Comfort, Safety, Delight & Aesthetics: An Evaluation of S Henderson Street’s Pedestrian Realm

Abstract

What defines a successful, multimodal street? What elements must be incorporated into street design to provide those using non-motorized methods of transportation with a comfortable, safe, delightful, and aesthetically pleasing street experience? Today’s public officials and urban planners are increasingly focused on creating urban street environments that are safe and welcoming for people using all forms of transportation – not just for those in automobiles. At the heart of this planning mindset is the “Complete Streets” movement, which rose to prominence in the early 21st century. Complete Streets are designed to serve pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and drivers, while also considering the needs of people with disabilities, children, and the elderly. However, the Complete Streets movement focuses mostly on balancing the equity needs of user mobility, while neglecting other elements of street design. This study addresses how urban design techniques can be harnessed to create a more comfortable, safer, enjoyable, and aesthetically pleasing pedestrian realm on S Henderson Street in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood. The first step in this exploratory sequential research study was to conduct several unstructured interviews with Rainier Beach residents and Seattle Department of Transportation employees to gain a better understanding of how they think the street is currently functioning and to understand what the City of Seattle has done and plans to do to improve it. Next, I identified assessment measures to evaluate how well S Henderson Street’s pedestrian right-of-way is currently functioning. Two sets of assessment measures were identified: 1) Jan Gehl’s “12 Quality Criteria” from his book Cities for People, and 2) three criteria from Schulze + Grassov’s “Parameters for Public Spaces in Copenhagen” manual. I used the 15 criteria to evaluate each pedestrian right-of-way block as “good,” “average,” or “poor.” Once I evaluated S Henderson Street using all 15 criteria, I converted it to a numerical format (poor=1; average=2; good=3). Collectively, S Henderson scored just below average (1.77), meaning the street is not performing well for pedestrians. From this initial exploration, I used relevant literature, the 2012 Rainier Beach Neighborhood Plan Update, and my current conditions scoring to analyze and add to the neighborhood’s design visions for S Henderson Street. Recommendations included intersection redesigns and improvements, additional seating, sidewalk repairs, green street upgrades, and branding opportunities for the community.