Our Services
Curb management is an increasingly important sector of urban design as it prescribes how buildings interact with streets, and defines the experience of the building's inhabitants. Visitors need a safe, convenient, and accessible space where they can get on or off a taxi, passenger vehicle or a paratransit van. Sufficient space is needed to meet the needs of the delivery vehicles, whether it is a moving van, mail and package truck, or shared mobility food drop-off. It is also an equity issue; federal regulations require that curbs are designed to accommodate everyone indiscriminately, regardless of their physical abilities or limitations. Paul is an expert in preparing meaningful designs for curb regulations intended to serve the specific needs of adjacent land uses. San Francisco has been ahead of the curve in curb management, pioneering new practices and building unique experiences in the field. Paul worked on hundreds of projects, including the redevelopment of Treasure Island, Parkmerced, UCSF Medical Center, the Transamerica Building, and Salesforce Tower.
Commercial Buildings and Facilities
Many commercial buildings and stores rely on street parking for deliveries and customer parking. Our curb designs prioritize the specific needs of businesses, providing dedicated spaces for deliveries, short-term parking, and food pickup. This reduces conflicts between vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and transit, improving the overall experience for tenants, visitors, and delivery drivers.
Large Residential Developments and Hotels
It is hard to imagine a modern building without an adequately designed frontage. We prepare curb layouts that allow for safe and accessible passenger loading, on-street delivery, including parcel and food delivery, trash removal, move-ins and move-outs, and other unique needs of the building. San Francisco Planning Code Section 155(u) requires development projects of more than 100,000 net new gross square feet in the Central SoMa Special Use District and Van Ness & Market Residential Special Use District to implement a driveway and loading operations plan. Paul has participated in the design review and implementation of many DLOPs and we can consult on driveways location, width, and red zones, commercial and passenger loading zone design and capacity, traffic circulation plan for deliveries, strategies to minimize impacts on pedestrians and cyclists, and accessibility compliance.
Specializations
Childcare Facilities
Many U.S. Planning Departments require childcare facilities and schools to develop drop-off and pick-up plans to ensure safe and accessible loading zones for students. Even when not mandated, prioritizing child safety and accessibility is crucial for any educational institution.
With years of experience, we design loading zones tailored to the specific needs of childcare facilities of all sizes. Our plans consider factors like student enrollment, curb availability, traffic flow, vehicle types, and school schedules.
Small Municipalities
Curb space is one of the most undervalued assets of cities and towns. Space along curbs can be reallocated to increase safety, provide a better pedestrian experience, revive fronting businesses, improve commerce, and generate additional revenues. Local municipalities also have to comply with Federal and State accessibility requirements for parking and loading. Traditional Traffic Engineering or Public Works Departments often do not have in-house experts specializing in curb management, and this is where we can help fill the gap. Our services range from advising on a specific project to developing a comprehensive parking and loading plan for the entire municipality. We also offer installation standards and maintenance plans for repainting red zones for fire hydrants, bus stops, driveways, and general no-parking zones.
ADA Compliance
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates specific accessibility standards for passenger loading zones (White Zones) and the requirement to provide accessible parking spaces (Blue Zones). These requirements are spelled out in the Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG), which aim to provide access to public spaces for people with disabilities. While PROWAG is essential for ensuring accessibility, implementing these standards can pose challenges in densely populated urban areas with limited space. To address the issue, Paul has designed Standard Accessible Passenger Loading Zone which has been approved by the San Francisco Public Works Disability Access Coordinator Office and recommended for implementation by the Mayor’s Office on Disability. This design has been successfully implemented to meet the requirements of PROWAG within a much smaller footprint compared to other solutions. Paul is also an expert in advising on the number of Blue Zones that are required for a specific land use as prescribed by PROWAG.
Medical and Educational Campuses
We recognize a wide range of loading and parking needs throughout the campus and have extensive experience tailoring curb design to meet those needs.
We help medical facilities design passenger loading zones that prioritize proper capacity, convenience, accessibility, and minimal stress for patients, visitors, and staff.
Our designs ensure a smooth arrival and departure experience by creating intuitive pick-up and drop-off zones that meet the federal ADA standards. These zones are specially designed to provide ample space for wheelchairs, gurneys, and patient assistance, with clear sightlines and easy access.