Defining the Context Matrix for Signs – Options and Best Practices Context: The Transect Context is the environment in which the street is built and includes the placement and frontage of buildings, adjacent land uses and open space, and historic, cultural, and other characteristics that form the built and natural environments of a given place. The transect is a recognized tool for defining the context and assists designers in creating an appropriate design for the context. Andres Duany of Duany, Plater, Zyberk & Company developed the transect. The transect zones range from T-1 (Natural) to T-6 (Urban Core). In the least-intensive T- Zones of a community, T1 and T2, a rural road or highway is appropriate. By definition, the urban T-Zones T3 through T6 do not exist as “stand alone” zones, but rather are organized in relationship to each other within a community. Each T-Zone is highly walkable and assumes the pedestrian mode as a viable and often preferred travel mode, especially for the ¼ mile, five-minute walk. The T3 suburban zone defines the urban to rural edge. Of all the T-Zones, T3 appears most like conventional sprawl. It has single-family dwellings, a limited mix of uses and housing types, and tends to be more automobile-oriented than T4, T5, or T6. The five-minute test of walkable distance (¼ mile radius) limits the overall size of a T3 transect zone. The T3 zone often defines the edge of the more developed urban condition, so is sometimes called the “neighborhood edge.” For example, knowing that a particular area is a T5, Town Center, defines the context for the built environment including the street design criteria and elements, such as the width of sidewalks, the presence of on-street parking, and the use of tree wells instead of planting strips. Buildings built to the sidewalk with parking on the street and behind, for instance, are appropriate in T5 and T6. Referring to a set of tables and design recommendations correlated to the transect helps the designer determine how a street should function in each T-Zone. 1 Contexts will not always flow evenly and incrementally from T1 to T6: there may be gaps. For example, T2 jumps to T5 may occur, or a rural community may have only T2 with a community center that is not urban enough to be T5 (for example, a church, convenience store, antique store, and gas station at the one intersection in the whole town). An important element of the design process is to ensure the travelled way design fits the context of the intended design. Through use of a regulating plan, the appropriate street design will be established to fit the context, purpose, and type of street. Types and Roles of Streets Federal Highway Function and Classification system contains the conventional classification system that is commonly accepted to define the function and operational requirements for streets. These classifications are also used as the primary basis for geometric design criteria. Traffic volume, trip characteristics, speed and level of service, and other factors in the functional classification system relate to the mobility of motor vehicles, not bicyclists or pedestrians, and do not consider the context or land use of the surrounding environment. This approach, while appropriate for high speed rural and some suburban roadways, does not provide designers with guidance on how to design for living streets or in a context-sensitive manner. The street types described here provide mobility for all modes of transportation with a greater focus on the pedestrian. The functional classification system can be generally applied to the street types in this document. Designers should recognize the need for greater flexibility in applying design criteria, based more heavily on context and the need to create a safe environment for pedestrians, rather than strictly following the conventional application of functional classification in determining geometric criteria. The terms for street types for living streets are described in the following sections. Many municipalities use the terms “avenue” and “street” in combination with the street name as a way to differentiate streets running north and south from those running east and west (e.g., 1st Street, 1st Avenue); these uses differ from the definitions used in this manual. From the Yellowstone County Subdivision Regulations STREET TYPES: For purposes of these Regulations, street types are defined using the Institute of Transportation Engineers Manual as follows: a. Alley: Minor rights-of-way used primarily for vehicular access to the back or side of properties that abut on and are otherwise served by public roads. b. Arterial: Any major carrier of traffic which generally terminates at both ends at a location that will produce more than 2,000 vehicles per day traffic, or upon which the nature of the traffic is such that more than 60% of the vehicles are using the street for mobility rather than land access. Typically they are no more than 1 mile apart. 1. Principal Arterial: A street which serves the major centers of a metropolitan area, the highest traffic volume corridors, and the longest trip desires, and which carries a high proportion of the total urban area travel on a minimum of mileage. 2 2. Minor Arterial: A street that interconnects with and augments the principal arterials, provides service to trips of moderate length at a lower level of travel mobility than principal arterials, and distributes travel to geographic areas smaller than those identified as principal arterials. c. Collector: A street that generally terminates at both ends at an arterial or collector but because of location, curvilinear design, or limited feeder area will not generally serve more than 2,000 vehicles per day, or the nature of the traffic is such that approximately 50% of the traffic is using the street for land access and 50% for mobility. Typically they are located between arterial streets at no more than one-half (½) mile from an arterial street. d. Cul-de-sac: A street having only one outlet for vehicular traffic and terminating in a turn-around area. e. Frontage Access (Service Road): A local or collector street, usually parallel and adjacent to an arterial or major collector, which provides access to abutting properties and controls traffic access to arterials or collectors. f. Half-Street: A portion of the width of a street, usually located along the perimeter of a subdivision, the remaining portion of which street must be located on adjacent property if the street is to be fully constructed. g. Local Streets: A street or road having the primary function of serving abutting properties, and the secondary function of moving traffic. h. Loop: A local street which begins and ends on the same street, generally used for access to properties. 3 Table 4.6.C.1. Required Dedications and Street Improvements for Subdivisions Turn Right- of- Road Lane Parking Median Pathway Street Type lane Way Width Width Width Width width Width Principal Arterial 6 lanes w/center 120’ 92’* 12’/14’** --- 14’ --- 5’ turn-lane 4 lanes w/center turn- 120’ 92’* 12’/14’** --- 14’ --- 5’ lane Minor Arterial 4 lanes 100’ 68’* 12’ --- --- 14’ 5’ w/median 2 lanes 100’ 52’* 12’ --- --- 14’ 5’ w/median Commercial Collector 2 lane 80’ 44’* 14’ 8’ --- --- 5’ 2 lanes w/center turn 80’ 42’* 14’ --- 14’ --- 5’ lane Residential Collector 2 lane 70’ 40’* 12’ 8’ --- --- 5’ 2 lanes w/center 80’ 50’* 12’ 8’ 14’ --- 5’ turn lane Commercial 60’ 28’ 12 n/s --- --- 5’ Local Access Residential 56’/60’*** 28’ 12 n/s --- --- 5’ Local Access Cul-de-Sac 56’/60’*** 28’ 12 n/s --- --- 5’ 100-1000 feet 24’ Cul-de-Sac 40’ 10 n/s --- --- --- <100 feet min. * Widths to be provided if warranted by a RES or TIS. ** Interior lane(s) is 12 feet and the outside lane is 14 feet. *** 56 feet is required for subdivisions within the zoning jurisdiction. 60 feet is required for subdivisions outside the zoning jurisdiction. n/s No width is specified. 4 City of Billings Subdivision Regulations STREET TYPES: For purposes of these regulations, street types are defined using the Institute of Transportation Engineers Manual as follows: a. Alley: Minor rights-of-way used primarily for vehicular access to the back or side of properties that abut on and are otherwise served by public roads. b. Arterial: Any major carrier of traffic which generally terminates at both ends at a location that will produce more than 2,000 vehicles per day traffic, or upon which the nature of the traffic is such that more than 60% of the vehicles are using the street for mobility rather than land access. They are typically located no more than 1 mile apart. i. Principal Arterial: A street which serves the major centers of a metropolitan area, the highest traffic volume corridors, and the longest trip desires, and which carries a high proportion of the total urban area travel on a minimum of mileage. ii. Minor Arterial: A street that interconnects with and augments the principal arterials, provides service to trips of moderate length at a lower level of travel mobility than principal arterials, and distributes travel to geographic areas smaller than those identified as principal arterials. c. Collector: A street that generally terminates at both ends at an arterial or collector but because of location, curvilinear design, or limited feeder area will not generally serve more than 2,000 vehicles per day, or the nature of the traffic is such that approximately 50% of the traffic is using the street for land access and 50% for mobility. They are typically located between arterial streets at no more than ½ -mile from an arterial street.