The transportation needs of urban and rural places are not as binary or opposed as they’re made out to be, and the distinctions will continue to blur over time. Agencies can work to understand the full context of each place and its interconnections to meet the unique needs of every community.
complete streets
Innovative partnership spurs Complete Streets in rural Louisiana
There are a number of challenges to implementing complete streets projects in rural communities. From gaining support for projects in car-dominated communities to the increased costs of projects caused by infrastructure needs, such as building sidewalks where none exist and installing modern traffic control devices. Despite these challenges, Louisiana is seeing a surge of rural complete streets projects thanks to a partnership between the Louisiana State University AgCenter and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.
When done right, Complete Streets increase walking and biking
Complete Streets have been critiqued as to whether they improve safety for all users. Research shows that integrating Complete Streets effectively results in significant increases in walking and bicycling. Effective policies require thoughtful implementation and accountability. Smart Growth America scores the latest Complete Streets policies to determine the strongest and most effective approaches for safer and more equitable streets. New policies are a good start to creating healthier and more equitable transportation networks, but implementing and monitoring them represents a complete overhaul of the decision-making process.
Cambridge enshrines protected bike lanes into law
Cambridge has become the first city in the U.S. to require protected bike lanes on reconstructed streets, if those streets are part of the city’s 20-mile bicycle network plan. This is not just an internal policy, but is included in municipal ordinance. And being legally required—instead of just part of transportation planning documents—makes future bike lanes “bikelash-proof.”
Methodology for prioritizing streets for multimodal treatments
Building Complete Streets can assure that our transportation network is safe and comfortable for all road users: people biking, walking, and taking transit, as well as drivers of cars. But which streets are most appropriate for Complete Streets treatments—to encourage non-driving modes and maximize the safety of people using these modes—can be a tough question to answer. A recent journal article describes the prioritization methodology used in Quebec City for making these decisions.
Phoenix struggles with its pedestrian safety record
Phoenix has an exceptionally high rate of pedestrian fatalities compared to the rest of the country. It looked like the city was ready to tackle this problem, with a city staff naming 11 intersections and neighborhoods to study that had poor and unsafe pedestrian conditions. However, the citizen committee named to guide passage of a design guide to make the streets safer has become so frustrated with the lack of progress that they have quit en masse. What have other cities done when they have found themselves with a mounting pedestrian fatality rate and a reputation as a dangerous place to walk?
Florida DOT hits milestone in context-based street design
As part of its Complete Streets Implementation, the Florida Department of Transportation recently adopted eight context classifications to guide road design decisions. Under this new system, planners and engineers will consider existing and future characteristics such as land uses, building configuration, and street connectivity to ensure that roads are designed for the right vehicle speeds, road users, and trip types.
The National Complete Streets Coalition announces the best Complete Streets policies of 2016
The National Complete Streets Coalition has released The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2016, the latest edition of the annual report that scores and ranks all of the Complete Streets policies passed during the previous year. Brockton, MA, Missoula, MT, and Wenatchee, WA tied for the top policy. In addition to looking at policy strength, for the first time this year the report also looked at the income and racial demographics of the communities that passed policies in 2016.
FDOT makes strides in Complete Streets implementation: Former Dist. 1 Secretary Billy Hattaway weighs in
The Florida Department of Transportation has achieved a major milestone in its efforts to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety. In late April, FDOT issued a draft of the new FDOT Design Manual, which integrates a context-sensitive Complete Streets approach and will replace the agency’s current Plans Preparation Manual. FDOT has also released a draft of its new Complete Streets Handbook to accompany the Design Manual. SSTI spoke with Billy Hattaway, P.E., former Secretary of FDOT District 1, about the Complete Streets implementation efforts.
Can Florida design its way to safety? SSTI meeting highlight
In a presentation to the SSTI’s Community of Practice meeting earlier this month, Billy Hattaway, Florida DOT’s District One Secretary, described his agency’s ongoing efforts to improve statewide safety through road design and attention to land use. He emphasized that he prefers to see safety improvements made through engineering solutions, before relying on education and enforcement. The state’s complete streets initiative is a focal point of its recent efforts.