For those that suffered through classes in planning school in order to hack Illustrator and Photoshop to show streetscapes, behold Streetmix. You can drag and drop transit elements like light rail, streetcars, buses and bike lanes. You can add street furniture like benches, way finding signs, transit shelters, parklets and trees. You can adjust the width of the lanes and change the type of plantings.
In “Untapped Cities Street” which we created above, we tried to promote some of the transit ideas we believe in. We have a dedicated bus line that runs in the center of the street with right-of-way, like true Bus Rapid Transit systems should have. We also added elevated platform level transit stations for the bus, which speeds up boarding.
We separated out the bike lanes with some kind of protective barrier, using palm trees for fun. You can also change the buildings and their heights, or get rid of buildings all together and add a beach, grass, or an intersecting road.
With such a fun interface, we guarantee you’ll waste some time today on Streetmix. Happy building!
Michelle is the founder of Untapped New York and the author of The Art Spy (HarperOne, forthcoming) Secret Brooklyn, Secret New York Hidden Bars & Restaurants, and Broadway. michelleyoungwriter.com
