A new poll released by America Bikes yesterday is a telling indicator that Americans support Complete Streets — over 80% of respondents, in communities large and small, would like to see federal funding for bicycling and walking maintained or increased. These findings are consistent with other state and local polls that have shown American citizens want streets that work for everyone.
Holiday Drive in New Orleans is an recent example of complete streets work in action.
In December 2011, the City Council of New Orleans, LA, unanimously passed the city’s first complete streets ordinance. The ordinance, which encourages designers and engineers to build streets that accommodate everyone, has already gained widespread support. Now, it’s up to New Orleans leaders to actually make these changes happen.
Last month, Smart Growth America and complete streets experts Michael Moule and Michael Ronkin held a workshop for City officials in New Orleans to help make their complete streets plans a reality. Joining the officials were representatives from 12 local, regional, and state agencies as well as non-profit partners who also participated in the event.
With its 2011 Annual Report (.pdf), the National Complete Streets Coalition offers a snapshot of the phenomenal success of the Complete Streets movement. The report highlights how the Coalition has helped to lead the movement and respond to its changing needs in 2011, celebrating the many milestones the year brought: at least 125 new policies … Continued
The next time someone refers to a sidewalk as a too-expensive “amenity,” think about Powell Calhoun and Donna Williams. They were fatally hit by a driver as they traveled along a frontage road in Jackson, Mississippi that had no sidewalks for him to push her wheelchair.
April’s arrival brings with it several events that give opportunity to celebrate the Complete Streets movement, as well as space to remember why we’re working for Complete Streets in the first place.
The Senate’s bi-partisan surface transportation authorization bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), makes significant progress in ensuring the safety of users of the transportation system. The Coalition urges the House to follow by passing their own bi-partisan bill.
The California Department of Transportation takes to our blog to shows how it is moving ahead to make the Golden State’s highways safer, more livable, and inviting to pedestrians, bicyclists, the disabled, public transportation users, and motorists.
It’s a Safe Decision: Complete Streets in California, a report from the National Complete Streets Coalition and the Local Government Commission telling the successes of a Complete Streets approach in California, was released last week at an event with Representative Doris Matsui (CA-5), one of the Congressional sponsors of a federal Complete Streets policy.
On February 15, 2012, 40 community stakeholders from Deerfield Beach, Florida met with representatives from the National Complete Streets Coalition and Smart Growth America as part of a free program helping their city develop “complete streets” policies. In this interactive, day-long workshop, city staff and residents learned how everyday transportation decisions can promote streets that are designed to allow safe access for all users. Complete Streets workshops aim to draw on the experience of community stakeholders and offer new opportunities for them to work together.
The City of Deerfield Beach learned of the economic and fiscal benefits of smart growth in June of 2011 through a workshop with the Environmental Protection Agency. A product of that workshop was a commitment to support a thriving local economy by creating a more walkable community following the guidelines of Complete Streets. The City was able to pursue this goal after being granted a free technical assistance workshop from Smart Growth America. Having established a foundation of smart growth basics, the city was equipped for a policy development workshop, where attendees learned the Complete Streets concept and began developing a customized draft policy.
Though all eyes have been on federal transportation policy the last few weeks, states have continued to push forward with their Complete Streets efforts. Bills have been introduced in West Virginia and Rhode Island, and several states with Complete Streets policies in place move ahead with implementation.