CNU Report: Street Design, The International Fire Code, 2012 and Beyond

In  recent  years,  new  urbanists and  firefighters  have  discovered both  common  interests  and  shared challenges  in neighborhood  street design. The  Emergency  Response  &  Street Design  Initiative,  a  collaboration between  the  Congress  for the New  Urbanism,  fire marshals  from  across  the  United  States,  and  the  U.S. Environmental  Protection  Agency’s Smart Growth program,  have  found  solid  common  ground  for  ongoing  efforts  to  reconcile  narrower  streets and  good  emergency access: Street connectivity  —  specifically  wellconnected  networks  of  traditional street  grids  —  is  essential  to  good urbanism,  shortens emergency response times, and improves overall community life safety.