A Common Sense Approach to Street Design

Kimley-Horn professionals Nick Beckman, P.E., Jake Gutekunst, P.E., and Farwa Sultan, P.E. discuss the shift towards flexible and performance-based street design in transportation agencies, emphasizing the importance of maximizing budgets while achieving desired outcomes. Performance-based design evaluates each project based on its specific needs and surroundings, rather than rigidly following design manual requirements. This approach allows agencies to maintain flexibility in their design standards and budgets, making it particularly useful in urban areas and retrofit environments where traditional design may not be suitable.

Several factors are motivating this shift, including rising costs, limited resources, and the Vision Zero initiative, which focuses on reducing transportation-related deaths. Flexible design can help deliver projects more rapidly in growing regions while meeting budget constraints. Anticipated changes in design standards include the emphasis on context areas and performance-based metrics in upcoming editions of design manuals, such as the AASHTO Green Book. Practical applications of performance-based design include retrofits, asset management, performance assessments, and policy evaluations. Overall, performance-based design provides agencies and cities with the flexibility to optimize their design standards and budgets while achieving their desired goals.