APA’s Recent Great Street Awards
Click to see in StreetPlan and Google StreetView
The American Planning Association has identified several “Great Streets.” Click to see that street depicted in StreetPlan.net, and also to tour it in Google StreetView. Great Streets are not always ideal in every way, as you’ll see from StreetPlan’s “red/yellow/green” guidance. But all have done a lot with the space available, and “greatness” has as much to do with the nature of adjacent uses as with aspects of the street itself.
Legend
Laura St, Jacksonville, FL
(Reference link)
Laura Street is ideal in almost every way. Full wall-front of buildings, generally ranging from two-stories to often more than ten. The network is a tight grid, making it easy for Laura Street to function on narrow right-of-way.
See in Street View
Lexington Ave, Asheville, North Carolina
(Reference link)
With only 60 feet of space, 12-foot lanes may be a little wide. However parallel parking is often very narrow, so a good trade might be to restripe for slightly wider parking, and slightly narrower lanes. Though the pedestrian realm is less than ideal, something would have to change to expand it, such as fewer parking spaces in trade for more trees, and furniture. Or a shared vehicle/bike lane instead of a dedicated bike lane. Those can be costly changes, and obviously it’s a Great Street as it is.
See in Street View
Fifth Street, Dayton, Ohio
(Reference link)
This cobblestone street, with no striping on the street, is in the historic Oregon District and alive with action.
See in Street View
Third Street: McMinnville, Oregon
(Reference link)
Another great street, with maximum Complete Street use of a tight space.
See in Street View
Olvera St, Los Angeles, CA
(Reference link)
This pedestrian plaza is full of small semi-portable shops. It is not always clear where private property ends and right-of-way begins. StreetPlan currently lacks icons to truly approximate it, but the organic flavor of the street is nearly impossible to duplicate in any software.
See in Street View
State Street, Santa Barbara, CA
(Reference link)
The pedestrian realm is more than ideal in this case. Bike lanes are less than ideal, however there is no on-street parking, so no fear of doors opening, and adjacent traffic is relatively slow, so biking is comfortable in spite of narrow lanes.
See in Street View
Central Avenue, Hot Springs, AR
(Reference link)
This arterial has two-lanes each direction for traffic, but at 30 mph it is relatively comfortable for bikes to share. Great street trees and a well-utilized setback on one side help make this a truly great street.
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Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C.
(Reference link)
This iconic street linking the White House to the Capitol has a lot of pavement for managing high traffic volumes. But it also has well-buffered bike lanes in the median, great roadside amenities, and many buildings have modest setbacks to accommodate public plazas.
See in Street View
Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, FL
(Reference link)
As the community’s “Living Room,” Clematis Street gets a lot of use for festivals as well as every day commerce. Low speed limits help make it more walkable, along with a lot of color!
See in Street View
Congress Street, Portland, Maine
(Reference link)
While many blocks accommodate substantial density as shown below. Great use of tight space.
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Broadway, New York City
(Reference link)
Broadway traverses about 14-miles, and the cross-section below is fairly typical of much of that space. The wide median accommodates large trees which often alternate from the left side to the right side.
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Main Street, Sag Harbor, NY
(Reference link)
Much of this street is lined with residential and an impressive number of trees. Often there is insufficient room for tree trunks, but the climate has helped trees gain substantial shade canopies in spite of limitations.
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5th and 6th Transit Mall, Portland, OR
(Reference link)
This one-way couplet at the heart of Portland’s economic center has space reserved for rail and bus, as well as access by other modes. Great roadside space allows for impressive uniform trees. Spin the 360-degree Street View to see just how fantastic this couplet really is!
See in Street View
King Street, Charleston, SC
(Reference link)
With a mix of historic and modern 3-4 story buildings, King Street is a two-way street in its wider northern sections, and one-way through its more narrow sections.
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25th Street, Ogden Utah
(Reference link)
With Utah’s famously wide streets, 25th Street is able to accommodate angle parking on both sides. But it also has a fabulous row of store fronts and great pedestrian space.
See in Street View
