Sustainable Land Development Today - November/December 2008 - (Page 41)

forty-six miles per day of exposure through slow, stop-and-go streets. Imagine the time and energy consumption! So to create extra distances between intersections, to accommodate local authorities, every decade would have added: Distance: An additional 169,365 miles of exposure, which is equal to circling the earth almost seven times. Time: At 20 mph on the average that’s just under a year out of the combined residents’ life traveling through their small neighborhood. Energy: Assuming in congested tight areas 20 MPG, that’s almost 8,000 gallons wasted! After demonstrating the awful waste from complying with the County Engineers desire, we were able to convince everyone involved in the approval process that our original separate short cul-de-sac was a superior option. Our new design kept Street B at its current location—upgraded to be more attractive—and the existing connections to the county road along the north boundary were kept in place. This plan did not add any new connections to the existing street. The current site is an old trailer court with many mobile homes served from a few driveways along the north boundary. The northeast cluster of homes utilizes an existing drive connected to several homes. The distance that the existing homeowners to the south needed to drive remained unchanged and convenient. All residents can get in and out with no problems at the existing intersections, which have been around for many decades. The speed along the north county road is only 45 MPH with a reduction to 35 MPH immediately east of the site. The dark green areas indicate steep slopes that exist and remain untouched and the trees shown are the existing ones to be kept. The new plan replaced detached townhomes and duplexes with BayHomes, a much more functional and desirable option. By demonstrating the openness of the plan, which among many other advantages protected both the slope and trees, it was approved without any density loss. SLDT About the Author: Rick Harrison is president Rick Harrison Site Design (www.rhsdplanning.com) and author of Prefurbia, which presents dozens of new methods, concepts, and ideas related to the design and development of cities. Prefurbia is published by Sustainable Land Development International and is available at www.SLDI.org and www.prefurbia.com. Sustainable Wastewater Solutions for the Decentralized Market Turnkey Solutions provided in the Southeast Design Services, Products, and Operation Support offered nationwide V V V denus Circle 173 • or www.SLDTonline.com/webcard ® 1-888-4ADENUS ~ www.Adenus.com www.SLDTonline.com 41 http://www.rhsdplanning.com http://www.SLDI.org http://www.prefurbia.com http://www.Adenus.com http://www.Adenus.com http://www.SLDTonline.com/webcard http://www.SLDTonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - November/December 2008

Sustainable Land Development Today - November/December 2008 Contents Our Voice Editorial Board SLDT Resources The BottomLine Go Forth and Tread Lightly on the Land It’s About Name Recognition Managing Risk in the Sustainable Building Frontier Industry Spotlight Achieving Sustainable Land Development Worthy of Recognition Stormwater Wastewater Erosion Control Innovation Classifieds Advertiser Index Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - November/December 2008

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