Recent actions from President Obama and the US Department of Transportation are showing us the way toward mainstream transportation programs that take all users of the transportation system into account.
Representative Steve LaTourette [OH-14] joined the sixty existing co-sponsors of the Complete Streets Act of 2009 late last week, making the bill bipartisan in the House.
With Members of Congress back to their districts for August recess, now is a great time to talk to your representative about all the benefits of complete streets and ask them to support the Complete Streets Act.
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.
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.
Last Friday, the National Complete Streets Coalition joined our Coalition partners Transportation for America, America Bikes, and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, along with dozens of other advocates, to personally thank Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for his support for all modes of transportation. We’re also excited by a more mundane document: the U.S. DOT draft Strategic Plan, which makes adoption of state and local Complete Streets policies one of the Department’s Performance Measures.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation released guidelines for “ TIGER II,” a $600 million merit-based program that may give a glimpse of a future in which transportation projects are routinely multimodal and connected to land use.
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced a sea change in federal transportation policy yesterday, issuing a new policy statement that calls for full inclusion of bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders of all ages and abilities in transportation projects – essentially, a Complete Streets policy.
Last week, I attended the White House’s Clean Energy Economy Forum “Livability and Sustainable Communities – Taking Action for a Clean Energy Future.” Clearly, the Administration wants to lead – by providing communities with the resources to innovate.
The Department of Transportation just announced the recipients of its $1.5 billion TIGER grant program,the US DOT’s first attempt at a competitive grant program where projects of all modes compete based on their ability to meet national goals. Complete streets projects across the country will be funded.