Innovative design solutions for the future of micromobility

Recently, an integrated team of Stantec designers submitted an exciting micromobility design strategy to a competition called the ITE Micromobility Sandbox Design Challenge.  Stantec staff from Canada, the US and New Zealand participated. The team worked together across disciplines, across continents, to come up with a vision that represents the harmonious future of micromobility and its urban context – both within the curb and beyond. They learned a lot during this creative process, and they also had fun challenging the conventions of design between the curblines.

Held in conjunction with the 2020 Virtual ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibition, the goal of the ITE Micromobility Sandbox Design Competition was to identify innovative solutions where current and future micromobility could co-exist with both faster and slower moving options.

E-scooters, shared bicycles, electric skateboards– they’re all increasing in numbers throughout our cities and changing the way we need to look at mobility within our downtowns. We need to rethink bike lanes and bike and e-scooter storage in relation to sidewalk cafes, rain gardens, and parklets. Demand for curb space is increasing and cities are seeing challenges with accommodating all users.

The challenge was to develop innovative design solutions to best accommodate the range of users of urban rights-of-way, including current and future micromobility options. The team focused on two very different types of streets: Bridger Avenue in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Passyunk Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The team chose such different mobility contexts to push the limits of the design’s applicability. Some innovative design features incorporated into Stantec’s final design include a rollable curb with grade separation to accompany painted bike lanes, smart parking technology, and greenwave LED lighting.

To find out more about micromobility at Stantec.