Street Design Projects Spring 2015 CE Norman Garrick

Introduction to Projects Each group has a choice of one the following projects: 1.The Streets of Storrs Center Re-envisioned as Shared Spaces 2.Connectivity Plan for the South Storrs Neighborhoods An overview of each project is given in the following slides

The Streets of Storrs Center re-envisioned as Shared Spaces Storrs Center was conceived as a vibrant urban center with streets that should be good for commerce, for living and for all modes of travel - including walking, biking and transit. However, the streets in Storrs Center were largely designed using a systems approach. As such, the design of some of these streets is at variance with how people are actually using them. The purpose of this project is to re-envision these streets as shared spaces. You will assess the current design and function of the various streets in Storrs Center. As part of your assessment, you will need to categorize how the center is being used by various types of users, including shoppers, diners, residents, pedestrians, bikers, motorists and transit. Based on your assessment you will then suggest modification to the design in order to enable the streets to function more as shared spaces and, hopefully, more in concert with how they are actually being used. Finally you will compare the expected performance of the re-designed streets to the performance in the streets as currently configured.

Connectivity Plan for the South Storrs Neighborhoods The neighborhoods in the south of Storrs include The Courtyard at Storrs, Hanks Hill Road, Mansfield Apartments, Storrs Heights, Birchwood Heights, Davis Road, Warren Circle and Spring Hill. Most of these neighborhoods are predominantly residential, but they also have pockets of commercial and retail activities. At present, partly because of the design of Storrs Road south of South Eagleville Road, they feel disconnected from the rest of Storrs, both in a physical and psychological sense, even though much of this area is within a mile radius of the town green in Storrs Center. The purpose of this project is to develop a conceptual plan for Storrs Road in this area, and for the adjacent road network that will serve to extend the pedestrian and bike connections to this part of town. This plan should aim to remove the sense of a divide between this area and Storrs Center and beyond to the University of Connecticut.

South Storrs Neighborhoods

Project Guidelines The project groups should consist of a minimum of four members. Each group will be responsible for a i) project presentation and ii) written report. Each presentation will be 12 minutes long. The written report should be no more than 10 pages, double spaced. The recommendations in the report should be based on best national and international practices. In other words, they should not be limited by what is allowable in existing Mansfield and Connecticut codes. Both of these projects emphasize the importance of skillfully characterizing the existing conditions, including how the streets are currently being used.