• April 18th, 2025
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With limited funding streams, complex approval and regulatory processes, and lengthy construction timetables, cities are often challenged to deliver the results that communities demand as quickly as they would like. Interim design strategies from NACTO are tools and tactics that cities can use to improve their roadways and public spaces in the near term. They include low-cost, interim materials, new public amenities, and creative partnerships with local stakeholders, which together enable faster project delivery and more flexible and responsive design.

Whether setting a parklet along a curb, pedestrianizing a narrow corridor, or redesigning a complex intersection, cities have the opportunity and the responsibility to make the most efficient use of valuable street space. An interim design can serve as a bridge to the community, helping to build support for a project and test its functionality before going into construction.

Below we've summarized NACTO's Interim Street Design Guide strategies, but be sure to explore the entirety of their Urban Street Design Guide which offers "a blueprint for designing 21st century streets"—unveiling a toolbox of tactics cities use to make streets safer, more livable, and more economically vibrant, outlining both a clear vision for complete streets and a basic roadmap for how to bring them to fruition, including Street Design Principles across downtown areas, neighborhoods and main streets, yield streets, boulevards, transit corridors, green alleys, commercial alleys, residential/commercial shared streets, and more; Street Design Elements including lane width, sidewalks, curb extensions, vertical speed control elements, transit streets, and stormwater management; Intersection Design Strategies and Principles from major to minor intersections, raised intersections, mini-roundabouts, and complex intersection analysis; Intersection Design Elements including crosswalks/crossings, corner radii, visibility/sight distance, and traffic signals; Design Controls including Speed Reduction Mechanisms, and more.

• Activating the Curb
  • While the separation of the street and the sidewalk is generally defined through on-street parking, street furniture, and physical elements that buffer pedestrians from motorists, curbsides have the potential to host a wide variety of uses beyond parking. On-street parking spaces or curbside travel lanes may be converted to bus lanes or cycle tracks. 2–4 parking spaces can be replaced with a parklet or bike corral. On weekends or at lunch time, curbsides can host food trucks or vendors that activate street life and create a destination within the street. Strategies reviewed include:
    • Interim Sidewalk Widening
    • Traffic Calming
    • Bike Corrals
    • Bike Shares
    • Parklets
• From Pilot to Permanent
  • The conventional project development process proceeds from plan to capital construction over a number of years, during which momentum and funding for the project may fade. From a project’s conceptualization to its actual implementation, a lot can change in terms of political will, citizen involvement, and prevailing city policies. While many of these processes are designed to assess and evaluate the potential impacts of a project, small-scale, interim changes—wider sidewalks, public plazas, street seating—can deliver results to communities more quickly. Interim design strategies allow cities to assess the impacts of their intended project in real time and realize their benefits faster than typical processes allow. While a majority of these interim designs go on to become full-scale capital projects, some are altered or redesigned in the process based on how they perform in real time. This results in a better final product and saves on future expenditures and improvements that need to be made in revision.
  • Year 1 through Year 5 phased implementation strategies are reviewed though the guide does cite that while interim design strategies can be effective and instrumental toward realizing certain projects, they may not be appropriate at all locations or for all communities, and cities should assess how an interim design will be received by local stakeholders in order to avoid derailing a project that might have been better received in capital phase.
• Parklets
  • Parklets are public seating platforms that convert curbside parking spaces into vibrant community spaces. Also known as street seats or curbside seating, parklets are the product of a partnership between the city and local businesses, residents, or neighborhood associations. Most parklets have a distinctive design that incorporates seating, greenery, and/or bike racks and accommodate unmet demand for public space on thriving neighborhood retail streets or commercial areas.
  • Application, benefits and consideration, critical considerations, recommendations, and additional optional strategies are all reviewed in the guide.
• Temporary Street Closures
  • Temporary streets closures, such as play streets, block parties, street fairs, and open streets, demonstrate the range and diversity of ways in which a city’s streets may be utilized. Whether done as a precursor to a future project or as a seasonal or weekly event, temporary closures can activate the street and showcase participating businesses and communities. Depending on a street’s usage and characteristics, temporary street closures can take multiple forms, ranging from an emphasis on active recreation, biking, or exercise to business activity, food, or arts.
  • Temporary street closures allow cities to take better advantage of their roadways, especially during off-peak hours and weekends, calling attention to neighborhood businesses and destinations with increased foot traffic on designated corridors, and data collection can support public perceptions of the success of a temporary implementation—especially helpful toward creating a permanent public space.
  • When themed around active recreation and exercise, temporary street closures may be aligned with a city's larger public health goals and encourage residents.
• Interim Public Plazas
  • Interim public plazas transform underutilized areas of roadway into public spaces for surrounding residents and businesses. Using low-cost materials, such as epoxied gravel, movable planters, and flexible seating, interim public plazas reconfigure and revitalize intersections that might otherwise be unsafe or underutilized.
  • Like parklets, interim public plazas are the result of a successful partnership between the city and a neighborhood group or business association. Partners maintain, oversee, and program the space. While many public plazas proceed from an interim phase to final reconstruction within 3–5 years, the intermediate application allows the community to build support for and benefit from the public space in the near term, before major capital construction.
  • Public plazas have the potential to:
    • Make intersections safer, more compact, and easier to cross for pedestrians
    • Slow traffic speeds and mitigate potentially dangerous intersection conflicts
    • Activate a public space by reclaiming space unused or underused by motorists
    • Energize surrounding streets and public spaces, creating foot traffic that can boost business and invigorate street life in a neighborhood

Source: NACTO