master plan update - City of Boca Raton

Mizner BoulevardSECTION CFRAMEWORKSSTREET HIERARCHYThe engineering and design of some ofthe streets in Downtown are based onstandards that generally apply to suburbanconditions, encourage high speedtravel, and are not consistent with thegoal of creating a unified downtown. Inrecent years, a series of advancementsin the art of street design have providedsome techniques for both serving trafficneeds and creating an appropriate urbanenvironment. To use these techniques, itis first necessary to recognize the differentcategories of street and that a hierarchyexists based on the volumes andtypes of traffic. With this agreed to, itis possible to modify the detailed designof existing streets to be consistent withtheir urban function and the nature oftraffic using them. The hierarchy wouldinclude the following idealized modelswhich then serve as a model for revisionsto existing streets:TYPE AType A streets are high mobility streetsthat may carry a great deal of throughtraffic but which also need to providesafe and comfortable pedestrian environmentsassociated with mixed andsometimes dense land uses. The designof these streets must enable pedestriansto cross safely at key points. Theseinclude Federal Highway, PalmettoPark Road West of Federal Highway,Camino Real west of Federal Highway,and Dixie Highway (limited pedestrianrole at Second Street and Palmetto ParkRoad).TYPE BType B streets provide a combination ofaccess and mobility both of which areimportant to the overall network. TypeB streets carry some through traffic, buttypically at a lower volume than TypeA. These are often four lane (or more)Street Type DiagramDixie HighwayNW Second Streetdivided streets located in more sensitivecontexts in which increased pedestrianmovements need to be respected. Theyinclude Palmetto Park Road betweenFederal Highway and Mizner Boulevard,Mizner Boulevard, and CaminoReal east of Federal Highway.TYPE CAccess streets, Type C streets are eitherthree-lane streets or two lanes with amedian. They provide vehicular access toparking and pedestrian access to homesand businesses and have the highestlevel of activity and conflicts. As such,they should be designed to encourageslower speed traffic and to serve pedestrian-scaleuses along them. SecondStreet and East Palmetto Park Road ofMizner Boulevard are examples of TypeC streets.Federal Highway HighwayNE First First Avenue AvenueEast Palmetto Park RoadTYPE DType D are two-lane local streets whichcarry primarily local traffic. These areoften streets that provide access to residentialareas. Vehicle speeds should below in anticipation of unexpected pedestrianmovements (such as children).Dixie Highway, indicated in red inthe plan diagram, will carry the mostthrough traffic and for much of itslength will accommodate higher speed.Additional landscape treatment shouldbe provided in the public right-of-wayon both sides of the road, especially theeast side of the road. In the area betweenPalmetto Park Road and Second Street,traffic should be slowed down in orderto facilitate pedestrian cross walks.jaywalk.24