Vaughan is a rapidly growing city with diverse land uses and a complex network of streets that range in size, character and function. Like many post-war communities, Vaughan’s streets have been designed to prioritize the automobile. Emerging policy objectives recognize this imbalance, calling for a new paradigm that promotes safe, sustainable future-ready streets that support varied and inclusive mobility choices for pedestrians, active transportation and transit users. The Vaughan Complete Streets Guide is the city’s primary resource for street design for practitioners, decision-makers and the public. Compared to other street design guides, this landscape architect-led exercise places greater emphasis on placemaking. The guide stresses the importance of street performance beyond vehicle operations to prioritize inclusivity and sustainability and pays greater attention to embedding street trees, green infrastructure, stormwater management and low-impact development in street design. To ensure the city’s ecological, social and economic objectives are achieved, the document establishes design checklists and performance metrics. These values are foundational to the writing of the document, elevating the design and implementation of streets in Vaughan. Leveraging a new approach to street design process, the guide helps deliver a safer, healthier, more inclusive and sustainable Vaughan.
