Context Sensitive Solutions

Context Sensitive Solutions

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Overview

Context Sensitive Solutions is a roadway design philosophy designed to eliminate the tendency to apply uniform traffic solutions regardless of the needs of non-drivers: bicyclists, pedestrians, transit riders, people with disabilities. The U.S. Federal Highway Administration defines CSS as follows:

"Context sensitive solutions (CSS) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach that involves all stakeholders to develop a transportation facility that fits its physical setting and preserves scenic, aesthetic, historic and environmental resources, while maintaining safety and mobility. CSS is an approach that considers the total context within which a transportation improvement project will exist." [1]

Genesis of CSS

CSS has its roots in citizen revolts against highway projects requiring wholesale destruction of dense urban neighborhoods. Among these was the West Side Highway in New York City and the Southwest Expressway in Boston. Official recognition of the need for greater sensitivity to context began in 1969 with the passage of The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which required transportation agencies to consider adverse impacts of road projects on the environment. In May 1998, the Maryland Department of Transportation conducted "Thinking Beyond the Pavement: National Workshop on Integrating Highway Development with Communities and the Environment While Maintaining Safety and Performance". This workshop, co-sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and FHWA, set the stage for new thinking and training efforts at state transportation agencies throughout the country.[2]

At first, CSS was applied only to highway projects. It has since evolved to consider virtually any transportation project. An example of CSS applied to urban arterial streets is the 2008 publication, Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing Major Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities [3], published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers in partnership with the Congress for New Urbanism. This publication acknowledged the destructive barrier effect that wide urban streets produce, and attempted to provide design solutions that reduced this effect while accommodating all users of the street, as well as those living or conducting business adjacent to it.

The Challenge of Balancing Priorities

The building of a transportation project can severely impact local populations and the environment, as anyone living near a highway, a newly widened street, or a train line can attest. For this reason, NEPA and similar state environmental laws require consideration and possible mitigation of transportation project impacts. CSS goes beyond "consideration" to elevate community and environmental goals to a place of equal priority with transportation goals. State and local traffic planners familiar with the traditional "transportation first" approach often resist this revision of priorities, or have concerns about the costs and delays involved. They must be trained in both the process and the design options to meet multiple goals.

For example, engineering schools do not generally provide traffic engineers with the training necessary to interact effectively with the public. But that is exactly what is required in order to identify potential stakeholders, assure them they will be listened to, and then document and integrate their concerns about a particular project.

In addition to the process, CSS-friendly projects may require a comprehensive revision of state or local standards and policies. Redefining "safety" to include greater attention to the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists -- even when they don't behave as expected or legally required -- may mean rethinking policies or standards regarding parking, sidewalk dimensions, intersection design, bicycle facilities, and landscaping.

Example Projects

Guanella Pass, Colorado - This federal highway project in Colorado retained the "substandard" widths -- 9 foot lanes (as opposed to 12') and two foot shoulders, while incorporating lower-maintenance pavements and safety improvements.[4] See Before and After photos, in this article.
Barracks Row, Washington DC - This historic main street was substantially rehabilitated by incorporating diagonal parking, new sidewalks and pedestrian-oriented lighting, and redirecting traffic flow in one portion from one-way to two-way travel. The neighborhood and merchants were consulted extensively on the design and during construction. It is now a bustling commercial area.[5]
Davis, California, is well-known for its extensive bicycle network. What is less appreciated is that Davis has been adding pedestrian safety amenities to its downtown district. These include sidewalk upgrades and landscaped bulbouts. The University of California has added a compact, pedestrian and bike-oriented housing project called "Aggie Village" and a pedestrian-friendly commercial area nearby with a park, rather than parking, in front. The "context" in this case is a population that relies heavily on bicycling and walking, and the proximity of the downtown to a major university campus.