Understanding Livable Streets in the Context of the Arterials that Surround Them

Abstract

Not long after the advent of cars, a conflict between traffic and residential livability arose. The typical response pushed traffic off residential streets and onto nearby major roads. This line of thinking evolved into a hierarchical approach to the street networks and arterial roads designed to carry the majority of vehicle traffic. With many researchers identifying traffic on residential streets to be an underlying issue behind poor livability, this solution makes sense. However, is the relationship between residential livability and traffic moderated by the character of the nearby arterial road? By use of a residential study in Denver, Colorado, 10 arterials were partitioned along two dimensions: high and low traffic and high and low design quality. Comparable residential roads within the surrounding neighborhoods were selected to fit descriptions of heavy, moderate, and light traffic, and 723 residents were surveyed. The results suggest that the surrounding street network—in particular, the character of the nearby arterial road—influences the livability of residential areas on the adjacent streets according to a number of livability measures. When income was controlled for, both high levels of traffic and low levels of urban design on the arterial were found to detract from livability in the surrounding neighborhoods, sometimes more so than the residential street traffic itself. This finding should not be taken as a call to shift traffic onto residential streets. Rather, planners and engineers need to take a broader perspective and consider the whole network to understand livability. Livable residential streets can be only part of the solution; more livable arterials are also needed.