Completing Rural Highways: Maintaining assets in California and North Carolina
The state DOTs in California and North Carolina have found innovative ways to manage and maintain Complete Streets projects.
Author: State Smart Transportation Initiative
Completing Rural Highways: Managing and maintaining assets
Whenever an agency plans to develop new community assets—whether it is a road, utility, or sidewalk—they must have systems such as funding and coordination for regular maintenance in place to preserve them in the long term. Having those systems in place and a concrete plan to coordinate with local agencies can preemptively address unique challenges related to Complete Streets projects.
Completing Rural Highways: Funding Complete Streets
Even with a strong commitment to Complete Streets principles, many state agencies and their local partners lack dedicated and consistent funding streams to add the necessary elements to existing road projects. Rural infrastructure can be particularly difficult to fund, costing more per capita, so adding new elements is often seen by state and local agencies as a burden. Smart Growth America and the State Smart Transportation Initiative worked with practitioners to illustrate how their peers have found ways to overcome these obstacles.
Completing Rural Highways: Making the case in Massachusetts and Washington
State DOTs in Massachusetts and Washington used new tools and strong communication to make the case for Complete Streets projects.
Completing Rural Highways: Making the case
Gaining widespread support for Complete Streets projects can be a challenge. Agencies sometimes face resistance from within or they face opposition from local businesses and community members. Smart Growth America and the State Smart Transportation Initiative worked with practitioners to identify obstacles to making the case for Complete Streets and illustrate how their peers have found ways to overcome them.
Watch the recording – Fitting the road to the context: Florida’s Context Classification and Complete Streets implementation
Florida’s approach could serve as a model for other states looking to incorporate land-use context in decision-making. The latest webinar from our State Smart Transportation Initiative explained how this approach is being implemented in Florida and how other states can emulate it.
SSTI News: Two new studies improve “walkability” measurement
Differences in perceived travel time based on visual preference surveys. Source: Erath et al., 2015. Where people walk: Two new studies improve “walkability” measurement In planning and designing for pedestrians, sidewalks are often a good start but rarely make a place walkable on their own. Measuring pedestrian accessibility (the topic of a recent SSTI webinar) depends … Continued
Florida DOT hits milestone in context-based street design
The Florida Department of Transportation is making major strides toward improving pedestrian and bicycle safety through its Complete Streets Implementation initiative. One of FDOT’s most innovative achievements has been the recent adoption of eight context classifications to guide road design decisions. While the concept of context classification is not new, FDOT is one of the first states to operationalize it within formal decision-making processes.
SSTI News: U.S. receives “F” for safe pedestrian designs and policies
This week we look at FDOT’s plans to improve pedestrian conditions, distracted driving, congestion pricing, and more.
SSTI News: Florida DOT hits milestone in context-based street design
This week we look at context-based street design, GHG measures, real-time travel information, and more.