In most American cities, streets and transportation infrastructure dominate urban public space. Imagine how our cities could function if we reconsidered our relationship to these networks, prioritized people over cars, and created shared, vibrant public spaces where people feel welcome to walk, gather, and connect with local shops and neighbors?
Alcott Way reconsiders the concept of a neighborhood street. Set between some of Sun Valley’s most dense, urban street blocks and adjacent to Riverfront Park, the shared street prioritizes pedestrians and the community. With enhanced paving, minimal parking and chicane geometry, Alcott Way is a low volume vehicular shared public space where pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles can safely coexist.
Along the street corridor, a minimum 20’ clear shared travel way is provided but disguised within the streetscape, offering a unique experience. A continuous and repetitive concrete paving pattern runs perpendicular to the flow of traffic along the entire street, connecting one side to the other and calming vehicular traffic. The shared travel way is clearly delineated to mitigate potential for conflict across modes of travel. Outside of the shared travel way, a pedestrian-only zone provides comfortable sidewalks, social eddies with furnishings that activate and bring public life to the street, and green infrastructure. A high contrast concrete transition zone with detectable warnings reinforces and serves as visual cue defining the pedestrian only and shared vehicular zones.
Livable Cities Studio led the urban design and development of the streetscape for the project. The project is currently under construction and completion is anticipated in Q4 of 2025.
