The newest release of F as in Fat notes the alarming pace of America’s obesity crisis and makes six overarching strategies to bring our waistlines into check, including the recommendation for Complete Streets laws at the state and federal level. Recent news on the impending federal transportation authorization bill, however, indicates that such a recommendation has not yet penetrated the walls of Congress.
Dangerous by Design 2011 spotlights the issue of pedestrian safety and the factors that make walking dangerous.
Bike lanes and sidewalks don’t just make streets safer and more convenient – they’re a good investment of transportation funds, too. A new report from the Policy Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that public investments in pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure – including sidewalks, bike lanes, and trails – create more jobs per dollar spent.
The report finds that bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects create significantly more jobs than infrastructure projects for cars alone. According to the study, bicycle projects create 11.4 jobs for every $1 million invested — 46% more than car-only road projects. Job creation potential decreased as infrastructure dedicated to automobilies increased:
Pedestrian-only projects create an average of about 10 jobs per $1 million, and multi-use trails create nearly as many, at 9.6 jobs per $1 million. Infrastructure that combines road construction with pedestrian and bicycle facilities creates slightly fewer jobs for the same amount of spending, and road-only projects create the least, with a total of 7.8 jobs per $1 million.
Communities from Texas to Illinois and Pennsylvania to California are including healthy, active transportation activities in their Community Transformation Grant (CTG) application — and technical assistance from the National Complete Streets Coalition and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership can help them achieve their goals. We’ve rounded up additional resources for communities in today’s blog post.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is currently accepting applications for Community Transformation Grants. We encourage you to include technical assistance from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and the National Complete Streets Coalition in your application.
New York State’s legislative session ends in under a month, adding increased urgency to advocates’ calls for passage of statewide Complete Streets legislation. With a bi-partisan bill in the State Senate and a broad coalition of supporters, now is the time for New York to pass this important piece of legislation.
A dozen members of the Senate today introduced the Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2011, S. 1056, designed to create safer streets with every project built. Led by Sen. Tom Harkin (IA), the measure would direct states and regions to adopt policies to provide for the needs of all users of the transportation system, including people of all ages and abilities.
Today’s guest post is from Ryan Parker, of Jefferson County, Alabama’s Health Action Partnership. The greater Birmingham region is working to develop and implement policies to encourage active transportation, kicking things into high gear with a Complete Streets workshop.
Join Executive Director Barbara McCann and Complete Streets workshop lead instructor Michael Ronkin as they lead a two-part training webinar, Creating Livable, Accessible Communities by Completing Our Streets, in partnership with Easter Seals Project ACTION. Registration ends this Wednesday.
On May 5, 2011, Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Steven LaTourette (R-OH) introduced the bipartisan Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2011 into the US House of Representatives. The bill would help ensure safe travel for all Americans, regardless of how they travel.