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A PA R A D I G M S H I F T T O S U S TA I N A B L E T R A N S P O R T S Y S T E M S

CLIEN T Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA)

PL ANNING AND DESIGN CO NSULTANC Y Barton Willmore

DUR AT I O N 2016

SERV ICES PROV IDED BY BURO HAPPO LD Development of reduced car parking standards to reflect increasing level of public transport accessibility, estimation of transport mode share and land use strategy advice

The costs associated with travelling by car in Riyadh are extremely low when compared with other capital cities across the globe, therefore travel in the city is dominated by private cars. Fuel prices are heavily subsidised and there are currently no fiscal measures such as road tax, vehicle excise duty and parking charges in place to attempt to constrain car use. The Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) recognised the need to address these issues and appointed BuroHappold Engineering together with Barton Willmore to develop a comprehensive strategy for the design, implementation and delivery of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) areas across the city.

One of the clients specific requirements was to establish what were the international best practice case studies for TOD’s that could be applied in Riyadh. Our team identified strategies and measures adopted by cities around the world including San Francisco and Amsterdam who are considered leaders in sustainable travel.

From this, we were able to recommend a series of planning and design measures that facilitated a decrease in reliance on cars through the provision of convenient access to transit, walking and cycling with supportive infrastructure and amenities.

Another requirement was to develop parking rates for different TOD taxonomy hierarchy. We developed a range of site specific parking rates based on the British PTAL methodology. This allows for any uncertainty that may follow in how members of the Saudi public will adopt the transit options in preference to car use.

The outcome of our work will be the introduction of guidelines to complement existing Riyadh land use and planning policies where appropriate, acting as a means of identifying where amendments should be considered. Though non-prescriptive in nature, the guidelines aim to offer advice and suggestions for consideration in the design of both new and retrofitted communities.

R IYADH TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT (TOD) SAUDI ARABIA

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FIGURE 5.10 / RIYADH TOD TAXONOMY

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PHASE 2: TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT

The project considers pedestrians as the priority users within the TOD areas. Our guidelines reinforce this by listing a series of measures including car parking reduction and management in order to limit the number of people driving, as well as identifying different street cross-sections to ensure pedestrian comfort in the design of streetscape, which is contrary to the traditional transport planning approach in Riyadh. There will also be focus on making improvements to public realm to improve the urban environment, providing the right mix and quantity of uses around the transit stations making walking, cycling and using transport convenient, safe and enjoyable for daily life of residents.

These guidelines will be not only benefit the ADA, but also the municipality and wider public sector stakeholders as a yardstick to access design proposals put forward by developers, making sure that the catchment areas around metro stations and bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors are planned as per the principles of TOD.