How exactly would FHWA’s proposal impact Complete Streets?
Check out this infographic to learn how FHWA could make a Complete Streets approach significantly easier for communities across the country.
Author: Smart Growth America
Now hiring: Local Leaders Council Intern
Smart Growth America is seeking a Paid Intern to support the Local Leaders Council (LLC), a national network of elected and appointed leaders in cities across the nation.
Maryland leaders talk innovative transit solutions
Members of the Maryland Chapter of the Local Leaders Council gather in Baltimore to discuss local transit solutions.
Transit service makes walkable urban places work better for all users, but finding affordable, flexible, scalable transit is a major hurdle for communities pursuing smart growth. The Maryland Chapter of the Local Leaders Council convened a workshop in Baltimore on November 12 to dig in to what works, considering very different solutions from three very different places.
Ten elected leaders and staff brought varying concerns to the table. Mayor Gee Williams of Berlin, MD, population 4,562, is focused on accommodating visitors. “During the last ten years we’ve become a destination community – this is now our chief economic driver. The vision we are in the early stages of discussing is how we can accommodate up to 3,000 guests in a small downtown area. We also have a challenge for our residents to access downtown services every day.”
Now hiring: Research & Policy Intern
Interested in transportation policy, transit-oriented development, and performance measurement? Join Smart Growth America’s team as our Research & Policy Intern to support policy workshops for governors, multi-state summits for state and local officials, and technical assistance visits. The position requires strong organizational skills, writing, research, and coordination across several projects. Responsibilities will be approximately 50% … Continued
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.
The fight for Complete Streets goes to conference
The battle is on in Congress this week for the final version of the next federal transportation bill.
In one corner, the Senate and its version which includes strong language to make streets safer across the country. In the other corner, the House and its version which falls far short.
Which will win?
Recorded webinar: Building Resilient States: A Framework for Agencies
How could better land use and transportation strategies help your state recover and remain resilient in the face of disaster?
On October 22, Smart Growth America released Building Resilient States: A Framework for Agencies, a resource designed to help state agency staff integrate land use and transportation issues into their conversations about resilience. Disaster preparedness professionals can also use it to make strategic decisions and build communities that are more resilient from the ground up.
As part of the kickoff, we hosted an online conversation about resilience efforts at the state level. We talked all about the new resource—as well as national best practices, and how the states of Colorado, New York, and Vermont are using these strategies.
An interview with Dongho Chang, Complete Streets engineer
Seattle’s chief road engineer Dongho Chang, next to Broadway’s new protected bike lane. Photo via the Green Lane Project on Facebook.
When activists painted a guerrilla bike lane in Seattle, they didn’t expect a traffic engineer to thank them. But that’s what Seattle traffic engineer Dongho Chang did, commending for bringing attention to the safety issue — and then installing a more permanent treatment soon after. Chang spoke with the National Complete Streets Coalition about a few of the Seattle Department of Transportation’s signature projects, the inspiration for his work, and what he’s learned in 25 years of traffic engineering.
What could your community do with a free technical assistance workshop from Smart Growth America?
Council President Jake Day of Salisbury, MD participates in the Walkability Audit.
Each year Smart Growth America offers a limited number of free workshops to help communities use smart growth strategies to achieve their goals for economic and environmental sustainability. Local Leaders Council members have used these workshops in very different ways. “The workshops we offer range from general introductions to very specific tools like the Parking Audit,” explains Elizabeth Schilling, Smart Growth America’s Deputy Director of Policy Development and Implementation, who teaches the Smart Growth Implementation 101 workshops. “In our most successful communities, leaders pick the right tool for the problem at hand, then design an outreach strategy to engage really diverse groups of problem solvers.”
Committed local leaders are a key advantage in free workshop competition
Councilmember Michael Trapp, right, at parking audit workshop in Columbia, MO in 2015.
“Involvement of key community leaders” is one of five criteria Smart Growth America uses to select which communities receive our free technical assistance workshops each year. In fact, a letter of commitment signed by “the mayor, county commission chair, or comparable elected leader” is one of the requirements for applying.
Members of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council are a natural fit for this requirement, with a demonstrated interest in smarter development strategies. Over the past five years, 23 of the more than 50 winning communities have been home to current and future Local Leaders Council members. Here’s a look at how Local Leaders Council members have used these competitive awards.
In 2013, the Village of Park Forest, IL won a sustainable land use code audit workshop, which served as a kickoff event for the Village’s work revising its zoning and subdivision ordinances. The workshop was an opportunity to fill in gaps in technical expertise, gauge public interest in sustainable land use codes, and bring a fresh set of eyes to the process.