart civic investments, dynamic partnerships, education, and innovation. Houston is the place where anyone can prosper and feel at home. Houston: Opportunity. Diversity. Community. Home.”

Walkable Places Tool box

Walkable Places Tool Box

( P r o p o s e d ) P e d e s t r i a n R e a l m L a n d s c a p e B u i l d i n g L i n e ( s e t b a c k ) P a r k i n g B i c y c l e p a r k i n g B u i l d i n g e n t r y S h a d i n g

Pedestrian Realm Property Line Pedestrian Realm Street

Private Property

Sidewalk Frontage Zone

Safety Buffer

Pedestrian Realm

Currently required

Pedestrian Realm – Walkable Places

• 2 vehicles travel Lanes – 15’ Minimum Pedestrian

Realm

• 3 - 4 vehicles travel Lanes – 20’ Minimum Pedestrian

Realm

• 5+ vehicles travel Lanes – 22’ Minimum Pedestrian

Realm

2 Travel Lanes Property Line

15’ Pedestrian Realm Street Private Property 15’ Pedestrian Realm

Property Line

Private Property

3 - 4 Travel Lanes Property Line

20’ Pedestrian Realm Street Private Property 20’ Pedestrian Realm

Property Line

Private Property

5+ Travel Lanes Property Line

22’ Pedestrian Realm

Street Private Property

22’ Pedestrian Realm

Property Line

Private Property

Landscape

• Trees and shrubs location is not specific

Landscape – Walkable Places

• Trees shall be located between the back of curb and

the sidewalk.

Property Line Pedestrian Realm Street

Private Property

Building Line (Set Back)

Building Line (setback)

• 10 feet setback along local and collector streets
• 25 feet setback along major thoroughfares

Building Line – Walkable Places

• Buildings should be built to the edge of the pedestrian

realm.

Parking

• Minimum Parking requirement
• Current regulations doesn’t specify where the parking should

be located

Parking – Walkable Places

• Locate Parking Behind Buildings that front the street.
• Access from alleys and side street is preferred
• No parking allowed between pedestrian realm and proposed

building.

• No parking requirements for commercial?

Bicycle Parking- Walkable Places

• Increase mandatory bicycle parking requirements

Building Entry- Walkable Places

• 70% transparency from street
• Active ground floor use
• One direct access from pedestrian realm to building
• Multiple points of access for large parcels

Shading- Walkable Places

• Awnings and balconies can encroach into

pedestrian realm

• Balconies can include livable spaces
• Must be 10’ in height and 3’-6’ in length.

25’ BL No surface parking limit 5’ Sidewalk 24’ Curb cuts No pedestrian realm 24’ Curb cuts No interaction between the building and the pedestrian realm

Current regulation

Walkable places

Parking structure hidden on the back Interaction between the building and the pedestrian realm with multiple access points Multiple modes of transportation Opportunities to preserve on street parking Pedestrian realm with minimum 6’ unobstructed sidewalk Reduced setback Landscape buffer Higher density and mixed uses

Questions?