Road-Adjacent Greenway
CDR-RAG-05 Recommended Corridor
Road-Adjacent Greenway
A corridor where a multi-use trail or linear park runs parallel to, but physically separated from, a road for some or all of its length, without an active rail line involved, addressing connection points and crossing treatment between the two.
Why this pattern exists
A greenway running beside a road is a common and valuable configuration, but it creates a specific design problem distinct from a road with no parallel path: where and how people move between the two, and how crossings of the road itself are handled where the greenway needs to cross it. Left unaddressed, this produces either a greenway that is disconnected from the destinations along the road, or unsafe informal crossing points.1
Key considerations
- Connection points between the road-side facilities and the greenway should be planned at regular, predictable intervals
- Any point where the greenway needs to cross the road should use an appropriate Crossing-family Element pattern, not an ad hoc treatment
- Distinguish this from Multi-Use Trail/Greenway (a Segment-scale pattern describing the trail itself); this pattern is about the trail’s relationship to the parallel road, not the trail’s own design
Related patterns
Rail-With-Trail Corridor (CDR-RWT-04) (related but distinct: rail involved); Multi-Use Trail/Greenway (COL-MUT-06) (Segment scale, the trail itself); relevant Crossing-family Element patterns
References
- Legal / regulatory AASHTO, Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities, 5th Edition, 2024.