A comprehensive basis for determining the allocation of urban street space

There are many competing demands for the use of urban street space, but very little comprehensive research or guidance on how to allocate space between these various street user groups. Most guidance focuses on transport and is mode-specific (e.g. cycling, loading), with very little consideration being given to on-street activities (e.g. sitting or socialising), and space allocations are usually determined on the basis of political priorities (e.g. the needs of buses or cyclists have priority). The objective of this paper is to set out a more comprehensive framework for determining street user needs, taking into account both the Link/Movement and Place functions of urban streets. It considers some of the ways in which these can be met in different contexts, how competing demands might be reconciled and sets out different bases upon which decisions over final space allocations might be taken. It draws on several research projects and includes examples from different English cites