New residential developments in Queensland must be walkable and encourage physical activity. Specific legislation requires among other conditions, connectivity, footpaths and street trees. Blocks must be no longer than 250 metres and residents must be within 400 metres of a park or open space. To help with planning walkable neighbourhoods there’s a guide.
The Street Design Manual for Walkable Neighbourhoods supports the Government’s policy. And Walkable, should also mean Wheelable. The manual is designed to help engineers, designers and planners to design more walkable and liveable residential areas. The Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia prepared the guide in conjunction with the Queensland Government,
The guide covers open space, lot design, street design, active travel, public transport, landscaping and much more. At 160 pages is it comprehensive. There is a brief mention of people using mobility devices, children, older people, and parents with strollers.
These street and road design guides divides pedestrians into types of users according to their assumed demands. This implies that different people use different streets for different reasons. For example, only consider children in school locations. But children can be present on any street, and older people take children to school.
Practice Notes
Real life examples are included in a set of practice notes. They cover:
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- Walkable and Legible Neighbourhoods
- Increasing Trees
- Contemporary Lot Topologies
- Designing for Small Lots
- Rear Lane Design
- Design for Cyclists
- Building a Street Cross Section
- Traffic Volume