Tulsa Comprehensive Plan - PLANiTULSA

Appendix
TrAnsporTATIon III: SUSTAINABle NeTWOrK INITIATIve
During the PLANiTULSA process, travel demand
modeling software was used to estimate how street
connectivity, walkability, mixed-use developments,
and transit investments could mitigate future traffc
congestion. These methods should be further developed
and adopted for all future transportation planning efforts
in the region.
CompArInG neTWork ConneCTIvITy
A disconnected network is not walkable and
requires the use of arterial for local trips.
project Development process —
subdivision Connectivity Analysis
In concert with the Network Alternatives Analysis,
private development in these areas should be designed
with a well-connected street system. Neighborhoods
designed with one or two streets feeding into a collector
or arterial have several negative impacts. Trips are
typically longer, even when “as the crow flies” distances
are short. They usually require a motorist or pedestrian to
make some portion of the trip on a major road or arterial.
All of these factors add to greater capacity needs on
arterials, thus increasing capital and maintenance costs,
while discouraging short trips on foot.
A well-connected street system, in contrast, has many
short streets and intersections and few dead-ends. Travel
can be more direct, because the network provides many
different routes, instead of one or two main corridors.
Trips between destinations within the neighborhood can
stay within the neighborhood, lessening the need for
more arterial capacity. Travel by foot or bicycle is easier
on these networks. These networks can include cul-desacs,
as long as they are not so frequent as to impede
direct travel.
A connected network provides many routes for local
travel, makes walking and biking easier, and lessens
the impact on arterials.
JULy 2010
AP
APPeNDIx – TULsA CompreHensIve pLAn 49