The primary purpose of the street is a thoroughfare for transport within a city. It is necessary for a public space, accessible to all, for persons and vehicles to travel from place to place. It is also necessary in most circumstances for a place to contain public utilities, such as water, electricity and storm water services.
As almost all properties face a street, it is not purely a thoroughfare though. The city is made up a collection of streets and buildings.
This article shows some photos of a spectrum of streets as places to thoroughfares.
Pitt Street Mall in Sydney has been designed largely as a "place" and not a thoroughfare. There is no day to day access of motorised vehicles, as there are a number of areas for performances, passive recreation and entertainment. It functions as a thoroughfare for pedestrians, although cars must divert around surrounding streets.
The below image of George Street, The Rocks provides more of a thoroughfare, with some vehicular access permitted, although most of the street used for pedestrians and outdoor dining. It provides high amenity for these people, as there is limited and slow vehicular traffic.
Crown Street Surry Hills provides a balance between place and thoroughfare, with reasonable sized footpaths on both sides of the street. There is two way traffic for cars and on-street parking provides a sense of security/protection for pedestrians.
This image of Parramatta Road at Annandale below, is more at the thoroughfare end of the spectrum, with multiple lanes for traffic and bus lanes. While there are footpaths for pedestrians, the lack of on street parking in close proximity to cars and buses makes it an uncomfortable environment for pedestrians and can feel somewhat dangerous. Many businesses along the street struggle to attract customers due to lack of parking and problems with noise/amenity.
Perhaps the most extreme version of the street as a thoroughfare can be seen in the concept of the "motorway". See image of the M5 at Padstow below. This is a highly engineered environment designed for the fast movement of vehicles only. It would be a highly dangerous environment for pedestrians and buildings cannot directly access it.
A desire by governments and engineers to remove pedestrians from the street leads to structures such as this footbridge over Pittwater Road at Brookvale. While this does protect pedestrians from fast moving cars when crossing the street, it also creates poor amenity for pedestrians and the surrounding environment. This overpass has similar amenity to Cell Block A at the nearest prison. It's primary purpose is to maintain the flow of cars on the road, by making pedestrians walk over the road rather than across it, which would necessitate cars to stop. It indicates that cars have taken priority over pedestrians in this instance.
The below image of a walkway at Riverside Drive, Airds, was an attempt to move pedestrians below the road, to facilitate greater movement of cars on the road. While pedestrians are separated from the danger of noise and cars, it created an environment with poor amenity and greater potential for crime and anti social behaviour with lack of passive surveillance.
The first image of Pitt Street Mall creates a good environment for pedestrians while separating them from cars, while the last two images of pedestrian overpasses and underpasses create poor environments for pedestrians, while also separating them from cars. Often the better environments for pedestrians are worse for the fast movement of cars and vice versa.
It is a broader question for governments and society. What is a greater priority? Creating better public spaces or the faster movement of cars?
All images courtesy of Google Maps, other than the last image, I Wills
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