Applying Principles of the

Plan Abu Dhabi 2030

Urban Street Design Manual Toolbox of Connectivity

Using

An Abu Dhabi Emirate Demonstration* Trademarks provided under license from ESRI.

*

North Wathba DemonstrationUsing RDI Desktop to

demonstrate functional implementation of the Abu Dhabi Urban Street Design Manual for North Wathba Master Plan area connectivity:

(1) Comparing North Wathba Neighborhood Plan to existing Abu Dhabi neighborhood

(2) Measuring connectivity to LRT station and the importance of sikkas

2

1

What is the RDI?

The Route Directness Index (RDI) can be used to quantify how well a street network connects destinations.

The RDI can be measured separately for motorized and non-motorized travel, taking into account non-motorized shortcuts, such as paths that connect cul-de-sacs, and barriers such as highways and streets that lack sidewalks.

The RDI is calculated by dividing direct travel distances by actual travel distances. For example, if streets are connected, have good sidewalks, and blocks are relatively small, people can travel nearly directly to destinations, resulting in a high index. If the street network has many unconnected dead-ends and blocks are large, people must travel farther to reach destinations, resulting in a low index.

RDI DesktopTM includes RDI scoring, one of four sub-models to measure non-motorized system.

Abu Dhabi Urban Street Design Manual

Abu Dhabi Urban Street Design Manual defines Direct Route Index

Same theory and similar measure to RDI DesktopTM (only numerator & denominator flipped)

The Modern SikkaTraditional Arab

pedestrian access routes

Historically sized at about 3.2 meters wide – sufficient for passage of two laden camels

Developed Under-developed

Existing NeighborhoodComparative

Assessment of RDI DesktopTM

Existing Abu Dhabi Neighborhood

Airport Road

Khaleej Al Arabi

23

rd S

treet

25

th S

treet

Poor-Fair RDI scores reflecting limited internal routes and external boulevard crossings

Neighborhood RDI Score

Poor

Fair

Parcel

RDI DesktopTM Metric

Parcel Excellent

Average RDI Score: Fair .65

Existing Sikkas are typically underdeveloped

Underdeveloped Sikka

North Wathba Neighborhood Neighborhood

design: Mixture of villa plot

size Neighborhood

centers Maximized public

realm for non-motorized connectivity through: Quality street

pedestrian zone Connecting

Sikkas, park/open space and fareej

Neighborhood RDI ScoreMeasured

without Sikka connections

Good-Excellent RDI scores

Poor

Fair

ExcellentParcel

RDI DesktopTM Metric

Parcel

Average RDI Score: Fair .65

Neighborhood RDI ScoreMeasured with

Sikka connections

Good-Excellent to excellent RDI scores

Poor

Fair

Excellent

Parcel

RDI DesktopTM Metric

Parcel

Average RDI Score: Good .73

Comparative RDI ScoringRDI Score

Difference: With and Without Sikkas

Parcel

RDI DesktopTM Metric

Parcel

Plots that benefit significantly by Sikka connectivity

Access to LRT StationRDI one of

several models helpful in LRT station area access and connectivity planning

Access to LRT StationRDI “Before”Street

Sidewalks Only

Poor

Fair

Parcel

RDI DesktopTM Metric

LRT Station Excellent

Average RDI Score: .77Excellent

Access to LRT StationRDI “After”Street

Sidewalk and Sikka Network

Poor

Fair

Parcel

RDI DesktopTM Metric

LRT Station Excellent

Average RDI Score: .79Excellent

Access to LRT StationRDI

“Difference”Plots benefiting

from planned Sikkas

Plots that benefit significantly by Sikka connectivity

Distance DecayDistance Decay

is an important model to consider walking and cycling travel demand

Non-motorized network without planned Sikkas

Distance DecayDistance Decay

is an important model to consider walking and cycling travel demand

Non-motorized network with planned Sikkas

Measuring Sila’a Connectivity

Emirati Neighborhood Concept

Planned Street Layout

Sila’a Base Street And Plot MapConverted to GIS for RDI analysis

RDI is calculated by dividing direct (“crow flight”) travel distances by actual travel distances on a scale of 0.1 – 1.0.

Streets that are well connected are patterned in small blocks, and have good sidewalks - where people can travel nearly directly to destinations thereby resulting in a higher index value.

Street networks with many unconnected dead-ends and large blocks – where people must travel farther to reach destinations thereby resulting in a lower index value.

An RDI of 1.0 is the best possible rating, indicating that pedestrians can walk directly to all destinations. An average RDI value of 0.65* is considered acceptable

Parcel

RDI DesktopTM Metric

Parcel

RDI Without Sikkas

314 lots > 0.65 (62%)

Parcel

RDI DesktopTM Metric

Parcel

Average RDI Score: Fair

.67

RDI – With Sikkas

465 lots > 0.65 (92%)

Parcel

RDI DesktopTM Metric

Parcel

Average RDI Score: Good

.72

RDI Delta - With and Without Sikkas

Parcel

RDI DesktopTM Metric

Parcel

Shade Route Assessment

Walk times based on street / sikka network

Walking time baseline assumption:

1.1 meter / second

Shade Route Assessment - Baseline

Baseline assumes no shaded routes.

Walking time baseline assumptions: 1.1 meter / second Travel time to nearest

Mosque

Challenge: Identifying shade routes to better connect outlying plots with neighborhood Mosques

Shade Route Assessment – Draft Plan

Walking time with newly designated shade routes assumes:

“Walking threshold increases 50% with shade” or effective travel time cut in half on shaded links.

(So “5 minutes” gets you farther with shade)

Shade Route Assessment – The Difference

Shade versus no shade difference

Parcels most benefited by shade route are noted in dark blue

Sikka Planning/Design Principles Width – Limit width to about 3.2 meters. Wider

sikkas are more difficult it is to shade for cooler micro-climates and costly to maintain

Shade sikkas by a combination use of building face, planted trees and awnings

Stagger sikka corridor alignment to enhance safety perception by avoiding a long 'tunneling' effect

Emphasize private ownership or sponsorship of adjoining sikkas - helps prevent disutility

Design sikka systems for varied users, (a) sometimes separated use for Arab

women and servants, and (b)  multiple and mixed use for expatriates, school children, and transit users; and,

daily temporal change in use (morning and evening pedestrian/transit commuter, walk-to-school, mid-day shopping, mosque attendance, etc)

Establish street/settlement and sikka alignments, to the extent possible, to take advantage of sun positioning (summer vs winter)

and prevailing winds       

How Can RDI DesktopTM Help?

UPC Street Design Manual Implementation – measurable guidelines

Help Establish Non-motorized Neighborhood Connectivity Standards - design guide thresholds for neighborhood planning site plan review

Non-Motorized Plan Strategic Prioritization Measure current networks - target critical non-motorized connections Minimizing expensive and unnecessary data collection Help expedite Draft Plan project identification and prioritization

Critical Plan Priority Analysis and Ranking – consistent and robust technique (with other sub-models) to measure important: Neighborhood Connectors Transit Access Connectors Urban Boulevard Crossings