A lively conversation is underway on how transportation policy affects low income and minority children – and what can be done about it. Completing the streets, with a focus on the most vulnerable road users, has an important role to play in ensuring all children have access to safe streets.
The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed legislation establishing a Sustainable Communities Task Force within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. North Carolina is now the latest state to recognize the connections between cross-agency governance at the state level, coordination with stakeholders at the local level, and sustainable communities on the ground.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded over $290 million to public transportation projects across the country. Many of the winning projects took a comprehensive approach that will make travel more convenient for not just transit vehicles but also people walking, biking, and waiting for the bus or streetcar.
The latest F as in Fat annual report is out, showing increased obesity rates in 28 states. Of programs and policies proven to help us get healthier, the report authors include the adoption of Complete Streets policies at the community, state, and federal level.
In his New York Times blog yesterday, Edward Glaeser asks for nuance and careful thinking on the question of whether countries should spend their way out of the recession: there’s no one answer, and we need to look carefully at the situations different countries are in. Similarly with different kinds of public spending. Some work, some don’t. It’s a good argument, but one he then fails to apply to infrastructure.
As July unfolds before us, we look back on the progress of the Complete Streets movement since the year began: We’ve seen incredible progress federally, and we celebrated two new state laws. Eighteen communities have committed to complete streets since January, and we released a Best Practices report on policies and implementation.
This week’s Complete Streets activities across the country, including a call to action on New York legislation, news from Michigan, the importance of planning transportation for all ages, and more.
Freshly returned from the Velo-City conference in Copenhagen, Barbara McCann shares how our movement can learn from the Europeans – and it’s not simply importing their engineering. It’s building the consensus that roads serve purposes beyond moving vehicles quickly.
Last Thursday, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay signed complete streets into law. The city will now “consider complete street elements in the design, construction and maintenance of public transportation projects, improvements and facilities.”
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan took to the White House Blog to talk about the importance of and goals of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities. He wrote…