Complete Streets News — January 2016

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Get fast facts on the FAST Act — The FAST Act is the first federal transportation bill to ever include language on Complete Streets, but how exactly do these provisions help ensure the safety of all users? A new resource from the National Complete Streets Coalition provides an overview of Complete Streets in the FAST Act as well as useful resources for navigating federal funding sources. Download the FAST Act Fact Sheet to learn how federal Complete Streets legislation can offer better transportation options, improve public health, support retired Americans, advance economic development, reinvest in underserved communities, help kids get to school, and keep people safe while biking and walking.

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National Complete Streets Coalition celebrates 10th anniversary and over 845 policies nationwide at 6th annual dinner

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On Tuesday, the National Complete Streets Coalition hosted our Sixth Annual Complete Streets Dinner at La Tasca, in downtown Washington, DC. The evening assembled over 50 advocates, supporters, partners, and friends to celebrate 10 years as a Coalition and over 845 Complete Streets policies passed at the state, regional, and local level.

Coalition Director Emiko Atherton, Steering Committee Chair Rich Weaver, of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), and Smart Growth America President and CEO Geoff Anderson kicked off the evening with welcomes and an introduction of the dinner’s distinguished speaker, Gregory Ballard, former mayor of Indianapolis.

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Complete Streets News — December 2015

Safe streets included in FAST Act — This month, Congress passed a five-year, $305 billion transportation bill—the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Notably, the bill requires all design for National Highway System roadways to take into account access for all modes of transportation. It also makes NACTO’s Urban Design Guide one of the standards for when the U.S. Department of Transportation designs roads, and it permits local governments to use their own adopted design guides if they are the lead project sponsor, even if it differs from state guidelines. Emiko Atherton, Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, issued a statement in response.

Tickets on sale: Complete Streets Dinner — Join the National Complete Streets Coalition and celebrate this year’s successes at our sixth annual dinner, featuring speaker Mayor Ballard of Indiananapolis, IN. The dinner is an intimate event that brings together advocates from across the country for food, fun, conversation, and cocktails, and will be held this year on the evening of Tuesday, January 12, 2016 in Washington, DC during the Transportation Research Board meeting. Tickets are selling quickly: get your seat today.

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Safe streets provisions in FAST Act represent a huge step forward in the effort to strengthen local communities

Late last night, Congress passed a five-year, $305 billion transportation bill—the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Notably, the bill requires all design for National Highway System roadways to take into account access for all modes of transportation. It also makes NACTO’s Urban Design Guide one of the standards for when the U.S. Department of Transportation designs roads, and it permits local governments to use their own adopted design guides if they are the lead project sponsor, even if it differs from state guidelines.

Emiko Atherton, Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, issued the following statement in response.

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Complete Streets News — November 2015

Save the Date: Sixth Annual Complete Streets Dinner — Join the National Complete Streets Coalition and celebrate this year’s successes at our sixth annual fundraising dinner! The dinner is an intimate event that brings together advocates from across the country for food, fun, and conversation, and will be held this year on the evening of Tuesday, January 12, 2016, during the Transportation Research Board 2016 meeting. Stay tuned for more information about how to purchase tickets and this year’s featured speaker!

Pass that rule, FHWA! — Last month, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) put forward a great idea. The agency proposed a new rule that would dramatically ease federal design standards for many roadways. It’s a move that would make a Complete Streets approach significantly easier for communities across the country. In order for the rule to pass, though, the FHWA needs to hear that the measure has strong support. Sign a letter to FHWA today.

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Tell FHWA to pass their proposed rule on street design



Last month, the Federal Highway Administration put forward a great idea.

The agency, which oversees the design of millions of miles of roads in the United States, proposed a new rule which would dramatically ease federal design standards for many of those roadways. It’s a move that would make a Complete Streets approach significantly easier for communities across the country.

You go, FHWA! Tell the agency to adopt its proposed rule.

Complete Streets

This week: How will the House improve its version of the transportation bill?

Last week the House of Representatives passed its initial version of a multiyear transportation bill. This bill has the potential to make streets safer across the country, help communities build more homes and offices near transit, and give more control of transportation investments to local communities. In order for this to happen, though, the House’s version of the bill needs to improve considerably.

Representatives agree: they’ve filed more than 200 amendments to the current version of the bill. Today the Rules Committee will decide which ones to allow to the floor. And then later this week, the full House will vote on all the amendments and create their final version of the bill.

Make the next transportation bill a forward-looking one: Send a letter to your representative this morning >>

Several amendments under consideration would improve how the bill supports walkable communities served by transit, including:

  • Amendment #18 from Representative Lipinski of Illinois, which would make transit-oriented development (TOD) eligible for RRIF funding.
  • Amendment #21 from Representative DeSaulnier of California, which would improve planning and project selection performance measures and transparency.
  • Amendment #37, also from Representative Lipinski, which expresses the Sense of Congress that TOD is an eligible activity under the RRIF program.
  • Amendment #47 from Representative Schakowsky of Illinois that would require a study and rule on safety standards or performance measures to improve pedestrian safety.
Complete Streets

Since the workshop: Complete Streets improvements kick off Kaua’i County, HI’s downtown renaissance

hardy-street3New sidewalks near the intersection of Rice Street and Hardy Street, and at the entrance to Wilcox Elementary School. Photo via the County of Kaua’i.

County leaders in Kaua’i, HI are working to revitalize the Līhu’e Town Core as a vibrant, walkable heart of the island, with Rice Street as its main street. In 2008, the county crafted its Holo Holo 2020 plan to guide that work, and in 2014 they asked Smart Growth America to inform that work with a parking audit workshop. What has Kaua’i been up to in the time since?

Over the last year, Kaua’i has gotten started on its revitalization work with Complete Streets improvements to Hardy Street. New sidewalks, turn lanes, bike lanes, on-street parking, and street plantings will eventually run the entire length of Hardy Street, which is parallel to Rice and curves around to intersect with it in the heart of Līhuʻe’s town core.

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