Complete Streets News — February 2015

By Stefanie Seskin · February 18, 2015

Photo by David Moisan, via Flickr

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Take the USDOT Mayors’ Challenge — U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has issued a call to action, challenging local leaders to significantly improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in the next year. The first of seven identified action steps is to adopt a Complete Streets approach. Any level of jurisdiction can join the initiative and attend the kick-off summit in DC next month. Read more >>

Best Complete Streets policies of 2014 — This year’s best Complete Streets policies report has arrived! We’re excited to name Ogdensburg, NY, a community of The City of Ogdensburg, NY, located on the northern border of the state and home to 11,000 people, adopted 2014’s best-written policy, which scored a total of 92.8 points of a possible 100. To celebrate, we hosted an online discussion with representatives from a few of this year’s top-scoring communities. Check out the recording and recap of the kickoff event >>

South Florida’s streets dangerous for older adults — Last spring, our Dangerous by Design report again identified Florida as one of most dangerous states for walking—with notably high fatalities among older adults. The Miami Herald speaks with AARP, transportation practitioners, and national transportation advocates about what can and should be done to make South Florida’s streets safe for people of all ages. Read more >>

Nominate your Complete Streets project for a National Roadway Safety Award — The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) are now accepting applications for the 2015 National Roadway Safety Awards. These biennial awards recognize roadway safety achievements in infrastructure, operational, and program-related improvements. Local governments, planning organizations, regional councils, technical assistance programs, and universities are eligible to apply. Read more >>

Snow removal survey — For those living in colder climates, the past few weeks have been a tough reminder of how snow removal impacts travel by foot, assistive device, and transit. Easter Seals Project Action Consulting wants to hear from transportation agencies on how they manage snowfall. Answers to their brief, eight-question survey will guide their technical assistance program. Take the survey >>

Learn

ICYMI: Maintaining safe routes for walking, bicycling, and transit in the snow — Several recent resources can help communities keep sidewalks, bicycling facilities, paths, and transit stops clear of snow and ice. Easter Seals Project Action provides guidance specific to accessible paths and transit stops. Seasonal maintenance is also a topic in the October 2013 Guide for Maintaining Pedestrian Facilities for Enhanced Safety from the Federal Highway Administration. “Removing snow and ice should be thought of as a community responsibility that covers the entire public right-of-way,” say the authors, who provide national and international examples for snow removal best practices and recommendations. Finally, if you’re looking for guidance on maintaining bike facilities in the winter Alta Planning + Design offers a useful white paper on design and maintenance strategies to keep those bike lanes clear and safe.

Resident’s Guide for Creating Safer Communities — Newly revised from the Federal Highway Administration, the Resident’s Guide includes new case studies on promoting safety for people walking and bicycling on community streets. The guide contains resources on identifying problems, taking action, and finding solutions for parents, members of community associations, and others involved in advocacy at the grassroots level. Read more >>

Designing streets for an aging population — By 2030, the number of adults 65 and over will grow to over 72 million. This third edition of the FHWA’s Handbook for Designing Roadways for the Aging Population helps transportation agencies address the challenges of older travelers. The guidebook includes the proven and promising treatments for five categories of street features: intersections, interchanges, roadway segments, work zones, and highway–railway grade crossings. Read more >>

Webinar: Managing speed — According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding is a contributing factor in almost one-third of all fatal collisions. In this webinar, FHWA, with the member agencies of the USDOT Speed Management Team, showcase case studies in speed control to improve safety for people walking and bicycling. Hear more >>

Guidebook: Pedestrian and bicycle volume data collection — Collecting data on the volume of people walking and bicycling is an invaluable tool for planning, assessing, and improving bicycling and walking facilities. The guidebook is designed for practitioners at transportation agencies and provides thorough guidance, not only on selecting methods and technologies, but also details such as privacy concerns and how to extrapolate data from estimates. Read more >>

Healthy hospitals — Hospitals can help encourage healthier eating and physical activity choices for their employees, patients, visitors, and residents of surrounding neighborhoods. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new toolkit for hospitals to assess their campuses and neighborhoods’ role in promoting physical activity. Measures include such as traffic speeds, walking paths, stairway access, bicycle racks, and transit availability. Read more >>

Webinar: Strategies for safer streets — A newly recorded webinar from the American Planning Association focuses on safety for people who walk or bicycle can be integrated into transportation options. The webinar includes a discussion of federal performance measures and how capital improvement plans can be leveraged to improve safety. Panelists include representatives from the Federal Highway Administration, UCLA’s Complete Streets Initiative, Fehr and Peers, and the National Complete Streets Coalition. Hear more >>

Webinars: Race, class, and bicycling — Two upcoming webinars explore the sometimes-complicated relationship between bicycling infrastructure and equity concerns. The first, on March 3, is hosted by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Professionals, and features speakers from San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and PeopleForBikes. On March 18, join the Safe Routes to School National Partnership for a discussion about promoting active transportation in communities with concerns about gentrification featuring Slow Roll Chicago, the Asian and Pacific Islander Prevention Alliance, Austin TX’s Transportation Department, and PeopleForBikes.

Webinar: Accessibility as multimodal system performance metric — Accessibility to jobs and other destinations is emerging as a more robust method for measuring connectivity in transportation systems, especially compared to standard mobility measures such as congestion. This recorded webinar from State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI) showcases speakers from the University of Minnesota’s Accessibility Observatory, the Renaissance Planning Group, and the Maryland Department of Transportation. Listen >>

Local Leaders Council Policy Forum — With a focus on reinvigorating downtowns and main streets by drawing investors, leveraging assets, and financing active transportation, this year’s forum allows mayors, councilmembers, county officials, agency directors, and other high level decision-makers to exchange smart growth strategies. The policy forum is the annual signature event of the Local Leaders Council, a rapidly expanding bipartisan network of over 240 elected and appointed officials in local government. Register today >>

Change

Redwood City, CA City Council approved the formation of a Complete Streets committee last month. Comprised of five volunteers, the committee will be a resource to staff and Council by providing perspectives from all types of users, including people who walk or bicycle, children, older adults, and those with disabilities. Read more >>

Broward County, FL announced a five-year investment plan to build new bike lanes and sidewalks, a big first step in creating connected networks for all users. Broward adopted Complete Streets Guidelines in July 2012. Read more >>

In Dunwoody, GA, organizations are lining up behind a plan to incorporate the needs of people walking and bicycling into the Georgia Department of Transportation’s plans to rebuild the I-285 interchange at GA-400–in line with the city’s 2011 Complete Streets policy. The Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce and Sandy Springs Conservancy joined Bike/Walk Dunwoody, Buckhead CID, Livable Buckhead, Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce, PATH Foundation and Georgia Trail Summit in asking for a more neighborhood-friendly approach. Read more >>

The Waterloo, IA Complete Streets Advisory Committee is asking the Iowa Department of Transportation to ensure access for people on foot or bicycle as part of a once-in-a-lifetime railroad overpass project. Read more >>

A draft plan for Atlantic Avenue in Atlantic City, NJ, will do much to take it off the list of the state’s most dangerous streets–and make it more pleasant for everyone living, working, and visiting the city. “We’re trying to create public spaces, to make it a more appealing place to live, bringing back the neighborhoods that we once had,” noted Elizabeth Terenik, the city’s planning director. “We need to respect those aspects of the city that have been disrespected because we designed it for the cars.” The city adopted a Complete Streets resolution in 2012. Read more >>

Salisbury, NC City Council unanimously approved a Complete Streets plan for an area between the City’s downtown and the local interstate. Several fatal accidents prompted plans to add safety measures to two major street corridors, including lane reductions, bulb-outs, enhancing crosswalks, and adding lighting. Read more >>

New York City, NY has announced the result of the first year of its Vision Zero safety initiative. Pedestrian fatalities last year fell 27 percent to the lowest rate since 1910. Traffic fatalities dropped by 15 percent. The Vision Zero portfolio included revamping 35 intersections, adding 27 new Arterial Slow Zones, installing 45 pedestrian lead intervals, and creating 5 miles of protected bicycle lanes. Public workshops helped inform plans for 2015, which will be announced this month. Read more >>

Owasso, OK City Council voted unanimously to approve a Complete Streets policy. Mayor Jeri Moberly noted, “This will be one more thing in our city that we can be proud of.” Read more >>

In Nashville, TN, construction has begun to reveal the new 11th Avenue, designed in accordance with Mayor Dean’s 2010 Complete Streets executive order. When complete, the street will have new protected bike paths, wider sidewalks, a mini-park with fitness equipment, new street trees, and rain gardens. Read more >>

New Complete Streets policies

Thank you to our Partners:

Since the new year, many Complete Streets Partners renewed their commitment to the Coalition’s work! Thanks to all our new and renewing Partners at all levels: