After five years as the director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, Emiko Atherton is departing Smart Growth America in July after making an indelible impact on the national, state, and local push for implementing safer streets that everyone can enjoy.
This week the House will consider the Moving Forward Act, a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that reflects many of Smart Growth America’s core priorities, including a new kind of transportation bill, billions to invest in new or rehabilitated affordable housing, and support for more inclusive and equitable development around transit to help give more Americans access to opportunity.
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As noted in Transportation for America’s scorecard, the House’s INVEST Act transportation bill takes important strides to make safety a priority, from the inclusion of new performance measures all the way down to making changes with how agencies set speed limits. Here are five things to know.
The INVEST Act could be a turning point for the federal transportation program, almost hitting the mark on our principles for transportation investment. But a few amendments could make—or break—the bill. Stay up to date here.
This April, we hosted the latest installment of our monthly webinar series Complete Streets 301: Putting people first. We heard from leaders working across the globe to support community responses to COVID-19 through Complete Streets and other transportation initiatives. A recording of the webinar with closed captioning is now available.
Select cities are responding to COVID-19 and stay-at-home restrictions by opening up streets to people, providing vital room for people to safely exercise as well as walk, bike, and roll to essential destinations while maintaining physical distancing. Smart Growth America is eager to help cities tap the expertise of artists and designers for this work, which can help produce better, more beloved projects that could remain after the pandemic, and foster helpful relationships between artists, city leaders, and transportation departments.
In our latest installment of our monthly webinar series Complete Streets 301: Putting people first, we heard how Minneapolis has worked to prioritize pedestrians and advance multimodal transportation through advocacy, policy, and safer street design. A recording of the webinar is now available. You can also download a PDF of the presentation or read the brief recap below.
The National Complete Streets Coalition is just that—a coalition—and our success is made possible by our many partner organizations. WGI is one of those important partners. We spoke with Lisa Nisenson, Vice President of New Mobility and Connected Communities, to learn more about WGI’s work and what drives their commitment to Complete Streets.
Some cities around the country are responding to COVID-19 by opening up more street space for people as traffic has dwindled and more space is needed for people to safely be outside. But could these temporary changes lead to more public space for people even after the immediate threat has subsided? Possibly, but only if cities start acting to realize that future now.
Join us for a webinar on April 27 to hear how communities are using transportation initiatives and actions to respond to COVID-19. This is the latest installment in our monthly webinar series Complete Streets 301: Putting people first.