The National Complete Streets Coalition is now accepting applications for our brand new Safe Streets Academy, a program designed to help jurisdictions transform their commitment to traffic safety into practice.
As of the end of 2016, more than 1,000 jurisdictions in the United States have made formal commitments to streets that are safe and convenient for everyone—no matter their age, income, race, ethnicity, physical ability, or how they choose to travel—by passing a Complete Streets policy. Specifically, 13 communities led the nation in creating and adopting comprehensive Complete Streets policies last year.
Vibrant, walkable neighborhoods can help attract new residents and jobs, support existing businesses, and benefit everyone’s quality of life. We’re excited to announce an in-person event exploring how these strategies are working in two particular cities—and how communities anywhere can use this approach.
For the past several years Smart Growth America has been helping state departments of transportation improve safety and reliability, preserve their assets, and accelerate project delivery to expand economic opportunity and create healthier, more livable communities.
Our Innovative DOT program has worked with state DOTs in Florida, Vermont, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, and Tennessee. And over those years, we’ve released three editions of The Innovative DOT: A handbook of policy and practice, one of the most comprehensive guides available for DOTs committed to innovative excellence, in partnership with the State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI).
Apply now for the Safe Streets Academy— The National Complete Streets Coalition is excited to offer a new, free opportunity for technical assistance. The Safe Streets Academy will bring together engineers, planners, and related professionals from three jurisdictions for a year-long series of intensive, hands-on trainings on interventions to address traffic safety. Jurisdictions with populations of at least 100,000 are eligible to apply. Applications will be accepted through Sunday, July 16. Join us for an informational webinar tomorrow, June 23 at 1:00 PM EDT for an overview of the Academy and a chance to ask questions.
Quitman, MS (population 2,209) is a cozy town in eastern Mississippi that prides itself on its locally owned Main Street businesses, banking and health care industries, commitment to green practices, and fiber optic internet access.
Quitman wants to build on these assets, and leaders are looking for ways to grow the town’s economy and revitalize the town center. To help do that, Quitman leaders applied for an won a Foundations of Smart Growth technical assistance workshop as part of our program in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. After talking with the town about their ideas and plans, we also awarded Quitman a Fiscal Impact Analysis at no cost, as part of our Rural Development program in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Our Fiscal Impact Analysis is a data-intensive model designed to show how different development scenarios could impact future public finances.
Last month we hosted “Making the Most of Main Street: Complete Streets & Walkable Communities”, the fourth installment in our monthly webinar series, Implementation & Equity 201: The Path Forward to Complete Streets. A recording of the webinar is now available above. You can also download the PDF of the presentation, or read the brief recap below.
The National Complete Streets Coalition is excited to continue our monthly webinar series, designed to help professionals from a variety of disciplines put Complete Streets principles into action. Implementation & Equity 201: The Path Forward to Complete Streets is exploring a new issue each month related to creating safer, healthier, more equitable streets.
Our next webinar in the series, Rethinking First & Last Mile: Transit-Driven Complete Streets will take place on Thursday, June 29, 2017 from 1:00-2:00 PM EDT. Speakers from Michael Baker International and the American Public Transportation Association will join the Coalition in answering questions such as: How can transit-driven Complete Streets provide vital connections to address the first/mile last mile problem? And how can transit agencies take on a more active role in Complete Streets design and implementation? This webinar will explore examples of how the Jacksonville Transportation Authority leveraged its transit system redesign to promote improved connectivity through Complete Streets. Speakers will rethink the concept of first mile/last mile on a granular scale, exploring what kinds of infrastructure are needed to provide safe, convenient transportation choices for transit-dependent communities. Registration is now open—we hope you’ll be able to join us.
Earlier this year we joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Appalachian Regional Commission to start delivering Cool & Connected technical assistance, a workshop series designed to help rural communities find new economic opportunities by leveraging investments in broadband, or reliable, high-speed internet access.
Last week, the National Complete Streets Coalition released The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2016, our annual review of the best Complete Streets policies of the last year. As of the end of 2016, more than 1,200 jurisdictions in the United States have made formal commitments to streets that are safe and convenient for everyone—no matter … Continued
The National Complete Streets Coalition is excited to announce our brand new Safe Streets Academy, a free technical assistance program that will provide education and training on to redesign and engineer roads to reduce traffic speeds and save lives.