Planning and Design
Guidelines for Small Transit Agencies (2002-2004)
Ms. Amy Datz, Program
Manager, Public Transit Office, Florida Department of Transportation, 850-414-4539
FSU’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning produced for the
Public Transit Office at FDOT the handbook, Accessing
Transit: Design Guidelines for Florida’s Transit Agencies. This document,
prepared by Professors Harrison Higgins and Ivonne
Audirac and graduate research assistants from the Florida Planning and
Development Lab, provides advice on designing bus passenger facilities, siting them, accommodating different operational plans, and
providing for transit- and pedestrian-friendly design both within the roadway
and adjacent to it.
“Accessing Transit” deals with urban design, transit
planning, transit operations, capital improvements, roadway design, the
principles of sustainable development and construction, land use and
interagency cooperation. It also
provides a comprehensive annotated bibliography and literature review of
bus-passenger-facility planning, siting and design.
The literature covers a variety of topics including pedestrian and bicycle
access, transit facility design guidelines, transit oriented development and
funding and marketing of bus transit.
(The following text is taken from the manual)
The
handbook is divided into four chapters:
1. Curb-Side Guidelines
This
chapter presents guidelines for improving the accessibility to buses and bus
mobility in the right of way. It is
appropriate information for transit planners, for transit agency officials
involved in shelter siting and advertising programs,
and for transportation and civil engineers and architects who provide for bus
passenger facility site layouts and circulation in the right of way and on
private property.
2. Streetside
Guidelines for Bus Passenger Facility Elements
This
chapter presents guidelines for improving the bus passenger experience at the
street level including the configuration of bus stops and the coordination of
bus stop elements like seating and shelter, way finding, safety and security,
connections to pedestrian and bicycle circulation, landscaping, and the design
of bus stops. It is appropriate information for transit planners,
transportation and civil engineers and architects who provide for bus passenger
facility site layout and circulation in the right of way and on private
property. Developers responsible for initial site selections, programming and
project development, and agency staff involved with local jurisdictions who
review such proposals to ensure transit needs are being met are also a
prospective audience for this chapter.
Individual property owners already accommodating transit and wishing to
improve conditions on their site will also find this chapter useful.
3. Facility Prototypes
Bus
passenger facilities meet different operational and passenger needs, come in an
array of sizes, and are located on both private and public land. Yet all facilities share the important
function of providing access to and from the bus transit network and to and
from other modes of transportation. This
section provides prototypical designs of bus passenger facilities in
development contexts that are typical for
- On-line Bus Stops
- Primary Stops
- Transit Malls
- Transfer Centers
- Park-and-Rides
Each
type of facility is accompanied by development guidelines for location,
required site areas, pedestrian connections and connections to other modes of
transportation, and an inventory of the individual design elements that are
combined to create that facility.
This
chapter also contains appropriate information for transit planners,
transportation and civil engineers, and architects who provide for bus
passenger facility site layouts and circulation in the right of way and on
private property. Developers responsible for initial site selections,
programming and project development, and agency staff involved in local
jurisdictions who review such proposals to ensure transit needs are being met
are also the prospective audience for this chapter. Individual property owners already
accommodating transit and wishing to improve conditions on their site will also
find this chapter useful.
4. Land Use Guidelines
This
chapter describes methods for creating transit supportive development.
Different examples are provided for typical types of development and
development standards supportive of transit and a multi-modal transportation
network are provided. This chapter is appropriate for elected officials, land
use planners, growth management planners and transit planners as a reminder of
key issues and relationship between different disciplines that will result in a
stronger transit environment.