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Energy Efficiency and Environmental Quality

A photo of a surface level parking lot with solar panels shading
BART Parking Lot with Solar Panels (Source: Flickr: Jim Maurer)
A photo of a vegetated swale next to a parking lot.
Vegetated Swale (Source: UC Santa Barbara)

Provision high environmental quality parking facilities that improve water quality by filtering and cooling though stormwater best management practices, including vegetated swales and rain gardens.

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Visual Buffers and Landscaping

An illustration of a parking lot with callouts for visual buffer (trees/bushes) and a parking island.
Parking with Trees for Shade

A photo of a parking lot with a parking island with trees.
Parking with Trees for Shade

A photo of tall shrubs between a sidewalk and a parking lot.
Visual Buffer (Source: Flickr - Sergio Ruiz)

Minimize use of tall shrubs in favor of lower shrubs and groundcovers to allow for greater visibility within a parking area for pedestrian and vehicular safety. Clear lines of sight minimize...

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Mobility

A graphic showing a transit stop near bike share, bike lanes, and car share.
Multi-Modal Streets

Provide secure and convenient cycling and micro-mobility amenities including, but not limited to, bike racks, bike lockers, and bike and scooter share to encourage multi-modal transportation.

  • Locat...
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Parking Management - Home Page

Photo of people sitting in a parklet with string lights above, fake grass, a bench, a dog, and a person biking by with a child

The efficient use of parking facilities can provide numerous benefits related to site design, trip generation, development cost, and building design and function. When implemented effectively, parking...

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Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

A photo of a row of townhouses with a sidewalk, street trees, and parallel parking
Clear Boundary Between Public & Private - Laurel Grove, San José, CA (Source: Flickr - Sergio Ruiz)
A photo of a plaza in front of a high-rise building with large ground lights on the sidewalk and an emergency call button box.
Salesforce Plaza, San Francisco, CA (Source: Flickr - Sergio Ruiz)

Natural surveillance is key to neighborhood safety. Neighborhoods with higher walkability indices and/or businesses open longer hours are associated with lower crime. Ensure open sightlines to and...

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Street Design - Home Page

Photo of an intersection taken from above with a bus, several bicyclists, and cars traveling through

Every street is a transportation link for every mode; differences are based on the balance of how each mode is prioritized. Street design should complement surrounding land uses and support walking...

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Case Studies (Street Design)

Photo of skateboarder in front of street party in front of apartment building
A person travels on a skateboard on Octavia Boulevard’s shared local access road past a public meeting space created with the street redesign. (Source: Sergio Ruiz)
Photo of a common space covered in grass and walkways surrounded by taller buildings at night
Hayes Green at night. This park is located in a wide median created when Octavia Boulevard was built to replace a portion of elevated freeway (Source: Sergio Ruiz)

Barcelona, Spain - Superblocks

In 2016, the Poblenou neighborhood in Barcelona, Spain created a people-centered, pedestrian-friendly, nine-block “superblock” within an otherwise auto-oriented...

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Quick Build Projects

  • Develop an outreach plan and expect lots of comments. Quick-build projects are public beta tests. They allow local agencies to get input on a design and modify it before it becomes permanent. Because...
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Open Space Structure

A graphic of a neighborhood with a clear corridor and connection of two parks/open spaces.
Open Spaces and Multimodal Corridors

A photo of an urban plaza under an elevated roadway.
Park Space Under Elevated Roadway (Source: IBI Group)

Pursue the use of excess land adjacent to transit and roadway rights-of-way, and under elevated structures where available. Unused space beneath elevated transit lines and roadways can be...

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Safety and Pedestrian Circulation

An aerial photo of an surface level parking with an underground parking garage at Apple Park.
Off Street Parking Design, Apple Park Visitor Center (Source: Flickr - Jim Maurer)

    A photo of close street lights on the sidewalk.
    Street Lamp Illuminating the Ground Below

    Illuminate parking facilities at recommended minimum average illumination levels used by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).

    • Point lights downward to minimize light pollution and excess...
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    Interdisciplinary Approach

    A graphic showing that schools, fire department, developers, transit agencies, government agencies, and land architects are all connected to each other and a street.
    Layered Approach to Street Design

    Cross-training engineers and planners creates a collaborative environment for designing and developing streets.

    • Planners’ role. Generally, planners work with the community to define the goals...
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