Pedestrian priority in street design - how can it improve sustainable mobility?

Street design guidelines aimed at pedestrians seldom acknowledge the effects of different design options on other street uses (e.g., cyclists, bus users) or the pathways through which those options contribute to sustainable economic, social, or environmental outcomes. This paper presents a new set of tools for the generation and appraisal of options for reallocating street space to pedestrians in busy urban corridors. Options are generated using two tools that allow planners to specify conditions regarding the street uses that should be prioritized, the uses that should not be made worse off, and the policy objectives that should be achieved. One tool (Policy Interventions tool) presents options that, based on the theory and empirical evidence, fulfil the specified conditions. The other tool (Street Designs tool) presents all possible combinations of street design elements (e.g., footways, cycle lanes, bus stops), in a cross-section view of the street, that fulfil the specified conditions and fit in the available street width. The street design options generated with these methods are then appraised using a third tool that incorporates cost-benefit analysis and multi-criteria procedures. The tools were tested in five European cities and refined based on feedback from practitioners and user group associations. The tools can be used to generate and appraise a comprehensive and balanced set of street design options that improve pedestrian conditions while preserving a balanced distribution of space among other street users and achieving sustainable outcomes.