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This monthly newsletter issued by the National Complete Streets Coalition provides a roundup of news related to Complete Streets policies -- policies to ensure that the entire right of way is routinely designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Please pass it around! And visit www.completestreets.org to stay informed.
National Complete Streets Coalition Will Incorporate as Official Program of Smart Growth America
In an effort to ensure the continued growth and widespread support for Complete Streets policies, the National Complete Streets Coalition's steering committee recently approved a proposal to incorporate the coalition as an official program of Coalition member Smart Growth America (SGA), the only organization dedicated to researching, advocating for and leading coalitions to bring smart growth practices to more communities nationwide. The change will take effect July 1.
"The Coalition has had spectacular success as an ad-hoc group for seven years," said Barbara McCann, who founded the Coalition. "Now it needs a more formal and sustainable structure to better serve the growth of Complete Streets."
Concurrent with the Coalition's move to SGA, which has served as its fiscal host since 2006, McCann will resign from her position as executive director. She plans to write a book about the complete streets movement, which has helped hundreds of jurisdictions commit to routinely building safer, more inclusive roads.
"Barbara has done a great job engaging so many organizations in the pursuit of Complete Streets and we know she will continue to provide value to the movement," said SGA President and CEO Geoffrey Anderson. "Complete Streets are a vital component of strong, vibrant neighborhoods and adding the Coalition as an SGA program aligns with our goal of making communities work for everyone."
Roger Millar, SGA vice president and director of SGA's Leadership Institute, will head the Coalition, and long-time Coalition State and Local Policy Manager Stefanie Seskin will be promoted to deputy director. The Coalition's Steering Committee groups will continue to fund a significant portion of the staff's work, as well as using their own resources to work for adoption and implementation of Complete Streets policies at the local, state, and federal level.
"We expect this evolution to strengthen the Coalition," said Coalition Chair Rich Weaver, who serves as a senior program manager in the policy department of the American Public Transportation Association. "It has already energized Steering Committee members to step up and renew their commitment to supporting the spread of polices that make the streets safe for everyone." Click here for a full list of Coalition Steering Committee members. For more information about SGA visit www.smartgrowthamerica.org.
Read more Coalition News below.
COMPLETE STREETS POLICY PROGRESS
- Year-Long Effort Pays Off in Saratoga Springs
- Quick Takes: Policy Adoption
- Quick Takes: Policy Action
- Federal Policy Update
COALITION NEWS
- New Orleans Workshop Pushes Implementation Ahead
- Complete Streets and Green Infrastructure Explored in La Crosse
- Coalition Thanks Our Renewing Partners
COMPLETE STREETS NEWS
- How America Can Start Walking Again
- Complete Streets Talk Across the Country
RESOURCES
- Outcomes of the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program
- Creating Neighborhoods for All Ages Around Transit
- Complete Streets Handbook for Kansas City Region
- Guide to Active Living Projects
- Creating Communities for 'Free Range Children'
- More Bike Lanes, More People on Bikes
- Two New Rating Tools from Walk Score
- Webinar: Estimating Economic Impact of Transportation Investments
- Citizen’s Guide to Context Sensitive Solutions
- Prioritizing Schools for Walking Improvements
QUOTES
COMPLETE STREETS POLICY PROGRESS
Year-Long Effort Pays Off in Saratoga Springs
The community of Saratoga Springs, New York now stands firmly behind a belief that its streets should be safe for everyone, regardless of age, ability, whether on foot, riding bikes, or traveling in a motor vehicle. The City Council adopted a policy unanimously on May 1 (.pdf), following a campaign led by Shared Access Saratoga. Community advocates, AARP New York, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and others worked with councilmembers to come up with a workable policy and actionable items to improve the community's streets. The policy is all the more remarkable given the national attention the city received when a local middle school disciplined a 12-year-old who biked to school. At its next meeting, the Council will recommend appointees to the new Shared Access Advisory Board to start to implement the policy.
Quick Takes: Policy Adoption
- Following the lead of other Los Angeles County communities, Huntington Park, California's City Council unanimously approved a comprehensive Complete Streets policy (.pdf) last month.
- Hawaii's first local Complete Streets ordinance (.pdf) was adopted in Honolulu this month, thanks to broad support from advocates, organizations, the transportation agency, and elected officials.
- Essex and Mercer Counties became the second and third New Jersey counties to have a Complete Streets policy.
- The Greenwood, South Carolina City Council voted unanimously to adopt a Complete Streets resolution (.pdf) last month.
Quick Takes: Policy Action
- A new brochure (.pdf) from the California Department of Transportation will help explain the department's Complete Streets approach and its benefits.
- Count another successful Complete Streets project in the Sacramento region with the groundbreaking of Fair Oaks Boulevard's renovation in Carmichael, California. (Carmichael Patch)
- Citrus Heights, California offers sampling of projects deployed under the city's Complete Streets approach on its website.
- A bronze "Walk Friendly Community" designation was awarded to Forest Park, Illinois, in part because of the city's recent adoption of a Complete Streets policy. (Forest Park Review)
- The New Jersey Department of Transportation launched a series of invitation-only workshops to help municipalities understand, adopt, and implement Complete Streets policies. (Mobilizing the Region)
- Complete Streets work underway in New York City will stick around because the concept is institutionalized in transportation departments and built facilities have made supporters out of everyday residents. (Streetsblog)
- A temporary, weeklong demonstration project on Rockwell Avenue in Cleveland will allow community members and decision makers first-hand experience of the Complete Streets approach embodied in the city's 2011 ordinance. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
- New sidewalks and crosswalks are coming to Vienna, Virginia, where their addition will help fill the gaps in the pedestrian network. (Vienna Patch)
Federal Policy Update
Members of the House and Senate are working to resolve differences and conference the transportation reauthorization bill. The Senate version, MAP-21, includes a Complete Streets provision, and members of our Coalition are working to make sure Congress understands the need for a truly multi-modal bill. The American Public Transportation Association has released a new study predicting that millions of Americans will be taking millions of additional bus and rail trips this year to escape high gas prices -- and that Congress needs to act now to meet the demand. A new poll released by America Bikes shows that eighty-three percent of those polled would like to see federal funding for bicycling and walking maintained or increased -- and this high percentage is consistent across demographics and political affiliation. Stay up to date by signing up for Transportation for America alerts.
COALITION NEWS
New Orleans Workshop Pushes Implementation Ahead
In late February, the Coalition worked with the City of New Orleans to bring a Complete Streets Policy Implementation Workshop to town. Two of our expert instructors, Michael Ronkin and Michael Moule, spent the day with transportation professionals and community leaders to review their decision-making process, using some recent projects as examples. That evening, residents were invited to hear from Ronkin about complete Streets and ask him questions. Our work was made possible through a partnership with Coalition Steering Committee member Smart Growth America.
Complete Streets and Green Infrastructure Explored in La Crosse
Roger Henderson and Tom von Schrader facilitated a Complete Streets Policy Implementation Workshop in La Crosse, Wisconsin last month, helping the city explore the best solutions to improving multimodal transportation and manage stormwater. The workshop was coordinated locally by the County Bicycle and Pedestrian Planner, Jack Zabrowski, who spoke about the health benefits of Complete Streets in this video from last year.
Coalition Thanks Our Renewing Partners
We're pleased to have a number of Complete Streets Partners renew their commitments as Coalition Silver Partners:
Thanks also to renewing Bronze Partners: Freese and Nichols, Inc.; LJB, Inc.; and RPM Transportation Consultants LLC.
If your firm isn't part of our Partner program, check out the great benefits. Joining is easy!
COMPLETE STREETS NEWS
How America Can Start Walking Again
In an excellent, well-researched series of articles last month, Tom Vanderbilt explains how being a pedestrian United States became a unique 'problem' on the streets -- rather than the fundamental nature of humans -- and some of the research about walking habits. He finishes the series by offering some examples of how walkability is gaining currency again, from Walk Score to Complete Streets.
Complete Streets Talk Across the Country
- Complete Streets were a key part of the presentations at the Connecticut Sustainable Streets Forum last month, as transportation leaders from across the state spoke about their efforts. (Mobilizing the Region)
- In a news report on the ways parents and community members around Washington, D.C. are working to make it safe for kids to walk and bike to school, Complete Streets are central to the solution. (Transportation Nation)
- Clayton, Missouri Mayor Linda Goldstein was recognized by the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation for her work to make the community friendly to people on foot or bike, noting her role in the city's adoption of a Complete Streets policy. (Clayton Richmond Heights Patch)
- Great Falls, Montana is about to hop on the Complete Streets bandwagon, thanks to an ACHIEVE grant and invested community leaders. (KRTV)
- A recent bike tour of Fourth Street in Reno, Nevada helped illuminate the ways it could become a more complete street. (Reno News & Review)
- Vision Long Island will honor New York State Senator Charles Fuschillo Jr., a Republican of Merrick, for his role in shepherding the state's Complete Streets law last year. (Long Island Herald)
- Recent Complete Streets policies have yet to make on-the-ground changes in suburban Long Island, New York, where families who live within walking distance of community schools are calling for buses to keep their kids from the crossing busy, dangerous streets, and where most pedestrians fatalities occur near transit stations. (Atlantic Cities, Mobilizing the Region)
- The City of Cincinnati continues to press ahead with Complete Streets efforts, now alongside efforts to develop a form-based code. (Urban Cincy)
- The first fifteen proposed projects using a Complete Streets approach in Dallas have been released and will be part of voter referendum in November. (NBC 5, Dallas City Hall)
- Landscape architects should play a role in transportation planning and design, says the Vermont Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. (Burlington Free Press)
- In a recent post for the AARP Blog, walkability guru and "roads scholar" Dan Burden asks, "When it comes to our communities, are we fair-minded or afraid?"
- Catch Michael King of Coalition Silver Partner Nelson\Nygaard talk about Complete Streets in this video.
RESOURCES
Outcomes of the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program
The Federal Highway Administration has released the long-awaited report to Congress on the outcomes of the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP) established with the adoption of the most recent federal transportation authorization bill. The NTPP provided roughly $25 million annually to four pilot communities to demonstrate how a relatively small investment in walking and bicycling projects and programs could help solve a community's transportation woes. Among the key outcomes from the sites are: 16 million miles walked or biked that would have others been driven; a greater percentage of walking and bicycling trips linked to transit use; lower rates of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities; and big increases in the number of people walking and riding bikes.
Creating Neighborhoods for All Ages Around Transit
A new video from AARP's Public Policy Institute and Streetfilms highlights design features that create a pedestrian-oriented, accessible community around public transportation stations. The six-minute video features conversations with Arlington, Virginia residents, local officials, and experts in Transit Oriented Development (TOD).
Complete Streets Handbook for Kansas City Region
A new resource from the Mid-America Regional Council (.pdf) aims to help policy makers, transportation professionals, and community residents better understand how to advance Complete Streets in the region. Written by Coalition Partner firm Nelson\Nygaard and Coalition staff, the handbook contains information on developing a policy and putting it to practice.
Guide to Active Living Projects
A guide from AARP and the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute aims to take community members "from inspiration to action" when it comes to creating a transportation network safe and comfortable for people of all ages to walk, bicycle, or take transit. The guide describes how to engage the public in planning and visioning and how the public can work with local governments to make active living an outcome of every project. It also includes resources and first-hand accounts from community leaders across the continent.
Creating Communities for 'Free Range Children'
Mark Fenton lays out his five principles for creating communities that support children's physical activity in a February Childhood Obesity article. Those include zoning changes, Complete Streets policies, trail networks that connects destinations, transportation demand management, and Safe Routes to School interventions.
More Bike Lanes, More People on Bikes
Yes, it really is that simple, according to a new study published in Transport Policy. Researchers Ralph Buehler and John Pucher found that the presence of off-road paths and on-street bike lanes is the biggest factor related to the number of people who take to their bikes in a given community.
Two New Rating Tools from Walk Score
Walk Score now offers easy ways to evaluate to evaluate a community's access to public transit and the ease of bicycling there, both on a s scale of 0 to 100. Transit Score analyzes frequency of routes, the types of routes available, and the distance from a location to nearby transit stops. Bike Score ratings are based on bicycling infrastructure (lanes and trails), hills, destinations and road connectivity, and the number of bike commuters.
Webinar: Estimating Economic Impact of Transportation Investments
The State Smart Transportation Initiative, in partnership with the Center for Neighborhood Technology and several state Departments of Transportation, have produced guidance for practitioners in selecting the best methods to estimate the economic impact of a transportation project. Join the June 29 webinar to hear more about it.
Citizen's Guide to Context Sensitive Solutions
Designed to help citizens participate in the transpiration planning process, the new guide from the TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program, will help ensure transportation projects best fit the surrounding community. Understanding professional responsibility, the flexibility in design options, and collaborative partnerships are among the topics addressed.
Prioritizing Schools for Walking Improvements
Safety-based Prioritization of Schools for Safe Routes to School Infrastructure Projects: A Process for Transportation Professionals, from the National Center for Safe Routes to School, will help communities identify the schools with the greatest need for walking infrastructure improvements and the greatest potential for improvement. The methodology may be helpful for Complete Streets implementation, especially in locating high priority gaps or deficiencies in the walking network.
QUOTES
"There are numerous benefits to complete streets and the value that they bring to both our individual lives and communities as a whole. They provide accessibility to seniors, children and people with disabilities. They have a proven record of promoting community connectedness and bringing vibrancy, efficiency and economic stimulus to the areas they serve. Building on economic value and quality of life, complete streets can lower transportation cost for families and enhance our environment."
-- Ellen Kehr, council member, Albert Lea, Minnesota
"If you think complete streets are primarily a construction and design issue, you're wrong. Yes, you'll need changes to your streets. But the physical changes are often inexpensive things like striping shoulders and reconfiguring intersections. These engineering improvements encourage behavioral changes that can energize your residents and get them more involved in community life."
-- Jerry Fried, Mayor, Montclair, New Jersey
"[The Complete Streets] model is not merely a retrograde attempt to rekindle our bucolic past, but rather a forward-looking set of initiatives that will, in the long run, aid the environment, improve traffic safety, benefit public health and enhance a community's quality of life."
-- Asbury Park Press editorial board
"We are not saying 'Let's spend a lot of money immediately to do it.' But, when we have projects available, let's think a little bit outside the box and look at other modes of transportation beside just vehicular traffic."
-- Charlie Barrineau, City Manager, Greenwood, South Carolina
"If you cannot slow those streets down, it's going to be incredibly difficult for retail to thrive. When people are too busy trying to game the lights and get through downtown, they are not going to stop and shop. And community is certainly not going to happen from behind the windshield."
-- Seleta Reynolds, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
Thank you to our Partners:
   
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