City streets are not just thoroughfares for motor vehicles. They often double as public spaces where people walk, shop, meet, and generally participate in many social and recreational activities that make urban living enjoyable. Urban foresters, designers, and planners encourage streetscape tree planting to enhance the livability of urban streets. Yet conventional transportation safety guidelines regard trees and other fixed objects along a roadside as hazards and strongly discourage their use. A prevailing principle in roadside design is the “clear zone,” which is an expression of the idea of a forgiving roadside. Today’s engineering practices encourage design of roadsides that allow a vehicle leaving any roadway to safely recover before encountering a potentially hazardous, fixed object. Context Sensitive Solutions is a U.S. national policy intended to better incorporate local community values into transportation planning processes and products. Many communities seek to better integrate the needs of pedestrians and local developmental objectives into the design of their roadways. The starting point for better community-based roadside design is adequate research.

Further Reading:

Roadside Urban Trees: Balancing Safety and Community Values