81986 urban Design manual for Non-Motorized Transport Friendly neighborhoods Non-Motorized Transport Friendly Neighborhoods Table of Contents I Introduction II Urban Design Concepts for NMT Fridendly Neighborhoods 2.1 Mixed Land Use Neighborhoods 2.2 NMT Supportive Street Design 2.3 Dense NMT Network 2.4 High Quality Pedestrian Experience 2.5 Safe and Convenient Bicycle Facilities 2.6 Provision of High Quality Public Transport Services 2.7 Rationalized Car Use III Wuhan Case Study IV Executive Summary I. INTRODUCTION I. INTRODUCTION China is already the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and transport is the fastest-growing source of these emissions. The International Energy Agency estimates that CO2 emissions from China’s light-duty transport fleet will rise from 65 megatonnes (MT) in 2005 to nearly 300 MT in 2020, an increase of 290 percent. In addition to contributing to global climate change, the rapid adoption of motor vehicles in China is also causing growing urban congestion and air pollution. For the past 20 years, most cities’ response to rapid population, income and car ownership growth has been to invest massively in roads. However, it is now recognized, at both the national and city levels, that this is not a sustainable urban development strategy. Indeed, national level policy makers have begun to shift directions towards promoting public transport and providing safe environments for walking and cycling as way to improve urban accessibility and address local, national and global environmental concerns. Yet, despite this shift at the national level, many municipalities lack the tools, knowledge, and resources to effectively address these issues. This publication aims to bridge that knowledge gap by providing a guide on how to improve non-motorized transport (NMT), i.e. walking and cycling, at the neighborhood scale. The neighborhood is the basic unit of urban development, and as such, in aggregate, neighborhoods’ spatial arrangements and physical forms have a high impact on citywide transport practices. The publication centers on explaining a series of basic urban design concepts and features that make NMT-friendly neighborhoods, and therefore can help improve accessibility, and reduce CO2 emissions and pollution. In a first section, seven basic concepts that make up a NMT-friendly neighborhood are described in a concise manner, and images of how they have been implemented all around the world are provided as examples. On a second section, a case study of applying those concepts on a real neighborhood development project is presented, to showcase the contrast of traditional neighborhood development practices in China and NMT-friendly, low carbon neighborhood development. The intended audience of the publication includes municipal government agencies involved in urban planning, as well as private real-estate developers. Its purpose is to familiarize those directly involved with neighborhood development with concepts pertaining their practice that are not in the mainstream at a time when Chinese cities are expanding at such a fast pace. Ideally, this publication will start a conversation on re-conceiving Chinese neighborhood development in the coming decades towards more sustainable practices. Acknowledgements: This report was prepared for and under the guidance of the World Bank Senior Urban Transport Specialist, Mr. Ke Fang, by ITDP China, the China office of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy and World Bank Task Team. 6 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods I. INTRODUCTION Purpose of the Guidelines Key elements of a successful NMT-friendly neighborhood. Purpose The purpose of the guildeines is to: 1) Clearly communicate the NMT-friendly neighborhood concept including objectives, components, and the role of the neighborhood in the region. 2) Provide guidance and inspiration on developing NMT-friendly neighborhood plans and incorporating the NMT-friendly objectives into other planning activities (e.g., official plans, secondary plans, residential development urban design). 3) Become a tool and resource for local government, real estate developers, planners, designers, consultants, community organizations, and other public or private agencies. 4) Serve as a key source of direction for real estate developers when undertaking residential development efforts or when renovating existing neighborhoods, or for public agencies when reviewing third party plans and proposals for community development. Even though the scale and context of this material is focused on neighborhoods, this document can also be used beyond the planning and implementation of NMT-friendly neighborhoods, in planning for other areas in a NMT-friendly manner. Intended Audience The primary audience for these guidelines includes government staff, municipal land use and transportation planners, major community institutions, consultants, designers, and other agencies that engage in land use and transportation planning activities. The guidelines are also intended to serve as guide for private developers who are planning, developing, and investing in any of the neighborhoods. In addition, these guidelines will serve as a key source of direction for real estate developers when undertaking residential development efforts or when renovating existing neighborhoods. They will also serve as a tool for public agencies (both municipalities and community) when reviewing third party plans and proposals for NMT-friendly neighborhoods. The ultimate goal is that all planning activities and residential development projects will help realize the direction of NMT-friendly to develop sustainable and livable communities. NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 7 II. URBAN DESIGN CONCEPTS FOR NMT FRIEND- LY NEIGHBORHOODS 2.1 Mixed Land Use Neighborhoods 2.2 NMT Supportive Street Design 2.3 Dense NMT Network 2.4 High Quality Pedestrian Experience 2.5 Safe and Convenient Bicycle Facilities 2.6 Provision of High Quality Public Transport Services 2.7 Rationalized Car Use II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES 2.1 Mixed Land Use Neighborhoods CU RRE NT I S S U ES : DES IGN CONCEPTS: Most neighborhoods in China still tend to be single-use • Mixed land use and compact neighborhoods • “Horizontally”, continuous active frontages should only for residential, especially new development. help reduce travel distance to jobs, services, and be created along interior and exterior main streets entertainment, thus facilitating travel by walking or whenever possible, offering a wide variety of cycling, and minimizing dependency on motorized functions and amenities. travel. • “Vertically”, land use mix is achieved by combining • Restaurants, shops, and other public amenities commercial functions at the ground level, and within a neighborhood generate a vibrant local office and residential uses in the higher levels. street life, making NMT travel more attractive and safer. 10 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES International Good Practice China-Guangzhou-Jiangnan Xincun Neighborhood source: ITDP Mixed land use is a prominent feature of Jiangnan Xincun neighborhood in Guangzhou. Ground floors are open to mixed use, such as retails, healthcare facilities, restaurants, community service, etc. NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 11 II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES 2.2 NMT Supportive Street Design CU RRE NT I S S U ES : DES IGN CONCEPTS: Street design in China is still car-oriented, pedestrians • Neighborhood streets should provide specialized • Setting speed limits for motorized traffic will ensure and cyclists do not have a safe environment. high quality facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. safe walking and cycling environments. Suggested • Cross sections should effectively separate motor speed limits for main streets are 20-30 km/h and vehicle lanes, from bicycle lanes and sidewalks. for interior streets 10 km/h Additional elements, like raised curbs or bollards, • At intersections, turning radius should be reduced to protect NMT facilities from invasion of motor to slow motorized traffic. Clearly marked crossings vehicle traffic, are encouraged. for pedestrians and cyclists, with refuge islands in • NMT facilities should allow for continuity and ease the middle, are important elements. of movement. 12 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES International Good Practice USA-New York City-NMT street source: ITDP Streets in New York City offer specialized facilities for NMT. Before After NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 13 II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES 2.3 Dense NMT Network CU RRE NT I S S U ES : DES IGN CONCEPTS: China is growing towards a mega-block urbanism. • A dense NMT network comprised by high quality • Specialized NMT facilities providing shortcuts Highways and wide main streets become pedestrian NMT facilities along neighborhood streets, through buildings, shopping areas and public barriers. bicycle and pedestrian paths, alleyways and other spaces, are encouraged. shortcuts, allows for high NMT accessibility. • Safe NMT crossings of streets should be provided • Smaller blocks of only 80 to 100 m in frontage every 50 to 100 meters. should be encouraged. 14 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES International Good Practice Spain-Barcelona-Grid Block Barcelona offers a dense network of streets and alleys that promotes NMT. NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 15 II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES 2.4 High Quality Pedestrian Experience CU RRE NT I S S U ES : DES IGN CONCEPTS: Pedestrians are not given enough priorities in the mixed • A high quality pedestrian experience is the hallmark • In addition, public spaces of varying sizes and types, traffic flow in China. of a truly NMT friendly neighborhood. ranging from small plazas and pockets of greenery, • A dense network of generous sidewalks and to large squares, parks and greenways, should be additional pedestrian paths should provide for strategically located through the neighborhood. efficient, safe and comfortable walking. The pedestrian experience should be enhanced with landscaping, street furniture and any necessary special provisions (e.g. to deal with weather conditions). 16 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES International Good Practice Singapore-Walkable City High quality pedestrian amenities make Singapore a walkable city. NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 17 II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES 2.5 Safe and Convenient Bicycle Facilities CU RRE NT I S S U ES : DES IGN CONCEPTS: Bicycle lanes are not well designed. There is a lack of • Bicycle facilities are comprised by bicycle lanes, • A shared bicycle system, with docking stations bicycle facilities and adequate management. bicycle paths and parking, that act together within 500 meter or less from any point in the to ensure accessibility by bicycle of the whole neighborhood, is also suggested to promote bicycle neighborhood. travel. • Special attention must be given to protecting the safety of bicyclists in potential points of conflict with motorized vehicle traffic. 18 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES International Good Practice Denmark-Copenhagen-Bike City Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world. NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 19 II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES 2.6 Provision of High Quality Public Transport Services CU RRE NT I S S U ES : DES IGN CONCEPTS: Newly-developed residential neighborhoods are often • Public transport services should be the primary • All points in the neighborhood should be within 500 under-served by public transport. Existing bus lines source of motorized mobility for neighborhood meters or less of a bus stop or a mass transit station. are sometimes too crowded and have a low quality of residents and those visiting. The neighborhood Services will be frequent, reliable, and available from service. should be serviced by a mass transit system (metro very early in the morning until very late at night. or BRT) providing efficient access to other areas of Information platforms are encouraged. the city. Local buses will service motorized travel • NMT facilities should lead in a seamless way into demand within the neighborhood. bus stops or mass transit stations. Sufficient parking facilities for bicycles will be available at these locations. 20 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES International Good Practice USA-Portland-Downtown The widespread availability of high quality public transport throughout Portland allows for NMT-friendly neighborhoods. NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 21 II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES 2.7 Rationalized Car Use CU RRE NT I S S U ES : DES IGN CONCEPTS: Traffic volume in China is still growing at a fast pace due • An NMT friendly neighborhood promotes a more • S e t b a c k p a r k i n g a n d o n s t r e e t p a r k i n g a r e to the lack of car ownership and parking control. Parking rational use of the cars, i.e. more sustainable modes discouraged. Instead, parking is provided primarily is sometimes disruptive for NMT. of transport like NMT and public transport are in strategically located parking lots and in perimeter promoted to fulfill most travel needs, but it is also areas. understood that cars are best suited for certain travel demands. • Car share systems are an efficient way to make car mobility available for residents, while rendering car • Parking supply is limited-vis-à-vis traditional ownership less necessary. n e i g h b o r h o o d s - a n d rat i o n a l i ze d v i a p r i c i n g mechanisms that, at minimum, reflect the full cost of their provision. 22 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods II. URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES International Good Practice UK-London-Parking Control London's parking control policy has greatly reduced street traffic and congestion. Before setting up meters After setting up meters After raising parking fee NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 23 III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 3.1 Project Background 3.2 Current Situation Overview 3.3 NMT-Friendly Community Design 3.4 Outcomes and Impacts III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 3.1 Project Background This section presents the results of a study commissioned by the World Bank China Office, with funds from a Swiss Embassy grant to China in support of low carbon development in Chinese cities. The study was carried out by a team of consultants from the China Office of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. It looks at current plans for the development of the Zhongyang Huacheng neighborhood, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, to then provide strategic advice on how to build an NMT friendly and low carbon neighborhood. Overall, it is a case study of how the concepts described in the previous section can be incorporated in to a specific neighborhood development project in China. DES IGN PRINCIP L ES 1. Mixed Land Use Neighborhoods 2. NMT Supportive Street Design 3. Dense NMT Network 4. High Quality Pedestrian Experience 5. Safe and Convenient Bicycle Facilities 6. Provision of High Quality Public Transport Services 7. Rationalized Car Use 26 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 3.2 Current Situation Overview Zhongyang Huacheng is located in Wuhan Houhu New Town area and borders with Jinqiao Avenue (on the east), Jinnan Avenue (on the south), Tazi Hu East road (on the west) and Jinnan San Road (on the north). The land is currently not developed, but mostly ready for construction. Construction on the western part of the area, which will be the first construction in Zhongyang Huacheng, will start soon. PROJEC T PR A MMING NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 27 III. WUHAN CASE STUDY Zhongyang Huacheng, current site Fi g ures on Zhong yang Huacheng are shown below Size of development 0.9931 km2 Built surface 1,508,600 m2 Floor Area Ratio (FAR) 2.23 Number of residential units 8,576 Zhongyang Huacheng Future population 35,000 current site Residential density 352 people/hectare 9,500 according to World Bank Parking spaces 21,627 according to Hongda developer Distance to city center 7 km Start of construction 2011 Zhongyang Huacheng location overview (Source: Background for Wuhan Low Carbon City Project, Identification Meeting note, 17 March 2011) Completion of development 2019-2021 28 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods III. WUHAN CASE STUDY INIT IAL ASSESS MENT OF PROJ EC T PLA N The following table presents the main features of Zhongyang Huacheng’s design and the project’s team assessment of the way in which they would impact building an NMT friendly and low carbon neighborhood after an initial visit. Further elaboration on these concepts was carried out as the project went along and is presented in subsequent chapters ITEM DESCRIPTION CALCULATION, COMMENT ITEM DESCRIPTION CALCULATION, COMMENT Energy need to understand where this rates, and 65% of traditional development roads forming perimeter of target is it possible? superblocks Time ROW size is OK; however we need to understand 8-10 years · 20m ROW and perhaps attempt to reduce the required frame setback of 15m. Not only does this double · 30m ROW the width of the “enclosure”, but its use and 35,000 regulation. We also want to ensure that the Residents Cross- · 40m ROW setback area would not be used for parking at 8576 households sections some later date. setback 15m – used for landscaping, parking, exercise, etc. In some designs bike lanes should be moved land area is 100 ha = 1.0 km2 = 1,000,000 m2 2 1,500,000 m in 16 ha roughly equals a series of from the sidewalk to the road 10 storey buildings There are also 60m ROW roads, but · 16 ha building these are away from site. Size need to evaluate building percentage, as 16% · 84 ha street and open space might leave a lot of blank areas the designs seem to be the usual. Attention building area is 1,500,000 m2 needs to be paid to narrowing the curb radii, designs were shown, though not providing refuge islands and putting in bike lanes. much detail was provided Intersections Dimensions roughly 600 x 2500m a linear shape is good for transit Also there are some non-rectilinear junctions which are problematic size is better than other area(could (could · 30 km/h on 20m ROW Generally OK. Perhaps the speed limits should 200 x 300 m-300x500m be smaller) vary by building & land use context, see below. Super block · 30 km/h on 30m ROW Traffic calming measures need to be included to Speed limits size private streets within need to understand through NMT traffic & ensure these speeds, especially on the smaller · 50 km/h on 40m ROW roads. midblock crosswalks crossings should be more on the order of every every 350m – national standard quantity fixed by WPB. 50-150m. Current designs include too few (non-binding guideline) need to assess vis-à-vis transit, walking Crosswalks crosswalks. 2 land uses within 200m blocks open, routes, cycling routes 11300/8576 = 1.3 spaces per household. This is Land use except for schools, hospitals, etc. 11,300 spaces – fixed by WPB far too much. need to get in contact with developers on ground floor land use (important to the land use plans for ground floor space mostly underground, so they must construction is of concern as people are more activate street life) is up to developers be constructed first Parking likely to drive if parking is available pricing fixed by WPB need to understand pricing In general this is OK, but we might need Street red lines of road fixed by WPB additional bike/pedestrian paths to need to ensure that residents can access the network connect to transit. 2 lines(line 3 and line 8) nearby metro easily and conveniently, not by car. Metro site, 1 being built Because distances are not long, a public bike system is also a good option 1 depot adjacent to site, 2 depots nearby site. Bus companies will need to ensure that bus service is provided when not begin service until demand is the first residents move in Bus shown. NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 29 III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 3.3 NMT-Friendly Community Design 1 Densify the walking and cycling network Roads should be designed to carry a large number of trips, · Efficient routes through ‘public green’ or open spaces, that not a large number of car trips. By adding small roads through are currently not planned the blocks, the capacity and convenience of the road network · Passages through buildings into block interiors is increased, benefiting pedestrians, cyclists, car drivers and · Mid-block street crossings passengers on public transport. · Paths along water edges The suggested extra pedestrian/cycling paths in the figure below should be open for anyone to use, not only the residents These are especially critical when they shorten the route to in that block. transit stations. Suggested NMT paths, not open to motorized traffic, are shown in the figure below on the left. Combined with Apart from bike lanes on the planned roads, four types of bike lanes on the normal roads, the suggested NMT-network for connections for public NMT access are essential: Zhongyang Huacheng is presented in the figure below on the right. Suggested extra NMT paths, based on the urban lay-out of Zhongyang Huacheng Suggested NMT network for Zhongyang Huacheng 30 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 2 High-standard NMT network design Cross-section design Intersection and crossing designs In the current cross-section designs for Zhongyang Huacheng car traffic, bicycles and pedestrians are not separated well. Especially on When properly designed, the NMT network will be heavily used. At the larger roads, where traffic volumes and speeds are high, this is essential to ensure safe and convenient walking and cycling. Good intersections it is important to reduce the turning radius for mixed separation can be achieved by adding trees, plants, curbs or bollards between the different modes of traffic. It is recommended to change traffic (which slows down traffic). Moreover clearly marked crossings the cross-section design to deal with this issue before construction of these roads starts. for pedestrians and cyclists, with refuge islands in the middle, are Below some suggested road-section improvements are presented. necessary at intersections. One example is the use of bike boxes to increase safety for cyclists at intersections. The project team  could not  obtain the planned drawings for the intersections, because local agencies and design institutes refused to provide them. The team therefore  could only work with pictures taken during presentations of the design institutes. Based on  this  intersection planning, the project team provided recommendations for different types of intersections. These include large roads intersecting, large and small roads intersecting and small roads intersecting. One example is shown in the drawing below, Proposed cross-section design for the elevated road (currently under construction) on Jinqiao Avenue explaining the details of the design. Proposed cross-section design for regular section of Jinqiao Avenue Proposed cross-section design for Jinnan Avenue, the proposed future BRT corridor Suggested design for Jinnan Avenue – Jinnan 1 Road intersection NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 31 III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 3 Implementation of greenways The Zhongyang Huacheng area is rich in green space and Below is an overview of the proposed greenways. Jinnan road waterways. In the current plans, the small canals are often and the canals in Zhongyang Huacheng form the backbone of disconnected by roads and buildings. Because of its natural this network. The greenway can be implemented simultaneously beauty, it is recommended to construct continuous greenways with the construction of the roads and canals. along these waterways. It is important for these greenways to Wuhan has developed a greenway network planning. Connecting the block intrusions by motorized traffic, and to ensure connectivity, greenways in Zhongyang Huacheng with the greenways in the rest especially through intersections. A good connection with normal of the city will ensure a better connection between Zhongyang roads and residential and commercial areas is also necessary in Huacheng and the citywide network. order to form a useable network. Suggested greenway section Suggested waterfront greenway Suggested extra NMT paths, based on the urban lay-out of Zhongyang Huacheng 32 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 4 Mixed land use It is recommended that the Wuhan Urban Investment Bureau The built surface requirements are set by Wuhan’s Planning develops mixed-use areas near transit stations (especially Bureau. The land use within the blocks is not set though and metro and BRT) and commercial areas. Suggested locations are can be decided by the developer. It is recommended to develop shown in yellow in the picture below. Both interior and exterior these into mixed use areas. Commercial functions (shops, cafes, main streets should also have continuous active frontages restaurants) on the ground-floor increases the livability of the wherever possible. This will help ensure both mixed use and area. A vibrant community can be created in which people fill sufficient vitality to attract people to walk rather than drive. the streets at any time of the day and people’s need to travel ‘Dead’ uses such as banks and offices should not be permitted long distances is lower. to take up major portions of the streetfront. Zhongyang Huacheng’s land use planning Source: Principles for Transportation in Urban Life, ITDP, 2011 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 33 III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 5 High quality public transport service High quality public transport is necessary to build Zhongyang The current bus routes reach the perimeters of Zhongyang Huacheng into a low-carbon district. The area is close to two Huacheng, but convenient access to and from the center of the metro stations. Zhongyang Huacheng currently has 10 bus area is not provided by these routes (see graph below). The routes in the vicinity of the development. Unfortunately large Zhongyang Huacheng center area is at least 1km in walking parts of the city are not accessible from these bus routes. More distance to bus stops from most current bus routes. routes need to be added before the opening of Zhongyang Further analysis is needed, but it can be seen that relatively Huacheng in order to improve accessibility by bus to more of minor route modifications could bring several bus routes onto the major destinations in the city. An overview of the current the interior roads of Zhongyang Huacheng, providing more bus lines is shown in the figure below. convenient transit access for these residents. Bus routes passing within 1km of Zhongyang Huacheng Bus routes near Zhongyang Huacheng (zoomed in) 34 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods III. WUHAN CASE STUDY Even with bus routes closer to the development, though, most residents will still need to walk at least 300m to reach a bus stop, and more to reach metro stations. For this reason, a supplementary bike sharing system is needed, with stations at the bus stops (and future metro and BRT stations), and at distances of 300m-400m away. The public bike system is described further below. For Jinnan road a future Bus Rapid Transit corridor is suggested. This BRT can be a high-quality, high speed bus system with bus-only lanes and bus stations in the median of the road. This BRT corridor can be extended into the city, to provide high-quality and fast public transport access to other parts of Wuhan. The existing electricity pylons on Jinnan road then need to be moved underground. An initial possibility with stations of this BRT is shown in the figure below. Much more analysis on the planning of this BRT system needs to be done in follow-up studies. Possible BRT stations NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 35 III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 6 Bike parking Throughout Zhongyang Huacheng bike parking needs to be provided. Safe bike parking is needed to encourage people to use a bicycle. Bike parking should especially be provided at residential buildings, commercial areas and transit stations, and the size needs to be dimensioned based on the demand of those locations. The graph below shows suggested bike parking locations. Suggested bike parking locations 36 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 7 Public bicycle As shown earlier, metro stations and many bus routes run along the perimeter of Zhongyang Huacheng, resulting in poor access for some residents in the central parts of the development. A public bike system can help provide access to and from the metro stations and bus stops, and other main points around the development. The public bike stations need to be located at origins and destinations, including bus stops, metro stations, commercial, residential areas and recreational facilities. The public bike stations can be combined with private bike parking stations. The distance between public bike stations should be around 400 meters. A map of proposed public bike stations (green dots) is shown below. Suggested public bike stations and their coverage area NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 37 III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 8 Parking policy The stated low-carbon goals of Zhongyang Huacheng are Off-street parking contradicted by the excessive supply of parking places. The This exceptionally high number of parking places will existing regulations require the developer to build 21,627 off- have numerous negative effects. When parking is provided street parking places; a figure which does not even include everywhere, probably at no or very little cost, this will make setback parking. Given the projection of 8576 households driving easy and convenient relative to walking, cycling and in the area, this means an average of 2.5 parking spaces per public transport, and will ensure high car use and a high car household. This is very high, by any standard and unless this is mode share. The oversupply of parking spaces is also very changed it will be impossible for Zhongyang Huacheng to meet expensive for the developer, who in turn will need to charge any low carbon development goals. And note that this does not these extra costs to future residents. This will make the even include setback parking, which the Planning Bureau said is development unnecessarily expensive and less attractive to actively encouraged in Wuhan. potential buyers of apartments. The developer and the Planning Bureau need to work together to lower the required parking number (for Zhongyang Huacheng, but also the rest of Wuhan) and to set a maximum, rather than a minimum number of parking places for their developments. Another important issue to address is setback parking. The Photo from Zhongyang Huacheng area Municipal Planning document, current Wuhan setback regulations, laid down in the Wuhan viewed August 2011. City Building Planning and Management Regulations, state that Translation of the latter part: “According to the Wuhan build- developers need to reserve between 3 and 15 meters of setback. ing parking standard,the area needs to build 11,218 parking The use of setbacks is not specified and is up to the developer. spaces, and in planning the area design includes 21,627 park- Currently in other parts of Wuhan, setbacks are used for parking. ing spaces, so it can meet Wuhan current parking standard.” During meetings the Wuhan’s Planning Bureau told the project team it actively encourages developers to use setbacks for The existing plan includes an excessive supply of parking spaces parking. Setback parking has a corrosive effect on the pedestrian that will ensure low carbon development goals cannot be met. environment. To reach setback parking, cars cross the sidewalk and make walking unsafe and inconvenient. Often setback parking effectively completely blocks the sidewalk. Moreover the shopping environment degrades, since shops become less accessible and less visible, and streets and public spaces become car parking lots. 38 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 9 Speed Limit In some Chinese cities, like Guangzhou, the Planning Bureau In order to have safe walking and cycling environments, the has specified allowable uses for setbacks. The uses are speed of motorized traffic needs to be limited. The right restricted to walking space, public space or public green (trees, speed limit is related to the type of road: the recommended plants, flowers) and parking is no longer allowed. The project speed limits are shown in the table below (left: Wuhan team recommends the same policy for Zhongyang Huacheng Planning Bureau’s recommendations, right: project team’s (and Wuhan in general). recommendations). On-street parking It is important to control on-street parking in Zhongyang Huacheng in order to keep sidewalks, bike lanes and streets orderly, safe and convenient to use. Parking should preferably be done off-street, in parking lots in perimeter areas, so streets stay free and attractive for others to use. But on-street parking could be useful in commercial streets, for short term parking with a maximum of three hours. Prices for on-street parking should always be more expensive than off-street, in order to encourage drivers to park away from the street. The price should be set (and updated) based on 85% occupancy of the International experience shows speed limits are not only parking spaces. This way the price is fair and there is always a related to the width of the road but also to the land use around place to park. More details about the recommended on-street these roads. Enforcement of the speed limit is not always easy. parking system are provided in the full report. By constructing speed bumps, speed tables and narrow road sections, speeds can be enforced automatically and don’t need Traffic Police assistance. NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 39 III. WUHAN CASE STUDY 3.4 Outcomes and Impacts CA RBON IMPAC T Zhongyang Huacheng is not yet developed, so traffic data are lacking. Instead a comparative analysis was made to predict the future modal split in Zhongyang Huacheng. The CO2 emissions were calculated for different scenarios. Results are shown in the table below for (1) the original plan, (2) a scenario with a high mode shift from car to walking and cycling and (3) a scenario with a high mode shift from car to public transport. The CO2 savings presented in the second and third model are saving compared to the original plan. Because the real mode shift will partly happen to walking and cycling and partly to public transport, the actual carbon savings from this plan will be between 69% and 79%. Model CO 2 consumption / CO2 savings (%) tCO2 emission/year person/day kg 1. Original plan 30,098 2.356 2. high mode shift to 6,282 0.492 79% walking/cycling 3. high mode shift to 9,402 0.736 69% public transport 40 NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods III. WUHAN CASE STUDY I N V EST ME NT IM PAC T Because nothing has been constructed yet in Zhongyang Huacheng, changing the existing plan will not incur extra costs. Reducing the parking standards by at least 5000 spaces will save 1.6 billion RMB (see full report for calculations). To improve NMT facilities some extra costs need to be made though. Based on Guangzhou’s data, these costs are minimal. The construction of the NMT and greenway network will increase costs by around 5 million RMB. A public bike system consisting of 1,000 bikes would cost roughly 8,000 RMB per bike to set up, or around 8 million RMB. This is based on the highest quality public bike system in China, provided by the Foshan Tianzhen company. It includes bikes, docks, and booking/information poles and associated technologies. There is an additional cost of 80 RMB per bike per year. This cost does not include replacement of the bikes ,which have a 5 year warranty. Bike parking places cost another 800,000 RMB. NMT-Friendly Neighborhoods 41 IV. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Design principles: 1. Mixed Land Use Neighborhoods 2. NMT Supportive Street Design 3. Dense NMT Network 4. High Quality Pedestrian Experience 5. Safe and Convenient Bicycle Facilities 6. Provision of High Quality Public Transport Services 7. Rationalized Car Use Non-Motorized Transport Friendly NeighborhoodS