The Complete Streets Leadership Academy is coming to Kentucky. This foundational program helps train local agencies and state Departments of Transportation to collaborate, innovate, and commit to making changes together to address road safety and create activity-friendly communities. Building on Kentucky’s ongoing Complete Streets work, the Academy will support road safety improvements through quick-build demonstration projects on state-owned routes in three local jurisdictions: the City of Bowling Green, the City of Morehead, and the City of Winchester.
Following the successes of the Maryland Complete Streets Leadership Academy (CSLA) and the 2023 Academies held in Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee, Smart Growth America, and the National Complete Streets Coalition are thrilled to return to Kentucky, one of the original homes of the Complete Streets Leadership Academy. This spring, three small- to mid-sized communities will work with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), cross-sector partners, and technical experts to improve road safety with quick-build demonstration projects.
Pedestrian fatalities are increasing across the U.S., and the majority of fatalities occur on state-owned roads. Kentucky is no exception: it ranked 22nd most dangerous state for people walking in Dangerous by Design 2024. In addition to the acute hazards of unsafe roads, people with limited access to infrastructure that supports being active–such as sidewalks and trails–are less likely to meet physical activity recommendations. Local jurisdictions do not always own the roads that run through them, and state Departments of Transportation may not always manage their roads in ways that meet local needs, which can make improvements like adding sidewalks difficult. This program brings together state Departments of Transportation and local communities to work on temporary projects that tackle these infrastructure issues. By working together, they can build strong, collaborative partnerships that will help solve these challenges more permanently in the long run.
“The Complete Streets Leadership Academy is about inspiration, innovation, and progress. We are excited to bring the Academy back to Kentucky to foster collaboration and help communities take meaningful steps to overcome longstanding street safety challenges,” said Heidi Simon, Director of Thriving Communities at Smart Growth America. “Through quick-build demonstrations, communities will gain hands-on experience, bring their vision to life, and ultimately create safer, healthier, and more resilient places.”
Participating in this year’s program are the City of Bowling Green, the City of Morehead, and the City of Winchester. KYTC selected these cities based on need, previously expressed interest in quick-build projects, and population size, to focus on small and mid-sized cities. These teams will work to design, implement, and assess the impact of quick-build projects while learning about innovative Complete Streets strategies. Through a series of virtual and in-person workshops, participants will foster collaboration across jurisdictions, build state and local capacity, and identify long-term changes to improve community design across the state.
Each local jurisdiction will engage community-level engineers, planners, public health practitioners, community champions, and other related professionals to attend the workshop sessions and help plan their demonstration projects. Lexington’s participation in the 2018 Academy influenced the city’s development of a Complete Streets Action Plan, and much of the demonstration project is still in place. In 2022, Kentucky published the Complete Streets, Roads, and Highways Manual, and since then, KYTC has held trainings around the state on implementing Complete Streets. This work has the cohort eager to implement what they learned and dive in deeper through quick-build demonstration projects.
“KYTC is excited that they have been selected by Smart Growth America to conduct Complete Street Training Academies in three Kentucky cities,” said Keith Lovan, KYTC State Bicycle and Ped Coordinator. “This is another step toward making Kentucky’s transportation system safe and comfortable for all users.”
The Complete Streets Leadership Academy is made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-PW-24-0080). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC. The program is part of the CDC’s Active People, Healthy Nation Initiative that is working to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027.