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San Antonio |
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Unified Development Code |
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Appendix G. DESIGN STANDARDS |
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Chapter 8. STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS |
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In downtown, buildings should be sited in ways that create a vibrant streetscape, balanced with a comfortable and safe public realm environment that accommodates pedestrian transit, bicycles and vehicles. A. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CITY AND OTHER PUBLIC AGENCIES 1.
2. The shared use of the public right-of-way is not only for moving vehicles, but equally as 1) the front door to businesses which provide an economic and fiscal foundation of the City and 2) outdoor open space for residents and workers. 3. All streets on which residential or commercial development is located are "pedestrian-oriented streets" and should be designed and improved accordingly. B. SIDEWALK MATERIALS 1.
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3. Permeable paving sidewalks are encouraged. C. CURB EXTENSIONS AND CROSSWALKS 1.
2. Mid-block crosswalks should be provided on all blocks 550 feet or longer, subject to approval by San Antonio Public Works and/or Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), if State ROW.
3. Curb extensions should be provided at all corners and mid-block crossings, except at the intersection of two arterial streets (Major or Secondary Arterials) and on streets where the curb lane is used as a peak-hour traffic lane, subject to approval by Public Works and TxDOT, if State ROW. 4. Crosswalks should be clearly marked with high contrast "zebra" striping, unless some alternative design is provided as part of an integrated urban design for a specific street. 5. On streets with significant retail activity, mid-block protected crosswalks should be considered by COSA Public Works and TxDOT. D. PAVING PATTERN 1. Decorative paving used in plaza and courtyard areas should complement the paving pattern and color of the pavers used in the public right-of-way. 2. Reinforce a building's entry with a change in paving material as seen in Figure 8.3. 3. Paving surfaces must be chosen for easy rollability.
E. STREET TREES Tree Species and Spacing 1. An owner should agree to maintain street trees so that the pedestrian light fixtures are accessible for maintenance purposes. 2. Tree spacing and placement must be coordinated with street light placement as seen in Figure 8.4. Street lights should generally be located midway between adjacent trees, and are commonly spaced every two (2) or three (3) trees, hence 60 to 100 feet on center. 3. Street trees should be planted adjacent to a project when they cannot be accommodated on-site. 4. In the ideal urban tree canopy, adjacent trees at maturity generally touch one another. Therefore, the typical tree spacing is generally 40 feet, plus or minus 10 feet depending upon the tree species. 5. Required street trees should perform as shade trees. However, if approved by the Development Services Department and Department of Planning and Community Development, palms may be planted between or in addition to required shade trees for vertical emphasis.
6. On streets where parking spaces are marked - either parallel or angled - trees should be located where they will not impede the opening of car doors or pedestrian access to the sidewalk. Where parking is parallel to the curb, trees are best positioned near the front or back of a space, so that they align with a fender rather than a door. Locating them on the line between two spaces tends to block access to the sidewalk and should be avoided. Planting Standards 7. Irrigate trees and landscaped parkways with an automatic irrigation system or Low Impact Development (LID) deep well. Deep root irrigation is preferred. Surface mounted spray heads or bubblers may also be used provided they adequately irrigate trees (minimum of 20 gallons per week dispersed over the root zone) and do not directly spray the tree trunks. 8.
9. Plant a minimum 36 inch box tree wherever possible. Other sizes may be employed to add additional trees. 10. Where tree wells are installed, tree wells may be: 1) covered with a three (3) inch thick layer of stabilized decomposed granite, installed per manufacturer's specifications, and level with the adjacent walkway; or 2) covered by an ADA compliant tree grate.
F. STREET LIGHTS 1.
Pole base diameter shall be eight (8) inches. The mast arm shall be four (4) to six
(6) foot "Windsor" or similar.
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In other locations, pedestrian street light should be attached to each existing roadway
light and a matching pedestrian light fixture specified by the City should be installed
approximately equidistant between the roadway lights
. Pedestrian light spacing must be carefully coordinated with street tree planting
in order to meet light spacing requirements and maintain the required tree spacing.
An alternative street lighting pattern may be approved by the HDRC.
3. On streets having established historic street lights, continue the predominant street light pattern. If a project includes roadway widening, refurbish and relocate the historic street lights with supplemental replicas as approved by HDRC. 4. All street light or pedestrian light should have a Color Rendering Index of 80 or higher. 5. In historic districts the street light should be a 16 flat flute historic pole between 25 and 32 feet high. The pole should be painted "Tavern Green". 6. Lighting fixtures should be designed to complement the architecture of the project and improve visual identification of residences and businesses. 7. Pedestrian street lights may be set back from the curb on wide sidewalks installed on private property as follows: • Where sidewalks are wide, the pedestrian lights may be set back between the clear path of travel and the commercial activity zone adjacent to the building. • Where the building is set back from the sidewalk, the pedestrian street lights may be installed directly adjacent to the front property line. • All light sources should provide a warm white light. Care should be given to not overly illuminate the sidewalk thereby ruining the pedestrian ambiance. • All lighting systems should be cut-off, so as not to "spillover" light into adjacent buildings. G. STREET AND SITE FURNITURE Street furnishings are exterior amenities, such as including but not limited to, tables, chairs, umbrellas, landscape pots, wait stations, valet stations, bicycle racks, planters, benches, bus shelters, kiosks, waste receptacles and similar items that help to define pedestrian use areas. "Urban tested" street furnishings are particularly important in San Antonio. The choice, use, and implementation of site furniture is very important to convey a desired aesthetic. Site furniture must be well designed to encourage their use, be able to withstand the elements, and situated in appropriate locations and shaded, clustered in groupings near site features like fountains and in plazas, etc. Projects using these amenities should give consideration to minimize the cost of replacement. 1.
2. Kiosks and directories should be provided adjacent to vehicular and pedestrian entrances and pedestrian nodes. Kiosk siting maximizes visibility and minimizes traffic hazards or obstructing views. 3.
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5. Bicycle racks (e.g., "loop rack" and "ribbon bar") should be selected that are durable and consistent with other streetscape furnishings. 6. Street furnishings should be made of metal, stone, cast stone, hand sculpted concrete, or solid surfacing material, such as Corian or Surell. Recycled plastic will be considered on a case by case basis. 7. Benches, in particular, should be placed with careful consideration of their relationship to surrounding buildings and businesses. Benches placed perpendicular to the street are often best, as the sitter is neither staring at one storefront nor at passing traffic or sides of parked cars. H. ENHANCE OVERHEAD UTILITY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Overhead power lines and poles create clutter and distraction for San Antonio's urban fabric. Advantages of underground lines include aesthetics, higher public acceptance, fewer interruptions, and lower maintenance costs. 1. Utility service to each building should be provided underground. If undergrounding utilities is not possible, install metal power poles at a consistent spacing that are located in bulb-outs to maintain an unobstructed sidewalk. 2. Power poles should have designated location and covers for transformers and conduit to provide vertical power and communication drops. 3. Light poles should be separate from power poles. 4. Street trees should be located on the street side of power poles and sidewalk side of street light poles. 5. Organize power and communication cables so that they only cross at street intersections. 6. Where there is limited sidewalk width, a cantilevered cross beam is preferred to increase the spacing between the wires and the buildings as seen in Figure 8.8 . 7. Mounting the power wires to the side of the pole instead of on a cross beam as seen in Figure 8.9 may help avoid conflicts with tree and buildings.
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