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In Stage 6 an overall master plan is prepared for the site incorporating all design elements. This provides a framework for all activities that will take place within the market. The following points should be covered:
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STAGE 6
PREPARING THE SITE PLAN
Site development principles
The next stage after choosing the site is to prepare a draft master plan. This is a method of organizing the different uses on the site and should incorporate all the needs of the users and take account of the factors that influence the management and operation of the market. A good plan reflects these factors well and provides the maximum benefit for the minimum investment. A bad plan can hinder the market’s operations. At this point, the plan will only be tentative. It will need to be finalized during the detailed design in Stage 7.
Market development is often an ongoing process. At first there may be an open market in a street or on a piece of vacant land with temporary stalls. This may be followed by the construction of simple sheds. Assuming sufficient land is available, the market might gradually provide more specialized facilities, justifying the provision of covered market buildings. A small rural market might start with the building of a perimeter wall and provisions for paving and rubbish collection facilities. Covered stalls might then be built when the resources are available. The site plan will need to take into account this evolution. Initially, lack of resources may mean that it won’t be possible to meet all the needs of the users, but provision should be made so they can be accommodated in the future.
Step 6.1
Gather design data
It is necessary to gather all the information that has been assembled during the previous stages. The social, physical and institutional factors that need to be considered in preparing a site plan are:
site analysis maps (from Step 5.2) showing the geometry of the site, its boundary, whether it is flat or sloping and the positions of vehicular and pedestrian access points;
maps showing the surrounding land uses and infrastructure facilities, such as main drains, sewers, overhead power lines, adjacent buildings, and bus stops; and
tabulation from Stage 4 of the areas of buildings required, the number of users’ spaces and lists of any special facilities that may be required, including environmental impact mitigation measures.
Step 6.2
Organize land uses
The purpose of this step is to reflect the views of the users on how the activities on the site might be organized for maximum efficiency.
Zoning land uses. The question of segregating assembly and retailing functions is a difficult issue. Few rural assembly markets are used exclusively for assembly purposes and many assemblers are also retail traders. Farmers bringing their produce to assembly markets often use the markets’ retail facilities as well. The mixing of assembly and retail functions in small markets can be viable, particularly if the functions are separated by time, e.g. with assembly taking place early in the morning before retailing starts.
Another zoning issue is whether specialized uses should remain in a general market or are better located elsewhere. For example, it may be preferable for a meat market to be located adjacent to a slaughterhouse.
The different sections of a market can be set up as follows:
fresh fruit and vegetable retail trading areas;
temporary sales areas for producers and assembly traders;
meat, fish, poultry and egg sales;
sales of grains and spices;
sales of cooked food;
other non-food sales, such as clothing and household goods;
general circulation areas (internal and external); and
other uses, such as storage, administration and public toilets.
Grouping sales outlets. The direction from which most customers arrive influences the location and grouping of stalls. Customers often come from a main point such as a bus stop or from the direction of a more densely populated area. It is preferable that stalls for products that people buy on an almost daily basis, such as roots and tubers, fruits and vegetables, be located away from these approaches so customers can be drawn into the market. If retailers are grouped by type of product, competition will be greater, which should be beneficial for consumers.
Some food stalls, such as those used by butchers and fishmongers, may be incompatible with others. These should be located in different sections of the market or at least separated by a main path or aisle.
Temporary and small-scale vendors. Small-scale retailers or farmers often operate in the area surrounding a market, causing congestion and competing with the permanent retailers, as consumers may find buying outside the market quicker. However, it is not desirable to remove such small-scale traders, as they would lose their means of livelihood. These temporary vendors and producers sometimes operate during limited days of the week or for a limited season. Ideally, separate spaces within the market should be provided for them and daily licences issued.
Step 6.3
Plan vehicular access and
circulation
Easy access to the market is essential for efficient movement of goods and people. The best form of access is for public transport to be provided with a stopping point at the front of the site and for the service access to be at the side or rear of the premises. With a small rural market this is achieved by providing:
an access road to one side of the market; or
a perimeter road around the market site (the typical market square).
For larger markets, an internal road system, which has neither short cuts to other destinations nor dead-ends (cul-de-sacs), could be provided.
A road running through the centre of the market area (i.e. effectively creating a street market) causes the most congestion and is not a recommended option.
To avoid traffic accidents, junctions of loop roads to main roads should be T-junctions (i.e. having only three potential collision points compared with the 16 that occur with crossroads).The T-junctions should be as near as possible at right angles so that maximum visibility at corners is obtained. Separating cars and pedestrians is not necessary in rural markets, although priority should be given to pedestrians, at least during the main hours of operation. A workable circulation system is to develop pedestrian paths roughly at right angles to the service roads. Some of these characteristics are included in the market layouts shown in Figure 6.
Parking. Separate parking areas should be available for visitors’ vehicles. In larger markets traders should be allocated separate parking for their vehicles, usually in an area from which the general public is excluded. Delivery vehicles need to be able to unload close to the market stalls, although this may not be possible for all retail markets. To reduce congestion, deliveries should normally be made before trading starts (usually early morning) and rubbish collection and cleaning should be undertaken at the end of the working day. Signs are desirable to indicate who is allowed to park and at what time parking is permitted. The relationship of the market to bus stops and petrol filling stations is also important and ideally all these facilities should be located close together. In most rural markets, parking areas for bicycles, motorcycles and animal carts are a greater priority than parking for private cars.
Figure 6. Basic layouts of rural markets
The basic layout of a rural market will depend on physical site conditions, the level of investment and local cultural preferences.
Example A: The simplest solution is a street market, with stalls either on one or both sides of the road. This is really only suitable if the market is not on a main road.
Example B: A traditional solution is to locate facilities (open sales area or covered stalls) in a central square or village green, with a road system preferably around the edges.
Example C: Another common form is a dedicated market site, which is often enclosed by a wall or fence. The sketch layout on the opposite page is an example and shows the evolution of the site location plan illustrated in Figure 4.
KEY
1 New covered market stalls
2 Open sales area
3 Dairy and meat stall
4 Future covered market stalls
5 Parking
6 Future parking
7 Paved area
8 Future paving
9 Future shed/cold room
10 Future toilets
11 Planted area
12 Steps
13 Existing road connecting hospital to centre
14 Assumed alignment of future bypass road
Step 6.4
Plan for supplementary uses
Public space. The market should provide an atmosphere favourable to selling. For larger markets the circulation system is usually best arranged so there is a “hierarchy” of spaces, with one or more major trading areas, off of which there are minor spaces serving other functions.
Location of facilities. Facilities that serve all market users, such as toilets, rubbish bins and boards that give price and other information, should be centrally located so that they are easily accessible. In larger markets, such facilities will need to be provided in several different locations.
Marketing of live animals. Livestock has no place inside a food market. A separate enclosure with its own water supply is needed. The humane treatment of animals is important to maximize the benefits of livestock sales, and basic principles of animal husbandry must be observed. In most rural markets there is no possibility of erecting a separate building for poultry. Therefore, the best solution is usually to house the birds in cages in a well-ventilated area, close to the exit and separated by solid masonry walls from other parts of the market.
Uses around the fringe of the market. It is important for a market to be a lively place in order to attract customers. Spaces should be allocated around the edge of the market for business activities such as small-scale shops. Seating accommodation is a common feature on the fringe of traditional market spaces, for both traders and shoppers to relax. Spaces are often provided for cafés and cooked-food stands, which should be concentrated at junctions of roads and paths in order to maximize trade. Portable stands or small huts are normally used.
Site landscaping. Facilities are needed to make the site comfortable for users. Existing shade trees should be retained and new trees planted wherever possible. Tree guards made of wooden stakes or steel gratings should be used to protect trees. In larger markets, outdoor seating should be provided. Low walls can provide appropriate seats.
Step 6.5
Finalize the site plan
After reviewing all the planning factors discussed above a draft site plan can be prepared. Approaches to preparing site plan maps are discussed in Annex A. The main factors that must be reflected in the site plan are:
the dimensions of the market elements, such as optimum size of buildings and stalls, width of streets and drain reserves (see Annex C);
land-use zoning and provision of adequate circulation and parking areas, which include space for animal carts, cycles and motorcycles (Steps 6.2 and 6.3);
orientation of buildings in relation to climatic factors, such as maximizing air flow through buildings and minimizing solar heat gain by staggering the buildings in relation to each other and orienting them on an east-west axis; and
meeting any requirements set down by the local authority to conform to minimum structural, public health, hygiene and disabled-access standards.
Checking areas. The first part of the process is to total up the sales and circulation space and check whether it broadly corresponds to the overall area projected for the market in Stage 4. If necessary, adjustments to the total requirements can be made to take account of existing facilities. If an existing market is sub-standard it is better to consider its redesign as though it were a new market, making allowance for existing facilities.
Consulting with users. An important part of the process is to consult with market users. The market committee should be given the opportunity to examine critically the market layout and building designs to see if they fulfil the requirements set down in the design brief. Users may need to be presented with a number of alternative site layouts so that the most suitable can be chosen. This cannot be undertaken until the next stage has been completed.
After Stage 7 it will usually be necessary to revise the draft site plan. An example of a rural market site plan is shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7. Example of a rural market site plan
To construct a rural market it is necessary to prepare dimensioned drawings that can be used by contractors for setting out and construction. This figure shows the detailed planning that was needed to develop the site illustrated in Figures 4 and 6. The main features shown on the site plan are:
Key
1 Market buildings, stalls and pitches
1a Dairy market
2 Stores and market offices
3 Paved areas for pedestrian circulation
4 Access roads
5 Parking areas, including defining parking bays
6 Changes in level - steps and ramps
7 Walls and fences
8 Landscaping - new and existing trees and grassed areas
9 Drains and culverts
10 Other infrastructure - garbage collection points, toilets, street-lights and water supply points
The new cheese and milk market at Monggar, Bhutan.
J. Tracey-White
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