WCEL > Issues > Urban Growth and Development > Smart Bylaws Guide > Part 4 > Connect Destinations and Transportation Modes > Grid Street System

Smart Bylaws Guide – Connect Destinations and Transportation Modes – Grid Street System

An interconnected grid or modified grid street system provides many routes to a single destination, thus dispersing traffic.  It also decreases the distance traveled as a grid road network provides more direct routes than do cul-de-sac designs.  When a grid street design is coupled with compact complete community design where employment and services are located close to housing, daily travel demand on roads decreases dramatically – up to 75% on arterials and up to 80% on collector streets compared with conventional road design.

Examples of grid street systems

East Clayton Neighbourhood Plan, Surrey

This new plan is a model of smart growth street design. Some of the performance objectives in the Plan include to “[e]nsure pedestrian priority of pedestrians over vehicles along all local residential streets with minimum driveway interruptions…[m]aximize opportunities for extending the fine grained interconnected pedestrian/bike circulation system to increase options for passive recreational opportunities for all age groups..[e]nsure that commercial and transit services are within a 400 metre (1/4 mile) walk-able radius of all residences.” The Road Network Plan uses a modified grid system of local and minor collector streets, with a focus on short blocks and rear lanes to provide many route choices and a refined pedestrian/cyclist network. On-street parking is encouraged, and driveways must be on the lane where lanes exist. The Plan sets out detailed road standards in charts, as well as diagrams for each street type. Streets are also seen as a key component in meeting environmental protection goals and include street drainage that emphasizes stormwater infiltration and street trees as part of the “urban forest.”

City of Quesnel Case Study - Transportation (Community Energy Association) 

For More Information

Transportation and Community Design: The Effects of Land Use, Density and Street Pattern on Travel Behaviour (Technical Bulletin No. 11, 2001, Joanne Proft and Patrick Condon, James Taylor Chair in Landscapes and Livable Environments)

Creating Great Neighbourhoods: Density in Your Community (Local Government Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, National Association of Realtors 2003)