The sprawling nature of land development patterns in the U.S. often leaves cities and regions with a lack of safe pedestrian walkways and a lack of overall connectivity. Greenways Incorporated works with communities to develop comprehensive pedestrian transportation plans. We provide strategies for bridging gaps in sidewalk and greenway infrastructure and strengthen local land development policies to meet the needs of pedestrians.
Most recently, we have worked with several communities across the State of North Carolina as part of the NCDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative. Our work on the Holly Springs Pedestrian Transportation Plan is featured as a model for a well-prepared plan on the NCDOT’s website.
As we begin our planning efforts in each community, we complete a thorough evaluation of existing conditions. We examine in detail the community's landscapes and roadways. Many communities do not have a mapped GIS layer of existing pedestrian facilities. We provide Global Positioning Systems (GPS) services to accurately map all sidewalks and greenways. In the field, we take measurements and use digital photography to inventory site conditions. We also research and integrate previous and ongoing planning efforts within and outside our study area to ensure integration and compatibility between documents.
Our pedestrian network recommendations include new sidewalks, existing sidewalk improvements, intersection improvements, and off-road greenways. Through public involvement, steering committee input, GIS mapping, and fieldwork, we determine the most important pedestrian corridors within a community. We also examine the existing pedestrian conditions of significant intersections and provide recommendations for improvements such as marked crosswalks, pedestrian-activated signals, and traffic-calming techniques.
In order to determine priority pedestrian developments, we generate prioritization matrices that rank sidewalk and greenway segments. Rankings are based on such criteria as proximity to schools, proximity to Downtown, and public input. These criteria may be customized for each community and weighted to reflect expressed local needs and priorities.
Our pedestrian plans also include programming recommendations, funding sources, cost estimates, and design guidelines. Programming recommendations include Safe Routes to School, Walking School Buses, National Trails Day, and pedestrian safety education. We keep an updated funding database for pedestrian improvements that is comprehensive and user-friendly for our clients. We derive cost estimates for all our recommended pedestrian improvements (by segment) using the latest construction costs. Finally, we develop design guidelines that meet national standards and recommendations but also provide additional materials such as landscaping, aesthetic improvements, stormwater management, and photo renderings.
