How to Use This Website

The Street Design Manual website is designed to help practitioners, agency staff, and community members understand and apply DOT's standards and best practices for creating safe, accessible, and vibrant streets in New York City. This platform provides an interactive, searchable resource with up-to-date guidance, technical specifications, and built examples.

The Street Design Manual is organized into seven chapters, each focused on a key element of designing the right-of-way: Process, Geometry, Materials, Lighting, Furnishings, Landscape, and Activations.

Throughout the manual, many treatments and elements are cross-referenced across chapters. For example, information about the materials of Curbs is located in the Materials chapter, with guidance on how curbs can be applied in the streetscape found in the Geometry chapter.

Get the Most Out of This Website

  • Review the Key Considerations: Each chapter begins with a Key Considerations section that summarizes critical guidance and identifies factors that should be reviewed alongside specific design treatments. These considerations help ensure that projects address safety, accessibility, sustainability, and operational needs. It is strongly recommended that users review the Key Considerations when referencing design treatments to ensure a comprehensive understanding of their application.
  • Explore Chapter Content: Review the treatments and strategies within each chapter for design guidance, benefits, and considerations.

  • Follow Cross-References: Treatments often include references to related content in other chapters. Reviewing cross-referenced sections will provide a more complete understanding of how design elements relate to one another.


Tools & Resources

  • Case Studies: Examples of New York City street projects that illustrate how design treatments are applied, including the full project development process.

  • Plant Finder: A searchable database of recommended plant species suitable for the City's right-of-way, with filters for plant type, light conditions, shape, size, color and more.

  • Spec & Detail Finder: A tool to locate technical specifications, standard drawings, and construction details referenced throughout the Manual.

Website Structure

Learn about the navigation and organization of a typical page of this website.

Street Design Manual page explaining how the website pages are generally structured.