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Downtown streetscape precedents: (Left) Multiple
street-level storefronts with signs help distinghish
downtown as a special place. (Right) Recessed
entries welcome without interrupting the continuity
of street frontage
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• Site Planning
• Streetscape
• Building Design
• Public Amenities
Streetscape
The character of its public spaces determines a downtown’s vitality.
New and old
buildings, through their location and orientation to sidewalks and other spaces,
shape outdoor space. Streets play an especially important role as public spaces;
accommodating public use at ground level along downtown streets is critical to
creating a socially and visually stimulating downtown. Street-level façades and
streetscape amenities offer the greatest opportunity to support pedestrian activity.
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 Create retail nodes. |
Streetscape Guidelines
1. Locate and orient buildings to defi ne public
streets and civic spaces. Cluster stores to create
nodes of activity, such as around key intersections,
to counteract the powerful economic forces that are
drawing away downtown customers.
2. Design and situate streetscape elements including
lights, trees, and building elements such as signs and
awnings to reflect the location and scale of
adjacent streets, buildings, and uses.
3. Coordinate lighting fixture design with other street
amenities to create a unified downtown identity.
Streetscape elements in the downtown core should
be civic in design and function, to communicate
downtown’s important role in the public life of the
region.
4. To help make Third and Main the region’s main
streets, new development proposals must bring
activity to these streets. Take the indoors outdoors
by spilling interior space and uses, such as dining
areas, onto sidewalks and plazas, and bring the
outdoors into buildings by opening interior spaces
to views of street life. Be sure to maintain sufficient
clear space to allow side-by-side passage of two
pedestrians along the sidewalk.
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