Beijing
Highway Design Research Institute
Technical Workshop on Interchange Design Concepts for
Sustainable Development in China
April 10, 2002
Highway
Interchange Design and Sustainability
Case
Studies: Integrating Commercial Land
Use
and
Transit Access
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Washington, DC
(Note: // denotes pause for translation)
Good
morning. (Slide 1) It’s a
pleasure to be with you at this workshop.//
I
have been asked to focus on innovative highway interchanges that enhance
sustainability // by incorporating commercial land uses and transit access
within the general limits of the interchange footprint.//
I
have worked in the highway business for over 35 years. // I must confess that if I had received such
an invitation during the early years of my career // it would have been
difficult to take seriously. // Even today, to most highway officials in the
United States, such a concept would be hard to accept. // To consider highway
interchanges in which commercial development is integrated into the interchange
area itself // would be contrary to accepted practice. // The primary concerns
would be about conflicting traffic movements // that could lead to congestion
and safety problems.
And
yet, here in China, in constructing your first super highway from Guangzhou to
Shenzhen, // your colleagues did just that, implementing the design shown here (Slide
2).// This is a very creative design // certainly unique in accommodating
such a wide array of functions, including://
·
through
traffic on the toll road and on the crossroad //
·
ramps
entering and exiting the expressway and passing through toll plazas //
·
parking
in all four quadrants, two in the toll area and two in the free area //
·
regional
and local bus stations serving both directions of the expressway //
·
gasoline
service stations serving each direction// and
·
a
commercial building (Slide 3) under the toll road with more than 50,000
square meters of available space //
No
one in the highway business can claim to have produced a more innovative
solution // to serve such a wide array of functions. // Yet, not even its
strongest advocates would claim that it is a universal solution // that can be
applied in all circumstances. // And
while American transport planners and designers tend to separate highway
functions, // transit functions // and commercial functions // it is possible
to find in the United States, and in other countries, // examples of existing
and planned interchanges // that include at least some of the features of those
located along the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Superhighway. //
The
most important reference guide used by highway designers in the United States (Slide
4) // is the “Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets” (also called
the Green Book). // The Green Book is
published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials, // also known as AASHTO. // The typical highway interchanges that
are illustrated in this guide // represent the vast majority of interchange
designs in the United States //:
· full cloverleaf, (Slide
5) //
·
partial
cloverleaf, (Slide 6) //
·
directional,
(Slide 7) //
·
ordinary
diamond, (Slide 8) //
·
and
single point diamond, (Slide 9) //.
These
are the basic types of interchanges that reflect common practice throughout the
United States. // Many US interchanges are really combinations of more than one
basic type. // However, interchanges that accommodate all of the functions
included in those along the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Superhighway // [such
interchanges] are not found in technical guides used by US highway designers.
//
The
major elements that characterize the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Superhighway
interchanges are (Slide 10) //:
1)
Toll
plaza //
2)
Parking
areas //
3)
Transit
center //
4)
Commercial
area //
Combining
all of these elements into one interchange is rare. // In fact, while all of the case studies we
will discuss include some of these elements, // none of the case studies we
will present include all of these elements. //
The
first of our examples is a partial cloverleaf interchange (Slide 11) // with
integral parking areas on both sides of the crossroad. This interchange is in the state of
Maryland, // and serves the city of Columbia, // a planned new community of
100,000 people // located about 40 kilometers north of Washington, DC. // The
primary traffic movement during peak hours involves commuters. // Parking in
Washington DC is expensive // and the roads are highly congested. // As a
result, (Slide 12) riding transit and commuting in car pools is
relatively common, // and this interchange provides for both. On one side of the interchange, (Slide
13) // the parking area is reserved for commuter bus passengers // who park
their cars for the day. // Local buses from the adjacent community also serve
this location. // Across the road, parking for car and vanpools is provided (Slide
14). // In this region, government-subsidized vans as well as private
passenger cars are used for sharing rides. // There is no commercial
development in this interchange, // unless we take into account (Slide 15) the
many vending machines that offer a variety of newspapers and advertising
materials. //
In
the state of Ohio, // a recently completed highway project (Slide 16) in
Cincinnati, known as Fort Washington Way, // included provision for a bus
terminal located under a city street, // adjacent to the expressway, // and
between two major directional interchanges. // The transit center (Slide 17)
is currently under construction. // It extends four city blocks (Slide
18) // and will have provision for 20 bus-bays //, as shown in this
photo simulation (Slice 19). // This project is at the center of a major
urban redevelopment program // that includes sports stadiums, river front
parks, commercial space and housing. //
Our
next interchange is located in a suburban area north of Atlanta, Georgia (Slide
20). // This is an example of a
toll road // with an interchange providing a directional ramp // directly into
a large parking structure (Slide 21)// adjacent to the terminal station
of a rail rapid transit line. // The transit line serves a highly congested
corridor,// so the direct and convenient access from the toll road // is
attractive to commuters. The site is surrounded
by high-density housing, // facilitating walk-on access to the transit station.
//
In
the state of Illinois, along a toll road outside the city of Chicago, // there
are service areas (Slide 22) built directly over the expressway. // They
are generally not accessible to the local street network. // The local access
roads shown here are for deliveries to the commercial area. // The commercial
area includes a restaurant (Slide 23) constructed on a platform // that
spans the toll road below. // Gasoline
service stations are provided in the parking areas adjacent to the
highway. //
In
the more urban environment of New York City (24) // is the Queensboro
Bridge crossing the East River into Manhattan.// Directly underneath the
approach roadways (Slide 25) on the Manhattan side of the bridge // is a
unique commercial retail development (Slide 26). // In its physical
form, this arrangement of commercial space (Slide 27) // with the
roadway above // is similar to the commercial space incorporated in the
Guangzhou-Shenzhen Superhighway interchanges. //
Another
example in New York City (Slide 28) // involves the George Washington
Bridge across the Hudson River. // The Bridge, built in the 1930’s, carries
Interstate 95, // the main highway along the eastern seaboard of the United
States. // Interstate 95 extends nearly 2000 kilometers // from the Canadian
border to the state of Florida. // As it enters Manhattan Island (Slide 29)
// the highway extends through a complicated partial cloverleaf
interchange //, with ramps extending through the interchange (Slide 30) // and
entering an inter-city bus terminal constructed directly over the highway (Slide
31). // The terminal handles long-distance and regional commuter buses (Slide
32), // and provides a point of transfer to both city buses (Slide 33)
// as well as New York City’s extensive subway network (Slide 34). // Located just to the east of the bus
terminal (Slide 35) // and also constructed directly over Interstate 95
// are high-rise apartment towers.//
Four
hundred kilometers to the south, just outside of Washington, DC (Slide 36),
// is an interchange that incorporates all modes of surface transportation
// as well as significant commercial development. // The interchange complex (Slide 37), which includes a combination of directional,
diamond, and loop ramps, // involves Interstate 495, the heavily
traveled Beltway that surrounds our Washington, DC, // and US 50, a highway
route that extends // from the Atlantic beaches to the State of California, //
more than 5000 kilometers to the west. This interchange also incorporates
direct ramp connections (Slide 38) // into one of the major inter-modal
transportation centers (Slide 39) // in the densely developed corridor
between Washington, DC and New York. // The transportation center, known as New
Carrollton, // is served by three levels of rail transportation - - //
Washington’s local Metro rail (Slide 40) with more that 160 kilometers
of transit lines serving the region, // Maryland’s regional commuter rail (Slide
41) serving the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, // and Amtrak’s (Slide
42) intercity rail line // serving the 800 kilometer corridor from
Washington, DC to New York and Boston. //
The
site also includes local and regional bus service (Slide 43), // parking
areas (Slide 44) for daily commuters, // as well as a parking
structure (Slide 45) for long-distance rail passengers. // The
transportation center is connected by streets and by escalators // to elevated
walkways (Slide 46) // that lead to surrounding office buildings (Slide 47) // built on both sides of
the complex.
About
800 kilometers to the north, // in the heart of the city of Boston, (Slide
48) // is an example of high-density, high-rise urban development, known as
Copley Place, // much of which is built on a platform over several major
transportation facilities. // The transportation facilities, all of which are
hidden from view, (Slide 49) // include a highway interchange connecting
a toll expressway to local streets above, // and three passenger
railroad lines - - intercity rail, commuter rail, and urban rail transit. //
The complex also includes direct access into underground parking, // office
space, shops, and a hotel. //
In
Hong Kong, in a location known as Mei-Foo (Slide 50), // is another interesting example of a site // that
combines a transit terminal as well as commercial development // within the
footprint of an elevated highway. // Located in an area ringed by high-density
residential development, // the site includes a number of retail shops (Slide
51) // located below the roadway, with pedestrian access. // The commercial
area under the roadway (Slide 52) appears to be a success. //
The
examples that we have shown of highways and highway interchanges // that
integrate transit, commercial, and even residential development // suggest that
this form of multiple-use interchange // is becoming more common Slide (53)
//. Certainly, as populations grow, // as vacant land becomes more scarce,
// and as we increasingly recognize the importance of sustainable transport
planning // conducted in harmony with rational land use planning, // the
potential for innovative solutions // that serve both transportation objectives
and broader community objectives // grows ever stronger (Slide 54). // This was illustrated
in a recent a brochure // on improved planning for suburban growth // published
by the Urban Land Institute in Washington, DC. // The concept reflects the idea
of incorporating development // within a complex highway intersection. //
The
idea of multifunctional highways and highway interchanges // is illustrated
further in these sketches (Slide 55) //of a recent design concept
proposed for a project // to provide multi-modal access to Mecca in Saudi
Arabia, // a religious site of worldwide significance // that attracts many
millions of visitors during the holy days each year. // (Slide 56) The
key here was a multi-level system // to accommodate vehicles and pedestrians //
in an area of high density. //
And
we close with this futuristic sketch (Slide 57) // of a concept
developed several years ago // for the Manila Skyway in the Philippines.
// The objective was to provide access
// from a six-lane elevated toll road // to the Makati district // without
overwhelming the local road network. // The solution was an interchange //
housed within the commercial development.
Whether
or not the concepts in Mecca or Manila // are eventually built as shown,// the
point is that they reflect a new level of creative thinking // that is
beginning to permeate the highway development process. And this creative thinking // is bound to
lead to innovative solutions // that may have been unlikely just a few years
prior.
Our challenge as planners and designers of highways
// is to consider our plans and designs // as shapers of the landscape that
influence and guide // as well as integrate with // growth and
development. We should consider
designs for highways and highway interchanges // that both stimulate and are
compatible with // desirable development patterns. // And, as these examples
have demonstrated, // there are possibilities under the right circumstances //
for integrating inter-modal and multiple use concepts // in ways that
contribute to the success of both transportation solutions as well as urban
development solutions. // The opportunity for creative designs is without limit
// if we just remain open to these new ideas.
(Slide 58) // Thank you.